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Comment by verisimi | Hacker News Reader

There are alternative explanations - such as the terrain theory.

Eg if you eat something bad, you are sick as your body gets rid of the thing that made you ill. The process of detoxing is similarly, but on a longer timescale. As you accumulate toxins, your body then gets rid of them in ways that we characterise as disease - eg sweating, phlegm, etc.

I think we are all aware of fasting, juicing, etc as other means of detoxing - ie getting rid of accumulated poisons that are in our system. I'm saying fever, etc is a natural system that our bodies undertake to heal ourselves.

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Detoxing is nonsense. A grade school level understanding of liver and kidney function easily shows these ideas as ridiculous. If there were every-day toxins that accumulated in your body, they'd show up in blood serum or tissue samples, but I don't see anyone putting forth these detox "treatments" trying to even research that. Very few things like PFAS chemicals and heavy metals linger in human bodies, that's the who function of the liver, to filter out and dispose of random detritus you body can't use.

* Edit: This is straight up germ theory denialism and utter bullshit.

So - you can eat whatever you like, treat your body how you like, but that doesn't matter? Its all about the germs.

Why do people believe it is good to say organic food or pure water? If tap water and cheap food is safe, those decisions are nonsense and financially costly.

Your view in the opposite then, is that people should eat cheap food/water as it makes better sense. Disease is mainly due to the germs, and not really to do with the decisions you make re foods and lifestyle.

> Why do people believe it is good to say organic food or pure water?

A substantial portion of that answer is "ignorance plus marketing". People believe in ghosts for similar reasons.

> If tap water and cheap food is safe, those decisions are nonsense and financially costly.

Yes, they are.

"ignorance plus marketing"

I do see what you say - I would say that this is the generally accepted common sense view.

Still, I am skeptic. This means I don't trust what I am told - I only accept as knowledge that which I verify myself.

So here, with food, I get an opportunity to verify what I eat etc - it is anecdotal - but anecdotal is king for me. So, in my anecdotal experience, terrain is at least plausible.

On the other hand, asking me to believe in viruses (that I cannot see) is a bigger ask. I do believe in fungi and bacteria - I can see something of these, but I have never seen a virus.

I am being genuine and honest with you - I really am an (extreme) skeptic. Why should I change my mind and start believing in something I cannot see. I know people lie (often unintentionally) and I know that corporations seek to make profit from people's ignorance - the pharmaceutical industry is no exception. They are all about making money - like every other corporation.

The problem I have is that people are expected to believe corporate information that cannot be verified, over their own personal experience that can be verified.

Do you see my problem? That as far as I can tell, it is pharmaceuticals that would seek to exploit people's ignorance with marketing? No doubt organic food producers are doing the same, but their marketing budget will be tiny in comparison to the heft of big pharma.

> On the other hand, asking me to believe in viruses (that I cannot see) is a bigger ask. I do believe in fungi and bacteria - I can see something of these, but I have never seen a virus.

But you’re worried about stuff in tap water you can’t see? We can’t see lead or arsenic in polluted water, but it’s there.

I can taste bleach etc, and I know it is not as tasty as natural water from a spring.

But can you answer my question. Do you see my problem?

It's a fair position is it not? That I trust my experience over corporations or government agencies assurances.

There are all sorts of invisible things you can't taste that will still kill you.

"Things I can't see don't exist" is not a "fair position", no.

I didn't say they don't exist.

To be clear, I haven't been able to verify the existence of viruses. I'm not so trusting that I accept the statements of corporations or governments (which are 2 sides of the same coin IMO).

But I'm fine with people having different opinions.

All the best.

> So - you can eat whatever you like, treat your body how you like, but that doesn't matter?

No, not at all. You can give yourself diabetes, become obese, or increase your risk of cancer. You need certain nutrients, and too much sugar is pretty bad for you. That isn't the same thing as getting the flu, which is a demonstrable infectious disease.

> Why do people believe it is good to say organic food or pure water?

Organic food is nonsense. Tap water in the developed world is safer than bottled water.

> Your view in the opposite then, is that people should eat cheap food/water as it makes better sense. Disease is mainly due to the germs, and not really to do with the decisions you make re foods and lifestyle.

Not at all. I'm stating that things like terrain theory are bullshit. Of course eating like shit will make you sick, but not because of "toxins".

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