Detox

Detox, short for detoxification, in general is the removal of toxic substances from the body. This process can be helped through our drug rehab and drug detox facilities. In conventional medicine, detoxification can also be achieved artificially by techniques such as dialysis and (in a very limited number of cases) chelation therapy. There is a firm scientific base in evidence-based medicine for this type of detoxification. Many alternative medicine practitioners promote various other types of detoxification such as "diet detoxification" but there's no evidence that detox diets have any health benefits.

Apply for help to Teen Challenge today, or call 0208 553 3338 for more information.

Detoxification can also refer to the period of withdrawal during which a person's body to return to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance

Types of detoxification

Alcohol detoxification or detox: this is a process by which a heavy drinker's system is brought back to normal after being used to having alcohol in the body on a continual basis. Serious alcohol addiction results in a decrease in production of GABA neuro-inhibitor because alcohol acts to replace it. Precipitous withdrawal from long-term alcohol addiction without medical management can cause severe health problems and can be fatal. Alcohol detox is not a treatment for alcoholism. After detoxification, other treatments must be undergone to deal with the underlying addiction that caused the alcohol use.

Drug detoxification or detox: this is used to reduce or relieve withdrawal symptoms while helping the addicted individual adjust to living without drug use; drug detoxification is not meant to treat addiction but rather an early step in long-term treatment. Detoxification may be achieved drug free or may use medications as an aspect of treatment. Often drug detoxification and treatment will occur in a community program that lasts several months and takes place in a residential rather than medical center.

Drug detoxification is a collective of interventions directed at controlling acute drug intoxication and drug withdrawal. It refers to a purging of the substance of abuse from a patient's body who is acutely under the influence or dependent on the substance to which they are addicted to. The process of detoxification aims at lessening the physical effects caused by the additive substances.

Alternative medicine: Certain approaches in alternative medicine claim to remove toxins from the body through herbal, electrical or electromagnetic treatments (such as the Aqua Detox treatment). These toxins are undefined and have little scientific basis, making the validity of such techniques questionable. There is no evidence for toxic accumulation in these cases, as the liver and kidneys automatically detoxify and excrete many toxic materials including metabolic wastes. Under this theory if toxins are too rapidly released without being safely eliminated (such as burning fat that stores toxins) they can damage the body and cause malaise.

Diet detoxification: Certain diets have an underlying assumption that the body accumulates toxins that must be removed, especially after periods of over-eating or the consumption of non-nutritious and processed foods. As with alternative medicine, the 'toxins' removed are undefined and are ascribed to foods, the environment and the body's own wastes.

A detox diet is a dietary regimen involving a change in consumption habits in an attempt to detoxify the body, by removal of toxins or other contaminants. Proponents claim it improves health, energy, resistance to disease, mental state, digestion, as well as aiding in weight loss. Many scientists, dietitians, and doctors, however, regard 'detox diets' as less effective than drinking a glass of water, and view 'detox diets' as generally harmless (unless nutritional deficiency results) but a waste of money.

"Detox" diets usually suggest that water, or fruits and vegetables compose a majority of one's food intake. Limiting this to unprocessed (and sometimes also non-GM) foods is often advocated. Eliminating alcohol is also a major factor, and drinking more water is similarly recommended.

Eliminating foods that are hard on metabolism, such as caffeine, alcohol, processed food (incl. any bread), pre-made or canned food, salt, sugar, wheat, red meat, pork, fried and deep fried food, yellow cheese, cream, butter and margarine, shortening, etc., while focusing on pure foods such as raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, raw nuts and seeds, fish, vegetable oils, herbs and herbal teas, water, etc.