Toxin

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[[File:Doctor performing Botox injection.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Injection for cosmetic purposes of a deadly neurotoxin, Botulinum toxin ([[Botox]]), produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It is considered the deadliest known natural substance ever recorded in the chemical literature]]
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{{cquote|"Toxin" is classic pseudoscience terminology.|||[[Ben Goldacre]], M.D.<ref>[http://skepdic.com/detox.html ''The Sceptic's Dictionary:'' Detoxification therapies]</ref>}}

"'''Toxin'''" is a term commonly thrown around by [[quack]]s, even though they can't tell you what the exact toxin in question is, how it is absorbed or builds up in the body, why no organisms have [[evolved]] methods of disposing of these toxins, or why things like [[The dose makes the poison|dose]], epidemiology, or basic [[chemistry]] don't make any difference to the said toxin's effects.

"Toxin" in the scientific and medical sense refers specifically to a metabolic product of a living organism that has deleterious effects either in itself or in another organism at a sufficient dosage. In [[alternative medicine]] and [[food woo]], "toxin" is not restricted to metabolic products; woo-meisters often use the word to refer to {{wpl|heavy metals}} or to synthetic chemicals (which, if showing any actual toxicity, should correctly be termed "toxicants"). Alternative medicine is often not concerned with whether the dosage is sufficient to cause an actual measurable harmful effect.

Detoxification, more popularly known as [[cleanse]]s, is big business in the alternative medicine world. [[Chelation therapy]] is a more formal&nbsp;— if less popular&nbsp;— quack attempt to remove "toxins", most commonly [[lead]] or [[mercury]], from the patient's body and to extract as much cash as possible from the client's wallet.

If you are unsure if you're dealing with genuine [[Cleanse|detoxification woo]], simply ask the basic kindergarten question: "[[Science|Can you please name the compound in question and explain its mechanism of action?]]". If this question stumps<ref group=note>That is: stumps, or sends into a [[Logical fallacy|fallacy]] spiral, or sends into a [[shill gambit]], or [[NaturalNews|what have you]]. *shudder*</ref> the [[Crank|person in question]], snap a Polaroid for remembrance's sake. It's not every day one brushes up this close to textbook [[woo]].

==General ignorance==
{{main|Ignorance}}
{{cquote|It's an irrational concept, yet an intriguing idea, that modern life so fills us with poisons from [[Pollution|polluted]] air and food additives that we need to be periodically "cleaned out" ("detoxified"). Never mind that natural chemicals in our foods are thousands of times more potent than additives, or that most Americans are healthier, live longer, and can choose from the most healthful food supply ever available.|||Frances M. Berg, M.S.<ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox.html "Detoxification" with Pills and Fasting] by Frances M. Berg (August 15, 1997) ''QuackWatch''.</ref>}}
According to a woo-meister, a toxin is any chemical that doesn't belong in a (usually [[human]]) body, for whatever reason they think it shouldn't be there. However, alternative-medicine promoters usually ignore the following:

* [[Appeal to nature|Appealing to nature]] is not a component of any system of thought that makes even basic sense.
* Bodies of organisms may have ways of either processing or ejecting those chemicals through digestion, basic liver functions, sweating, vomiting, conjugation, Glucuronidation, and a hundred other things (which explains why studying to be a biologist or chemist can't be done over a weekend, e.g. at a firewalk convention in Tampa, Florida).
* Some chemicals, such as formaldehyde (a boogeyman amongst the [[anti-vaccine movement]]), are found in many [[natural]] foods, but are also produced by the bodies of organisms, including humans.
* [[The dose makes the poison]].
* Many "unnatural" (in the sense of not being part of a normal diet) products have no chemical or biological effect from exposure or ingestion. For example, other than displacing [[oxygen]], breathing [[helium]] is harmless at low doses, as it does not react with any part of the body and is exhaled with the next breath.
* The chemistry of living organisms is ''[[Biochemistry|kind of an actual branch of science]]'' and not something that one masters simply from years of wearing sandals and eating ''[[Chlorella]]'' (all-natural pond scum). Even {{wpl|Programmed cell death|purposeful death}} is vital to your very own, individual health (the [[Cancer|lack of it]] being kind of deadly).

==See also==
* [[Appeal to nature]]
* [[Dihydrogen monoxide]]
* [[Detox]]
* [[Food allergy]]
* [[Median lethal dose]]

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category: Toxins| ]]

Categories:  Toxins