Now detoxification has emerged as one of the widely used healing tools in alternative medicine. This school of treatment assumes that most of the internal disorders are the result of accumulation of toxic substances in the body. The healing process through detoxification involves elimination of the existing toxins and blocking new toxins from penetrating the system. Detoxification as a winning method of alternative medicine employs a variety of tools and techniques.

How did the concept originate?
Detoxification as a healing technique has been around for thousands of years. Fasting, which is one of the vital parts of detox method had always been recognized for its great therapeutic values. In many parts of the world, in different cultures, the value of fasting to relieve the body of harmful substances was not unknown. As for example, the Ayurvedic tradition of medicine greatly relies in detox fasting to treat a number of chronic conditions as a well as a preventive measure against many illnesses. In Europe also the value of detox had always been recognized; Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, also recognized the positive effects on health.

Detox as a part of environmental medicine
Today, detoxification serves as the major premise of alternative medicine. It is considered to be an integral part of environmental medicine too. The proponents of environmental medicine are of the opinion that today environmental factors give birth to a number of major illnesses. Environmental medicine also studies how these factors trigger off such diseases. As for example, the conditions of asthma, allergy, cancer, fatigue syndrome, and many other diseases are the direct consequence of the over exposure to toxic substances present in the environment. This view is supported by the report published by The United States Centers for Disease Control that states that over 80% of all illnesses in the USA have been caused by environmental and lifestyle factors.

Because human beings are on the top of the food chains, the problem of environmental pollutions affects the human beings most. Human beings consume toxins both from animal products as well as the plant products as use of chemical pesticides have been detected in both types of produces.

But the detoxification as a tool of alternative medicine has stirred up new hopes among the people all around the world. Detoxification as a treatment of alternative medicine can heal many diseases caused by environmental factors. Detoxification therapy proves to be effective even in such cases where conventional medicines have failed in diagnosis or treatment.