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Check The Facts Before Detoxing Or Adding Supplements To Your Dietary Intake

Check The Facts Before Detoxing Or Adding Supplements To Your Dietary Intake

By Barbara Quinn, The Monterey County Herald (TNS)

Let’s just say it feels very good to get back on track when the holidays are over. Why else would I be checking out the detox tea in my daughter’s cabinet on New Year’s Day?

“Detox” generally refers to the process of removing toxins (poisons and other harmful substances) from the body. And need I mention that we humans have a pretty powerful detoxifying system in place, even without detox tea? The liver is the body’s most dynamic detox unit; it removes harmful substances from our blood and zaps and neutralizes chemicals and other substances (such as alcohol) that would otherwise cause damage. Also partnering with the liver to detoxify our bodies are the kidneys and intestinal (digestive) tract. Keep these organs healthy and they work overtime to protect us from dangerous toxins.

Just for fun though, let’s see what’s in this detox tea that might be good for my holiday overloaded body:

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Sure enough, ground up seeds from this plant might help protect the liver from toxic chemicals and drugs. There is conflicting evidence, however, whether or not milk thistle can actually help heal a liver damaged by excessive alcohol.

Peppermint oil (Mentha piperita). According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), peppermint oil may ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). And herbal combinations of peppermint with milk thistle have been found to relieve heartburn (acid reflux) according to the US National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Dandelion (Taraxacum) Yep, the same plant we dig out of lawns in the summer has been used for hundreds of years to treat upset stomachs and a variety of other health problems. Unfortunately, there is not enough scientific evidence to determine if dandelion is an effective detoxifier.

Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) Fennel seed oil has been shown to be effective in reducing colic symptoms in breast fed babies. Not a lot of evidence for its detoxifying effects, however.

Parsley leaf is an edible green that is high in vitamins A, C and K. It’s also a good source of antioxidant substances that reduce inflammation in the body. Parsley is also high in potassium and phosphorous — nutrients to avoid in excess for some people with kidney disease.

Due diligence is always in order before ingesting any dietary supplement that claims to have a medical benefit. I like to check the evidence from trustworthy sites such as Medline Plus from the National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (nlm.nih.gov) or the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (ods.od.nih.gov).

(Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She is the author of “Quinn-Essential Nutrition” (Westbow Press, 2015). Email her at barbaraquinn88@yahoo.com.)

©2016 The Monterey County Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Judit Klein via Flickr

 

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Obama Administration Limits On Air Toxins

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Obama Administration Limits On Air Toxins

By Neela Banerjee, Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever limits on air toxins, including emissions of mercury, arsenic and acid gases, preserving a far-reaching rule the White House had touted as central to President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that the mercury rule “was substantively and procedurally valid,” turning aside challenges brought both by Republican-led states that had argued the rule was onerous and environmental groups that had contended it did not go far enough.

The EPA welcomed the decision, calling it “a victory for public health and the environment.” Liz Purchia, an agency spokeswoman, said. “These practical and cost-effective standards will save thousands of lives each year, prevent heart and asthma attacks, while slashing emissions of the neurotoxin mercury, which can impair children’s ability to learn.”

Environmentalists also hailed the ruling, which John Walke of the Natural Resources Defense Council called a “sweeping victory” for the EPA. Walke said that the mercury and air toxins rule was arguably the single most “important regulation driving the cleanup of old dirty coal plants.”

The combustion of coal for power generation releases toxins such as mercury into the air. Through precipitation, mercury returns to the earth and changes into a “highly toxic” substance called methylmercury. Methylmercury enters the food chain and contaminates fish that people consume. The chemical is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, who can easily pass the toxin to their fetuses.

The EPA estimates that the mercury and air toxins rule will prevent 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks annually.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons