Detox products misleading - report

5 January 2009 12:08am

Consumers are being misled into believing "detox" products actually work despite a lack of scientific evidence, a report has said.

No two companies use the same definition of "detox" and their claims are "meaningless", it said.

The study was complied by Voice of Young Science (VoYS), an organisation representing more than 300 PhD and post-doctorate students working in science.

It found that while manufacturers used the word "detox" to "promote everything from foot patches to hair straighteners", they were unable to provide reliable evidence or consistent explanations of what the "detox" process actually means.

The authors contacted a number of manufacturers and retailers to ask them about claims for their products, including the Boots 5-Day Detox Plan and Garnier's Clean Detox Anti-Dullness Foaming Gel.

The authors said firms admitted in many cases they were re-naming things like cleaning or brushing as items for "detox".

But, they argued in the report, "detox" has no meaning outside of clinical treatment for drug addiction or poisoning.

The study comes soon after the British Dietetic Association, which represents 6,000 dieticians across Britain, said there was no "potion or lotion" which could "magically" rid the body of chemicals.

The idea that dangerous toxins build up in the body was also dismissed by the health experts, who said the body was more than capable of cleaning itself.

The report was written by scientists including physiologists, biochemists, doctors and pharmacists.

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