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Nutritional Hexes (mander.xyz)

submitted 2 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] nickiwest@lemmy.world 1 points 20 hours ago

But what "cleanse" does anything for those? The MAHA Moms and podcast bros aren't talking up chelation therapy.

I think the point still stands that anyone selling you a way to rid your body of "toxins" is a charlatan.

[-] 1dalm@lemmy.today 1 points 19 hours ago

I'm an environmental engineer and environmental scientist and I specialize in industrial hazmat waste issues, but I recognize even I'm a bit out of my professional lane on this.

But if you were to identify specific "toxins" that you are interested in "cleansing" there are often methods to do that. But first, I would recommend talking to a health professional. And those cleanses are going to vary significantly based on the toxin of interest.

But your best general "cleanse" is to eat more green leafy vegetables and exercise regularly. And feel free to drink a 4oz glass of milk a couple times a week.

[-] nickiwest@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

I think we're talking past each other here.

The original post is talking about people with "a systemized non-scientific theory of anatomy and nutrition."

The comment that we're responding to says,

Anyone talking about "toxins" and "waste products" as if they're 'stuck' in your body is either very ignorant, or trying to sell you snake oil. Probably both."

The people who blog about "toxins," as a generalized word without a specific meaning that could reasonably be replaced with "evil ghosts" in a sentence, are not interested in listening to doctors or scientists. They are "health" influencers on par with the current US secretary of Health and Human Services. I specifically called them "MAHA moms" in my previous comment for this reason.

I would hope that all reasonably educated people recognize that there are actual toxic substances that our bodies absorb that are harmful to us. But anyone who is identifying a specific toxin, much less a medically appropriate treatment plan for removing it, is leagues away from the snake-oil peddlers this post is talking about.

If you have not encountered these charlatans, more power to you. They used to be relegated to specific corners of the internet, but they're becoming more mainstream with help from powerful figures in Washington.

I, unfortunately, had a loved one who followed some of these influencers with deadly effects. It turns out that juice cleanses and energy healing can't cure cancer.

[-] 1dalm@lemmy.today 1 points 12 hours ago

There are several problems with the charlatans.

if you haven't taken a science class since high school, then their advice often right. I'm amazed at how quickly the medical pseudo-science that flipped politically in my life time. I was raised in a deep red conservative Christian community and I don't remember anti-vaccines ever being a thing for my community (we definitely had our issues, just not that one). The medical pseudo-science thing back then was firmly in the far left liberal sphere. The anti-vaxx movement was a hippy-liberal thing. (I'm not really sure when that flipped.)
The medical industry -including academia- is very much at fault in burning trust. There are many instances of the medical industry intentionally withholding treatments because a different treatment made them more money. Or doctors over prescribing in order to charge insurance companies more money.
A lot of what RFK jr says. Starts off good. He's all like "Hey, we medicate too much. We should all focus on eating healthier and exercising. That's what the government should encourage." And even I'm like, "Yeah, okay. I agree." Then he goes on to say "And that why you should shove a bowling ball up your butt." That's when he loses me.