Even though this article is about the Kriminal Kult of $cientology's
propgram, it is, nonetheless, a good article, since it contains this:

"To begin with, let's take a closer look at the regimen itself. The central
premise??"as codified by the late L. Ron Hubbard and repeated to me, almost
verbatim, by Dr. A. Kwabena Nyamekye, the associate medical director of the
downtown clinic??"is as follows: Toxic substances (including pollutants,
pesticides, and various pharmaceuticals) are stored largely in the body's
fatty tissues. Detoxification is thus made possible by "mobilizing" fat
reserves??"that is, by releasing portions of stored fat that contain
dissolved toxins??"into the bloodstream, and then eliminating these toxins,
mainly through sweating. In order to "unleash" fats, participants take
increasing doses of niacin (up to a whopping 3,500 mg to 5,000 mg per day),
along with other vitamins and minerals such as calcium and magnesium. They
ingest two daily tablespoonfuls of oil (a blend of soy, walnut, peanut,
safflower, and evening primrose oils) to replace the fats that have been
mobilized and to maintain weight: Advocates are clear that weight-loss is
not to occur. Participants also spend a half an hour jogging, followed by
two-and-a-half to five hours in a sauna (while drinking ample water), to
eliminate contaminants through sweat. The program generally runs seven days
a week for three to four weeks, or until the patient no longer "feels the
effects of past drugs or chemicals" and reports a "marked resurgence of
overall sense of well-being." That is the model regimen, at least.

Some favorable articles have been written about this approach by apparently
well-credentialed physicians. However, according to James Dillard, an
assistant clinical professor at Columbia University College of Physicians
and Surgeons and clinical director of Columbia's Rosenthal Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine, there is a "disconnect" between the
studies described in many of these articles and the conclusions presented.
The studies themselves typically lack adequate sample sizes, well-matched
control groups, randomization, and other basic elements of experimental
design; Dillard calls them "anecdotal," at best. (And some report
particularly peculiar findings; according to this study, after roughly three
weeks of detox, program participants' IQ scores rose by an average of 6.7
points.)

A number of well-credentialed doctors also sharply criticize the scientific
reasoning offered by Hubbard supporters. (This article focuses on Nyamekye
and Hubbard's interpretation, but for other theories about how the program
works, click here.) Consider first how the regimen purports to mobilize fat
reserves. While it is possible to release stored fat through weight loss,
the specific emphasis on weight maintenance??"and the daily spoonfuls of
oil??"make it unlikely that significant reserves will be broken down. The
use of niacin, too, is open to significant question. Robert Knopp, professor
of medicine and director of the Northwest Lipid Research Clinic at the
University of Washington, says that niacin is often used clinically (in
doses of 1,000 mg to 3,000 mg) to lower patients' blood-lipid levels??"the
very opposite of what the Hubbard method seeks to achieve. Dr. Knopp adds
that at doses above 3,000 mg there is a real risk of niacin
toxicity??"particularly of liver damage. To prescribe such high doses for
any reason is "totally irrational and dangerous," said Knopp.

Furthermore, the assumption that virtually any toxin can be eliminated
effectively through sweat is also questionable. The dust at Ground Zero
contained a wide array of poisons, including lead, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and asbestos, in addition
to pulverized cement and glass. Some doctors do argue that small quantities
of metals, including lead, may be released in sweat. Larger, lipid-soluble
toxins such as PCBs, PAHs, and dioxins, however, are generally not
eliminated this way, in part because sweat is a water-based medium. (It may
be possible to detect traces of fat-soluble toxins in skin oils, though this
does not mean that bulk quantities of these substances are removed by this
route.) And certainly asbestos, which lodges in the delicate tissue of the
lungs, cannot be removed by heavy sweating. Indeed, even Keith Miller,
spokesman for the New York Rescue Workers Detox project and a long-time
Scientologist, concedes that the regimen was never meant to address toxins
or irritants in the lungs or to help patients with respiratory
problems??"the complaints most prevalent among former rescue workers.

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Just another example of the Kriminal Kult trying to get in on the gravy
train.