Joyce Jiang, a young professional woman in Hong Kong, sat down with her friends in a restaurant one evening. But instead of ordering a meal, she took out a bottle of juice. “I can’t eat anything,” she said. “I’m doing a detox and it’s my third day — two more days to go.”

Joyce•江（音譯）一位香港年輕白領，某晚她和朋友來到一家餐廳聚餐。但是她并未點餐而是拿出一瓶果汁。“我什么也不能吃，”她說，“今天是我排毒的第三天，還有兩天才大功告成。”

Juicing, a trend originating from the US, is starting to attract health-conscious middle-class Chinese. But it’s not for losing weight. They consume nothing except fruit and vegetable juice for days or even weeks, with the intention of cleansing their bodies of toxins that have accumulated over the years.

果汁排毒這種健康風潮起源于美國，如今正受到追求健康的中國中產階層人士的青睞。但是這并不是一種減肥方法。他們會一連數日、甚至幾周的時間只喝果蔬汁，為的是要清除多年來囤積在體內的毒素。

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that detoxing and cleansing has become a big industry in the US with celebrity endorsers and millions of dollars in venture capital funds. Carrying a bottle of juice has become a status symbol in fitness circles.

《華爾街日報》近日刊登文章指出，在美國排毒凈化已經成為一項極具規模的產業，各界名流爭相為其代言，并拉來上百萬美元的風投資金。在健身界，隨身攜帶一瓶果汁已經成為一種社會地位的象征。

But can such detox regimens really flush out toxins from our bodies? As The Wall Street Journal article points out, the question we should be asking is: Are our bodies really overwhelmed with toxins?

但是這種排毒法真的能夠清除體內毒素嗎？這篇發表在《華爾街日報》上的文章指出，我們應該弄清楚的問題是：我們體內真的充滿了毒素嗎？

First of all, what are toxins? “Nobody has ever been able to tell me what these toxins are,” Donald Hensrud, a nutrition specialist told The Wall Street Journal.

首先要說的是，什么是毒素？營養專家唐納德•韓思魯德在接受《華爾街日報》采訪時表示：“到目前為止，還沒有人能夠告訴我，這些毒素到底是什么。”

In a comment piece on juicing hype in the US, Katy Waldman, a staff writer for Slate magazine, also declared that after days of research she still didn’t know what a toxin was.

而美國《石板》雜志特約撰稿人凱迪•瓦爾德曼也在一篇探討果汁排毒炒作的評論文章中指出，經過幾天的研究過后，她還是沒有弄清毒素是什么。

Detox advocates define “toxins” very broadly. Mark Hyman, a US physician and author of six best-selling diet books, told The Wall Street Journal that the biggest toxic threats come from the American diet. According to Hyman, Americans eat too much sugar and flour, which overwhelms the liver’s ability to cope.

排毒擁躉們對毒素的定義太寬泛。身為六本暢銷節食書作者的馬可•海曼醫師在接受《華爾街日報》采訪時表示，最大的毒素威脅來源于美式飲食本身。海曼醫師指出，美國人過量攝入了糖和面粉，致使肝臟不堪重負。

Hyman says Americans are also being plagued by heavy metals (including mercury from large fish), harmful chemicals, as well as “spiritual toxins”, such as loneliness. He says people can reduce their exposure to and enhance their ability to get rid of such toxins with the right balance of foods, vitamins and minerals.

他提到，美國人同樣深受重金屬（包括大型魚類中所含的汞）、有害化學成分以及孤獨等“精神毒素”的侵害。他表示，人們可以通過減少與這些毒素的接觸，以及保持飲食、維他命和礦物質的均衡攝入，進而到達增強自身排毒能力的目的。

But even Hyman concedes further research is needed to better understand the mechanism of a detox.

海曼也承認需要通過進一步的研究才能更好地弄清排毒方法。

Eating more vegetables is great, as some detox regimens ask people to do. But many mainstream experts dismiss the detox claims as pseudoscience. They argue that humans already have a highly efficient system for filtering out most harmful substances.

一些排毒養生法倡導人們多吃蔬菜，這的確對健康大有益處。但是很多主流權威專家并不承認排毒這一說法，稱其為偽科學。他們認為人類自身已經具備一套高效的排毒過濾系統。

“The whole cleansing concept is silly,” Elizabeth Applegate, a senior lecturer in the nutrition department at the University of California, Davis, told Slate magazine. “The body doesn’t need any help getting rid of compounds it doesn’t want. That’s what your liver and kidneys are for.”

“整個排毒凈化理念根本就是無稽之談。”加州大學戴維斯分校營養學系高級講師伊麗莎白•艾伯蓋特在接受《石板》雜志采訪時表示。“不用借助任何外力的幫助，人體便能清除那些無用的化合物。這就是肝和腎的功能。”

What about the psychological benefits some detox proponents claim to have? They say it gives them a sharp mind and makes them feel happy and see things more clearly.

那么一些排毒擁躉們口中的心理益處指的是什么呢？他們稱排毒還給他們一個清醒的頭腦，令他們更開心，看事物也更清晰。

“Placebo effect,” Applegate said. “It’s a survival mechanism. You’re all amped up and alert because you need something to eat.”

艾伯蓋特說：“這是安慰劑效應。其實就是一種生存機制，在你需要食物時，就會興奮和警醒起來。”