''Clear Body, Clear Mind'' is a

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...

book published in 1990 by the Church of Scientology's publishing house Bridge Publications. It is credited to

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

who died four years earlier, and is largely a compilation of material he wrote in the 1960s. It is one of the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

texts of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

and mainly deals with the

Purification Rundown The Purification Rundown, also known as the Purif or the Hubbard Method, is a detoxification program which involves heat exposure for up to 5 hours a day and can exceed 4 weeks in length. It was developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard a ...

("Purif"). Scientologists believe this "detoxification" program, created by Hubbard, has unique medical and spiritual benefits, but has been criticized by medical professionals as "dangerous", "quackery," and "in some cases lethal".

Purification Rundown

The Purif consists of a "combination of exercise, vitamins, nutrition and sauna use," which purportedly "dislodges drug residues and other toxins from the fatty tissues so that these substances can then be eliminated from the body." Scientologists are expected to take the Purif as part of their spiritual progress, and it is also promoted in secular contexts via Scientology-related groups including

Narconon Narconon International (commonly known as Narconon) is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Li ...

Criminon Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part o ...

and Second Chance. It is promoted as a cure for conditions including

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, AIDS,

heart problems Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the si ...

and

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

. The procedure is viewed as dangerous by many medical professionals, as it calls for saunas and vitamins far in excess of safe levels. Side effects listed by Scientology include

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

, electrolyte disturbances including

hyponatremia Hyponatremia or hyponatraemia is a low concentration of sodium in the blood. It is generally defined as a sodium concentration of less than 135 mmol/L (135 mEq/L), with severe hyponatremia being below 120 mEq/L. Symptoms can be a ...

(low sodium level) &

hypokalemia Hypokalemia is a low level of potassium (K+) in the blood serum. Mild low potassium does not typically cause symptoms. Symptoms may include feeling tired, leg cramps, weakness, and constipation. Low potassium also increases the risk of an abno ...

(low potassium level), and heat-related illnesses. Some families have sued the Church of Scientology, claiming that the Purif was responsible for the death of a relative.

Medical claims

''Clear Body, Clear Mind'' includes a disclaimer to the effect that the Purification Rundown is not a medical treatment and that it should not be read as making medical claims. However, in their Introduction to the book, David Root M.D. and James Barnes write:

L. Ron Hubbard's Purification program remains the only proven and safe method for reducing or eliminating chemical residues from the body. It has been used to alleviate the symptoms and concerns of people exposed to radiation. With each year, the importance of this discovery to every man, woman and child on this planet becomes more evident.

Hubbard claims to have been the discoverer of the " acid flashback" phenomenon, in which

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

is said to lodge itself in tissues and re-enter the bloodstream years later. He claims to have made this discovery "In the 1970s, working with cases of individuals who had been drug users". (pg. 23, 1990 hardcover edition) Scientology's official website says of the book:

"Pesticides, solar radiation, drug and environmental toxins have become increasingly pervasive in today's society. They damage not just your health, but your personality and your ability to think clearly. ''Clear Body, Clear Mind -'The Effective Purification Program, by L. Ron Hubbard, details his groundbreaking discoveries in this field. Discover the world's only all-natural, proven program to eliminate drug and toxic residues lodged in the fatty tissues of your body. Over 250,000 have done this program with spectacular success.

The claim of "Over 250,000" successes drew censure from the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom), Advertising Standards Authority. The figure was a count of everyone who had completed the program, including people whose "drug" exposure was infrequent use of alcoholic drinks or prescription drugs. A 1995 review of the book at a medical conference described the mega-doses of niacin as inappropriate, especially since they cause the release of

histamine Histamine is an organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses, as well as regulating physiological functions in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter for the brain, spinal cord, and uterus. Since histamine was discovered ...

, which is counterproductive when dealing with chemical sensitivity.Kurt, T. (1995) "Sauna-Depuration: Toxicokinetics" presentation at 2nd Aspen Environmental Medicine Conference. Aspen, Colorado, September 7–9. cited in

Related books

In ''

All About Radiation ''All About Radiation'' is one of the books by L. Ron Hubbard that form the canonical texts of Scientology, although it is no longer promoted by the Church of Scientology nor included in their "Basics" book canon. Its first printing was from HASI ( ...

'', Hubbard (1957) sets out his idiosyncratic theories of radiation, including the idea that large doses of vitamins could both alleviate and prevent radiation sickness. ''Purification: An Illustrated Answer To Drugs'' (New Era Publications, 1984. ) is an earlier, illustrated explanation of the Purification Rundown. Another illustrated book, ''Narconon New Life Detoxification Program: the effective purification program by L. Ron Hubbard.'' (Bridge Publications, 1991. ) is listed as based on ''Clear Body, Clear Mind''.

Notes

References

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External links

Publishers' sites

www.clearbodyclearmind.com
Official Site.
www.asdegasdgasdcasdgt4.org
International Academy of Detoxification Specialists.
www.chernobyl.info
Tschernobyl - Information Detoxification Program.

Critical sites

Stop Narconon
Critical commentary on the book's introduction by Dr Dave Touretzky {{Scientology Books published by the Church of Scientology 1990 books Works by L. Ron Hubbard Alternative detoxification Books published posthumously Pseudoscience