A cleanse won't detox your body -- but here's what will | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter | TED

Transcriber:

"Should I do a cleanse?"

Translator: Penny Martínez Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

“E se fago unha depuración?”

I hear people asking this question a lot.

A xente faise moito esa pregunta.

If you're hoping it will remove toxins from your body,

Mais se contas con que iso elimine as toxinas do teu corpo,

that's just not going to happen.

pois non vai pasar.

(Music)

(Música)

[Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter]

[Cousas do corpo, coa doutora Jen Gunter]

Detoxes and cleanses are very popular.

As desintoxicacións e as depuracións son moi populares.

They come in many forms,

Hainas en moitos formatos,

from charcoal-infused lemonades to detox teas,

dende limoadas con carbón vexetal ata tés desintoxicantes,

and they often have a hefty price tag.

e adoitan ter un prezo elevado.

The idea of cleansing isn't anything new --

A idea dunha depuración non é nada nova,

it's been around for thousands of years.

leva aquí milleiros de anos.

For centuries, medicine and religion were deeply intertwined,

Durante séculos, a medicina e a relixión estiveron profundamente entrelazadas,

and there was a lot of focus on ridding the body

e centráronse moito en librar o corpo

of impurities and sickness related to bad or imbalanced humors.

de impurezas e doenzas relacionadas con humores malos ou desequilibrados.

Bloodletting, purging, fasting --

As sangrías, as purgas, o xaxún...

they were all well-regarded treatments.

eran tratamentos ben considerados.

Today, the wellness industry

Hoxe en día, a industria do benestar

has picked up on our desire to rid ourselves of things.

detectou o noso desexo de librarnos de cousas.

They've taken the word "detox,"

Tomaron a palabra “desintoxicación”,

the medical treatment for people with drug and alcohol addictions,

o tratamento médico para persoas con drogodependencias e alcolismo,

and used it to apply to market cleanses.

e usárono para aplicarllo a depuracións comerciais.

They make it sound like pouring liquid cleaner down plumbing,

Fan que pareza que verter un limpador líquido polas tubaxes,

getting rid of all the dirty stuff.

te librará de toda a sucidade.

But the reason that sounds right to us

Pero se nos soa ben

is it's a rooted in a lack of understanding

é porque parte da nosa falta de comprensión

of how our liver works.

do funcionamento do fígado.

The liver is located in our upper right abdomen.

O fígado está situado na parte superior dereita do abdome.

It's somewhere around half the size of a football --

É aproximadamente a metade de grande ca un balón

an American football --

de fútbol americano,

and weighs three pounds.

e pesa tres quilos.

It does many, many jobs that keep our bodies running,

E fai unha chea de traballos que manteñen o noso corpo en funcionamento,

from assisting the immune system,

dende axudarlle ao sistema inmunitario

to creating proteins for blood clotting,

ou crear proteínas para coagular o sangue,

to sending out the cholesterol we need to produce hormones.

até enviar o colesterol que precisamos para producir hormonas.

The liver is also a key organ for dealing with harmful substances.

O fígado tamén é un órgano clave para tratar substancias nocivas.

You can think of it almost like a factory.

Podes pensar nel case como nunha fábrica.

It takes nutrients from substances that we consume,

Toma os nutrientes das substancias que consumimos,

food, drinks, medicines,

comida, bebidas e medicamentos

breaks them down

e rómpeos,

so they can either be packaged in a way that's usable --

para podelos empaquetar dun xeito que permita usalos,

like cholesterol and protein, for instance --

como colesterol e proteínas, por exemplo,

or removed as waste in the bile or via the kidneys,

ou elimínaos como residuos na bile ou polos riles,

usually in the form of urine.

normalmente en forma de urina.

Let's look at what happens

Vexamos o que pasa

when the liver encounters some specific substances.

cando o fígado atopa algunhas substancias específicas.

What about alcohol?

Que pasa co alcol?

That’s a substance that’s fine in smaller, moderate amounts

É unha substancia que está ben en doses pequenas e moderadas

but becomes poisonous in excess.

pero vólvese velenoso tomado en exceso.

When we drink, alcohol passes through our liver,

Cando bebes, o alcol pasa polo teu fígado,

and the liver breaks it down in three steps.

que o descompón en tres pasos.

First, enzymes convert the alcohol to acetaldehyde,

Primeiro, os enzimas converten o alcol en acetaldehido,

a substance that can damage cells over time.

que pode danar as células co paso do tempo.

But acetaldehyde is quickly converted into acetate,

Pero o acetaldehido convértese rapidamente en acetato,

a much more stable intermediate,

un intermedio moito máis estable,

before it breaks down into carbon dioxide and water.

antes de descompoñerse en dióxido de carbono e auga.

These are components our body can handle.

Estes son compoñentes que o corpo pode manexar.

Now let's look at a popular cleanse --

Vexamos agora unha depuración popular,

cayenne, pepper, lemon juice drink,

caiena, pementa, e bebida de zume de limón,

to help your liver flush toxins.

para axudarlle ao teu fígado a eliminar as toxinas.

You drink it, it gets digested,

Bébelo e dixírese,

nutrients get absorbed in the blood and arrive at the liver.

e os nutrientes absórbense polo sangue e chegan ao fígado.

The liver processes these nutrients the same way it processes everything else.

O fígado procesa eses nutrientes igual que procesa todo o demais.

It packages whatever's useful that came from the lemon and the pepper

Envasa todo o útil, procedente do limón e da pementa

and disseminates it throughout the body.

e espállao por todo o corpo.

Whatever it can't use becomes waste.

E todo o que non poida usar convértese en residuos.

There's nothing particularly magical about mixing cayenne and lemon.

Non hai nada especialmente máxico nunha mestura de caiena e limón.

Doing a cleanse doesn't "clean the pipes,"

Facer unha depuración non “limpa as tubaxes”,

and it doesn't make your liver work any better or faster.

nin fai que o teu fígado funcione mellor nin máis rápido.

At best, you might lose a few pounds on a cleanse,

Como moito, podes perder algúns quilos coa depuración,

because you aren't eating much.

porque non estás a comer moito.

At worst, you could go into starvation mode.

E no peor dos casos, pódeche entrar a fame.

You could throw off your electrolyte balance,

Poderías perder o equilibrio electrolítico,

not to mention disrupt your intestinal flora and bowel function.

sen mencionar que se pode alterar a flora e as funcións intestinais.

Clearly, having a healthy liver is extremely important.

Está claro que ter un fígado san é extremadamente importante.

The best things you can do: don't smoke,

O mellor que podes facer é: non fumar,

eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly and get lots of sleep,

ter unha dieta equilibrada, facer exercicio regularmente e durmir moito,

but there are some more liver specific things to do.

pero tamén podes facer outras cousas máis específicas.

Don't consume too much alcohol,

Non consumas demasiado alcol,

as it can cause a variety of problems over time,

xa que che pode causar diversos problemas co paso do tempo,

from fatty liver disease to cirrhosis of the liver,

dende fígado graxo até cirrose hepática,

to liver cancer.

ou cancro de fígado.

Read the warning labels on medications

Le os prospectos dos medicamentos,

as some can damage your liver when you don't take them as directed.

xa que algúns poden danar o fígado se non se toman como se indica.

You've probably heard about hepatitis,

Seguro que xa oíches falar da hepatite,

which can be caused by a viral infection of the liver

que pode producirse por unha infección vírica do fígado

that can be very serious.

e chegar a ser moi grave.

Get the vaccine for hepatitis B, if you haven't already.

Vacínate contra a hepatite B, se aínda non o fixeches.

And if you're an adult who hasn't been screened for hepatitis C,

E se es un adulto que non fixeches as probas da hepatite C,

consider talking to your doctor about testing options,

pensa en falar co seu médico sobre as opcións de facelas,

as too many people don't realize they have it.

xa que moita xente non é consciente de que ten esa doenza.

Finally, be careful with supplements and herbs,

Por último, ten coidado cos suplementos e as herbas,

particularly anything marketed as bodybuilding

especialmente con todo o que se comercializa para musculación

or a weight loss supplement,

ou suplementos para adelgazar,

as these are not nearly as well-regulated as you would think.

porque non están tan ben regulados como se cre.

20 percent of liver injury due to medication in the United States

O 20 % das lesións hepáticas causadas por fármacos nos EE. UU.

is actually caused by these kinds of supplements.

provócanas en realidade este tipo de suplementos.

So talk to your doctor before you start them.

Así que fala co teu médico antes de tomalos.

So many things are sold to us as self-care,

Véndennos tantas cousas como autocoidado,

and cleanses are no exception,

que as depuracións non son unha excepción,

but I believe the best self-care is just learning more about our bodies.

pero creo que o mellor autocoidado é aprender máis sobre o noso corpo.

That way, we can tune out all the noise

Deste xeito, podemos eliminar todo o ruído

and make informed decisions on what we really need.

e tomar decisións informadas sobre o que realmente precisamos.