Q My sister is trying to get me to do a "detox diet." Is it safe? — R.G., Ayden

A We don't generally teach "detox diets" since the body has a wonderful system for ridding itself of waste, and there is no scientific evidence that any of the popular detox diets work. I asked Dr. Amimi Osayande, a family physician, to tell us what she knows about these procedures. Osayande trained at East Carolina University and is on her way to a faculty position in Texas. Here is what she thinks.

Detoxification is the removal of accumulated toxins and their effects from the body. Many people sincerely believe that their intestines, colon and blood stream are clogged with undigested food toxins and poisons. A person who retained wastes and toxins would be very ill and could die if not treated. The body's own finely tuned detox apparatus — the GI tract, liver, kidneys and immune system — handily neutralize and remove toxins.

Toxins are compounds that have a detrimental effect on the cell function or structure. Conventional Western medicine does not generally endorse the concept of detoxification on a routine basis (except in instances of obvious chemical or heavy-metal poisoning) due to lack of available evidence to support their use.

It is interesting that many newly health-conscious people are interested in these diets to relieve symptoms like headaches, depression and also joint pains. Others "detoxify" their bodies in an effort to facilitate increased elimination of waste and for weight loss.

The experts suggest that there is no need for these diets since our bodies can take care of the waste. For example, the skin provides a barrier against harmful substances. The liver acts as the body's filter, producing enzymes that neutralize harmful substances to prepare them for elimination by the kidneys and the intestines, which contain lymph nodes that screen out parasites and other foreign substances before nutrients are absorbed from the intestines into the blood. The kidneys filter out all waste substances produced and move them out of the body.

I searched the conventional Western literature and found no evidence for safety or effectiveness. In the alternative literature, experts suggest that the way we process and package our foods has introduced new substances into the body that it doesn't know how to handle.

Alternative health providers do recommend a variety of procedures to detoxify including fasting, using kits for intestinal cleansing, nasal irrigation, foot detoxification and following diets like macrobiotic diet or rotation or master cleanse diet therapy. The process of detoxification has been used by other cultures, especially in Chinese Ayurveda medicine and by Native Americans utilizing herbs, spices and roots.

Eating foods such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, oranges and tangerines are thought to stimulate production and release of the liver enzymes responsible for the natural process that occurs in the body.

There is a commercial product favored by some Hollywood celebrities. The users are told to use a 60-ounce mix of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper thoroughout the day for 10 days. They also flush with a cup of laxative tea in the evening. Obviously, a person following this regimen is not getting their optimal nutrition for those 10 days.

These types of programs are unlikely to harm a healthy adult if followed for only a few days.

I would certainly recommend that a person with diabetes, kidney disease or cancer or a person taking blood-thinning medicine talk with their family doctor about the risks and benefits of "detoxing."

Professor Kathy Kolasa, a registered dietitian and Ph.D., works with the Family Medicine Center, Brody School of Medicine at ECU. Contact her at kolasaka@ecu.edu, or C/O The Daily Reflector, P.O. Box 1967, Greenville, NC 27835.