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Yes, the holidays feel like they were about a hundred years ago, but it must still be January since journalists are still writing about dieting and detoxes. In case you hadn't noticed, pills and drinks that claim to rid your organs of toxins, your skin of impurities, and your ass of fat are one of the few thriving areas in the realm of expensive things that nobody needs, and even better for their purveyors, their profit margins are inversely proportionate to the cost of ingredients.

For example, fitness trainer David Kirsch (Heidi Klum's personal trainer!) sells bottles of "24 Hour Detox" lemonade for $24.99. It's made of water, syrup, lemon and cayenne pepper, but it does come in a stylishly-designed bottle, although whether that enhances its turbo-charged cleansing properties is unclear.

For some reason, though, conventional doctors are scornful. "Detoxification critic" Dr. Peter Pressman says that he advises patients "that these detox programs amount to a large quantity of excrement, both literally and figuratively." Sounds to us like a man who's never had to walk in a Victoria's Secret show just weeks after giving birth!

Flush Those Toxins! Eh, Not So Fast [NYT]