Purification Rundown
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The Purification Rundown, known as "The Purif" within Scientology, is a program used by the Church of Scientology which, according to the church, results in detoxification, and was developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard. According to the Church's website, the program is 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." [1] While it is heavily promoted as a health regimen within Scientology, and in Scientology's rehabilitation program Narconon, the procedure is viewed as dangerous by most medical professionals, as it calls for saunas and vitamins far in excess of what medical professionals considers safe levels.[2]
The full procedure is available in the book "Clear Body, Clear Mind".
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[edit] Procedure
The Purification Rundown is usually the first step for a Scientologist towards going "Clear". The program usually takes several weeks. As well as spending time in saunas, Scientologists are required to do light exercise including calisthenics, treadmills, and other similar activities.
The program was originally touted by Hubbard in the 1950s as a way of "curing" radiation burns and giving humans immunity against nuclear radioactivity. These pseudoscientific claims were later minimized by the Church of Scientology, and ultimately erased from books like All About Radiation after Hubbard's death.
The prevalence of drug use, pollution, pesticides, and other similar environmental factors has turned this procedure into a routine part of a pre-clear's auditing program. The process is no longer publicly claimed by the church as a cure for any specific disease or condition, but is characterized as a part of the process of unlocking one's thetan. Scientologists believe that unhandled (untreated) side effects of drugs slow or even stop a person's progress, ability to learn, and spiritual growth.
This program has resulted in controversy for Scientology because of its ties to the religious aspects of the movement. Hubbard promoted the Purification Rundown as a treatment and cure for a great number of physical ailments ranging from drug addiction to radiation contamination. Doctors, scientists, and other members of the medical profession have questioned many of these claims.[2]
Today, Scientology promotes the Purification Rundown to the public as a "detoxification" program, while it also works with allegedly non-religious but Scientology-affiliated groups such as Narconon to offer this program as a treatment for addiction and high levels of stress.
Tom Cruise co-founded a fund-raising initiative at Downtown Medical, which collected charitable donations in order to pay for Purification Rundowns for public-sector employees who had been exposed to toxic chemicals during the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. PR photographs include persons holding up towels soaked through with oddly colored sweat to demonstrate that something good was happening during the program. Some of the fire fighters who have gone through the program now speak in favor of it [3], however others disagree.[4]
The program is not a weight loss program, and a medical doctor's permission is required in advance to start the program. Daily reports monitor the persons condition and progress through the program. The program consists of a course of doses of vitamins (Niacin in particular), long periods in a sauna, exercise, and consumption of a blend of vegetable oils. A normal, healthy diet is maintained throughout the procedure. Doses of vitamins are monitored, and are adjusted during the course of the rundown.
The theory is that toxins, drugs, and radioactive particles are stored in body fat, which are released through the exchange of fats (thus the oil consumption) and exercise, and then finally released via perspiration and other normal mechanisms such as body waste. Independent scientific evaluations report that the concentration of toxins or drugs in the sweat is negligible, as they are primarily removed from the body through the liver, the kidneys and the lungs.[5][6][7] It is also disputed that radioactive particles can be stored in fat in the way claimed by Hubbard.[8] The effects of such high doses of vitamins on the body are also known to pose serious health risks; former members have claimed to have suffered liver damage from the treatment.[2][9]
Scientologists are strongly encouraged to take part in the Purification Rundown, and this controversial physical purification program is seen as a step towards purifying the spirit as well as the body (as Hubbard outlined in his book Clear Body, Clear Mind).
The Purification Rundown requires its participants to ingest the following at regular intervals:
- Niacin, in doses large enough to cause skin irritation or flushing.[2] Scientologists believe this skin reaction is caused by radiation leaving the body. [10]
- Oils, to replace the oils that are sweated out in the sauna.
- "CalMag" a drink consisting of calcium, magnesium water and cider vinegar.
- Plenty of water, salt and potassium, used to replace the fluids and minerals lost in the sauna.
The Church of Scientology claims that the rundown can improve personality and increase IQ by several points.[11]
[edit] Criticisms of the program
Supporters describe the program as a way to remove the "toxins" that build up and are retained in fatty tissues due to the use of narcotics or other substances. While such a notion is marginally true, critics note that such toxins are actually quickly removed from the body through urination, excretion, and even aspiration.[5]
The program also involves putting the subjects into saunas, and administering niacin and other vitamins, along with large quantities of various types of vegetable oil, in the belief that the subject will sweat out the toxins and replace the oils in the body's fatty tissues with the vegetable oil. Dr. James J. Kenney, Ph.D., R.D., a member of the National Council Against Health Fraud claims that this technique does the opposite of what it claims [12]. Medical professionals have stated that the ingesting of large amounts of niacin and other vitamins can cause liver and kidney damage. In particular, niacin is both associated with liver damage at high amounts and is prescribed by Hubbard's ritual at an amount almost three times what the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board deems the daily upper limit for an adult. [2]
In a 1988 report, Dr. Ronald E. Gots, a toxicology expert from Bethesda, Md., called the regimen "quackery," and noted that "no recognized body of toxicologists, no department of occupational medicine, nor any governmental agencies endorse or recommend such treatment."[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ What is the Purification Program?. Basic Facts About the Scientology Religion. Retrieved on 2006-06-21.
- ^ a b c d e Narconon detoxification, a critical view
- ^ a b O'Donnell, Michelle. "Scientologist's Treatments Lure Firefighters", New York Times, 2003-10-04. Retrieved on 2006-09-17.
- ^ "Cruise Blasted by 9/11 Firefighters", World Entertainment News Network, 2005-12-14. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
- ^ a b Board of Mental Health, State of Oklahoma (13 December 1991). "Findings of Fact regarding the Narconon-Chilocco Application For Certification". State of Oklahoma. Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
- ^ Prof. Folke Sjoqvist (26 November 1996). "Expert advice on Narconon given to the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare". Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
- ^ Joseph Mallia (March 3, 1998). "Inside the Church of Scientology: Scientology reaches into schools through Narconon". The Boston Herald.
- ^ Radioactivity in the Body. A Monograph Study of the Health Effects of Radiation and Information Concerning Radioactive Releases from the Hanford Site: 1944-1972. Retrieved on 2006-06-21.
- ^ Geoff Dougherty (March 28, 1999). "Store selling Scientology vitamin regimen raises concerns". St. Petersburg Times.
- ^ All About Radiation, L. Ron Hubbard
- ^ Clear Body Clear Mind - Purification and Life By L. Ron Hubbard
- ^ The Defeat of Street Smarts, Social Control in Scientology, Bob Penny.
[edit] External links
[edit] Scientology sites
- Purification Program - Scientology Purification Rundown Procedure
- Frequently Asked Questions - Answer to FAQs
- Narconon International - Official Narconon website
