Ben Goldacre of badscience.net has put together some lively sketches for his ‘theatre of goo’ in Bad Science.(a) I am guiltily fascinated by the preoccupation with detox. If past generations in the UK were overly interested in their bowels, the present day obsession seems to be detox rituals that have a strongly religious flavour. The question behind many articles takes the form, ‘if we repent and admit that we are powerless to control our fondness for lattes, chocolate and alcohol, can we trust in the power of detox and be shriven of our excesses’?
Goldacre seems to have a sneaking admiration for the business skills of the modern day pardoners who have persuaded mainstream media that contemporary life is poisoning us but they have the secret to inner purity.
The detox phenomenon is interesting because it represents one of the most grandiose innovations of marketers, lifestyle gurus, and alternative therapists: the invention of a whole new physiological process. In terms of basic human biochemistry, detox is a meaningless concept…There is nothing on ‘the detox system’ in a medical textbook. That burgers and beer can have negative effects on your body is certainly true, for a number of reasons; but the notion that they leave a specific residue, which can be extruded by a specific process, a physiological system called detox, is a marketing invention. [pg 10, Bad Science]
Goldacre’s write up of the Aqua Detox foot spa applauds the ingenuity of the promoters (other brands are available). The detox exorcism lite with water, salt, magical forces and mysterious processes is disappointingly amenable to rational explanations. The salty-water and iron electrodes set-up naturally produces rusty water and chlorine gas as by-products, the gas is woven into the promotional and convincer patter as evidence of both efficacy of the detox mechanism (you can smell it because the toxins are being released) and a convincer that you were full of dangerous poisons. This is despite the fact that you could dunk the Cullinan diamonds in the footbath and still end up with eyes smarting from the chlorine gas.
In January 2007, BBC Watchdog revealed that Aqua Detox is aware that their usual marketing claims are without foundation. In a secretly recorded phone call with Watchdog,
one of its salesmen admitted the company used to believe the toxins made the water turn brown, but now it doesn’t…
The company still claims the machine will get rid of your toxins, but not over the course of the 30-minute session. It now says it’ll kick start your body’s natural immune system, and toxins will be released over the course of a few days.
Yet, there seems to be little attempt to re-educate the holistic therapists and entrepreneurs who buy their product with the intention of using it to sell detox sessions or technology to the public. Because these people know their market so well, the fundamental shift in the company’s account of how the detox action works seems to have gone largely unnoticed and unremarked.
Dr Mary Staggs is credited with developing the contemporary and sophisticated version of the detoxing ionic footspa and introducing it to Europe. Following the critical media coverage, Staggs derided those whose ignorance of chemistry and medicine had caused them to mislead the credulous public about the significance of the colour change in the water.
[T]hat the water changes colour is not what we should be focussing on. This aspect is only of interest to those who do not actually understand the concept of chemistry and physics or the real function of the machine. They also do not understand medicine and so are using the change in water colour to impress the general public and to spin a line to make a sale. I’ve seen people gasp when they see the water changing colour around their feet but that’s largely because they are not being told the real reason why this is happening.
Staggs gives some reasonable explanations of the true origins of the rusty-coloured water and contaminants that would have most readers nodding in agreement. But then, from the credentialled bastion of her correspondence course qualifications in naturopathy, Staggs issues the definitive explanation for the device’s clinical efficacy. Apparently, the detoxing footspa releases bio-energetic blockages and thus stimulates auto-detoxification. Its mechanism of action relies upon: the “memory phenomenon” of water and homeopathy; reflex points and meridians from Chinese Medicine; electro-magnetism; integration of the bio-energy fields; kinesiology and Contact Reflex Analysis.(b) Test that if you can, Doubting Thomases.
The ASA has upheld several complaints about detox footbaths. Entertainingly, in February 2007, the ASA upheld a complaint against one firm for its unsubstantiated clinical and detoxing claims for its salt water footbath, the BioEnergiser D-tox Spa; part of that complaint was lodged by Aqua Detox International Ltd…
One of the most disturbing aspects to the story of the magical detoxing machine was learning that presumably sensible healthcare professionals were offering this intervention in good faith. July 2004, Galen Ives wrote a letter to New Scientist, reporting that he had been offered a course of this treatment by his physiotherapist. The footbath is still being promoted vigorously on the basis of its science, and exciting infra-red photos and gas discharge visualisation system images; a UK website brags “Used by Doctors & Hospitals” and names Dr Mark Draper as a physician who not only endorses the product but provides a testimonial.
BBC Watchdog, Goldacre and others have exposed the nonsense at the heart of the ionising detox footbath and accounted for the sludgy colour and chemical smells that it generates(c): photographs and experimental set-ups seem to have been available since 2003, if not earlier. Despite this, the narrative of detox is so beguiling and theatrical that detox foot baths are still doing strong business: rational explanations don’t seem to be convincing for those who believe that they need to be cleansed in this way.
Detox was recorded as a clipped form for detoxification in the OED as early as 1970. But detox retained a typically medical usage for some time and was typically restricted to discussions of addiction and rehabilitation facilities.
Media advertise and promote the lusciousness of food and a particular lifestyle. Media attempt to shame people for the consequences of indulging in this food and lifestyle. Media advertise solutions in the form of rituals, different foods and even surgery.
For many reasons, perhaps a belief in the toxic nature of modern life is a useful metaphor for people who believe in detox and derive some catharsis from the theatrical and quasi-religious trappings. Appearing to ooze brown goo into water is less showy than shaking, spinning heads and howling in tongues, but still dramatic. Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
Notes
(a) See standard preamble for discussions of the book.
(b) One might wonder why ayurvedic medicine is spurned and seems to be one of the few systems that isn’t included in this explanation; presumably, there just isn’t enough about ‘energy medicine’ in ayurvedic literature. Part of Stagg’s explanation.
Water is, of course, very fluid and has the ability to alter molecules in the presence of certain solutes and energies, which can also be referred to as ‘memory’. It is precisely this principle that is used in homeopathy in the preparation of homeopathic remedies in different potencies. They dissolve to such an extent that there no longer appears to be molecules of solute present. It is this memory phenomenon that explains the clinical action.
When we introduce our feet into the Ionic Footbath water, our body fluids are actually connecting with the water. When we cause an electrical current between the two electrodes of the array, the water becomes the main conductor. This current in some way propagates with our own water. We must also remember that on the soles of our feet we can find a large number of reflex points that correspond to specific organs or certain parts of our body (this is the principle of reflexology). Also…the beginning of the meridian flow lines that have been outlined…in Chinese medicine…Therefore, any kind of stimuli – be it mechanical, luminous, electromagnetic or simply electric – in one way or another causes a reaction in each bodily system, organ or corresponding body area reflected on the sole of the feet…
…What actually happens is bio-stimulation which restores energy and balance, eases tension in certain areas, and re-establishes energies previously blocked. This then helps the body’s organs to function correctly. In other words, by recharging the batteries, each organ can get back to its optimum efficiency…
We have carried out experiments and investigations using biochemical tests, bacterial cultures and quantitative water tests, as well as explorations with a GDV camera, a thermo camera and other types of equipment to measure the changes in the energetic field of corresponding meridian and acupuncture points, kinesiology and Contact Reflex Analysis.
(c) Although some of the marketing material has changed to reflect a re-interpretation of the scientific basis for these electrical pardoners, it’s unfortunate that the manufacturers didn’t take the opportunity to re-design the machine with non-corrosive electrodes. They might even have tested whether the salt was really necessary to the process (given that the rust leads to dire and unintentional misunderstandings).
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Tags: Aqua Detox, Bad Science, Ben Goldacre, CAM, complementary and alternative medicine, detox, ionic footbath, Mary Staggs, pseudoscience
