Since a healthy body is capable of dealing with quite high levels of toxins the validity of these diets (as with all diets) has been questioned.

• It can also refer to detoxing your mind, as in inner spiritual cleansing.
• Some have even gone so far as writing articles about "detoxing your desk"!

Detoxification

Many drugs including heroin, methadone, prescription pain medications, sedatives, tranquilizers and alcohol can be both psychologically and physically addicting. Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild discomfort to, in some cases, acute life threatening withdrawal.

For people with more severe withdrawal symptoms, detoxification, is the first step of treatment, rehabilitation and recovery form drug and alcohol abuse. In these cases, pharmaceuticals including Naltrexone and Suboxone to often used to medically manage withdrawal symptoms Naltrexone and Suboxone are opiate blockers that help to ease the severity of withdrawal symptoms and reduce medical risk of detoxification from Methadone, Vicodin, Oxycotin, Heroin, etc.

Opiate blockers such as Naltrexone have also been found to be beneficial in treating alcoholism. For less serious withdrawal symptoms, non-medical detox works well and normally require only rest, nourishment and support.

Usually hospitalization is not needed for detoxification. In social model detoxification, detoxification is designed to support clients during withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs and usually lasts from 3-7 days, in a non-hospital setting.

In most programs, detox clients are monitored by qualified, experienced staff 24 hours a day. A staff physician completes a detailed medical history and health examination for each client, and prescribes any necessary detox medications. During the detoxification period, most programs make every effort to engage the client in appropriate treatment and make their withdrawal from alcohol and drugs as comfortable as possible. Medications are administered as necessary to accomplish this goal.