Hello, I'm Monica Reinagel, and you're listening to the Nutrition Diva

podcast. Welcome. Each week I tackle a new piece of research or a recent trend or often a listener question

and try to sort through some of the confusion and boil it all down into practical tips that you can use to

eat better and be healthier.

And this week's show addresses a terrific question I got from Jean, who wrote. I've read that toxic chemicals get stored in our

fat cells and that when you lose weight these are released into your body.

But all the sources that I can find are companies that are selling detox products.

Is there any truth to this claim or is this just another scam to separate us from our hard-earned

money? Before we dig in here, us from our hard-earned money.

Before we dig in here, let's just talk for a minute about this word toxin.

For most people, the word suggests things like synthetic pesticides or cleaning chemicals

which ironically are not technically toxins at all.

Strictly speaking a toxin is a poisonous substance that's produced either by a plant, an animal, or a microorganism, such as venom from a snake or the bacterial toxin that causes botulism.

In the popular lingo, however, the word toxin is often used to describe any compound

that might have any negative effect on your health.

But the first rule of toxicology

is that the dose makes the poison.

Substances that may be harmful or toxic at high rates of exposure may be completely harmless

or even beneficial at low doses.

And virtually any substance, including water, can be harmful or toxic if consumed in

sufficient quantities.

So whenever you see that word toxin or toxic, be sure to ask whether the amount that you're likely to be exposed to has actually

...