Is it true that crying can eliminate toxins from the body?

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"Shedding tears can expel toxins from the body?"

In the past, people believed that when the human body cries because of negative emotions, it will produce some harmful substances, and tears can excrete these harmful substances, which is the so-called detoxification.

Rumor Analysis

That is not the case.

Tears are mainly a complex mixture of proteins, lipids, metabolites and electrolytes. There are no so-called "toxins". The main function of tears is to moisturize the eyeball, keep the ocular surface healthy, and provide some nutrients and oxygen to the cornea. In the past, people believed that when the human body cries due to negative emotions, some harmful substances will be produced in the body, and tears can expel these harmful substances, which is the so-called detoxification. So, is this really the case? First, we need to understand the types of tears.

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Types of tears

Humans are not the only animals that shed tears, but they are unique in the variety of tear types. Human tears can be divided into three categories: basic, emotional, and reflexive.

1. Basic type

Basal tears are the earliest type of tears formed by humans. They appear as early as our fetal period. Their main function is to lubricate the eyeball and maintain the normal function of the cornea and vision. Whether we open our eyes or close them, the lacrimal glands will secrete this type of tears to keep the overall condition of the eyeball in good condition. In addition to keeping the eyeball moist, basal tears also have the function of flushing foreign matter and irritants when the surface of the eyeball is contaminated with foreign matter or invaded by pathogens. Although we usually cannot feel its presence, once it disappears, we will feel dry and uncomfortable eyes, and the eyeball will lose the ability to resist the invasion of pathogens.

The amount of basal tears secreted varies throughout the day. Usually, the amount of secretion is large in the morning, less in the afternoon, and least in the evening, which is why we tend to feel dry eyes in the afternoon and evening. When we are tired, anxious, or staring at the screen for a long time, the amount of basal tears secreted will also decrease. At this time, we can supplement artificial tears to keep the eyeballs moist and comfortable.

2. Reflective type

Reflex tears are tears that appear when our eyes are stimulated by the external environment. Common irritants such as the pungent smell of onions and scallions, a lot of dust, etc. can cause us to cry.

3. Emotional

Emotional tears are related to our emotions and mental state. Our joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness may trigger these tears. This kind of crying is a human-specific action, which comes from the process of human high evolution.

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Although there are different types of human tears, their composition is generally the same, mainly water, protein, antibodies, lysozyme and inorganic salts, of which the water content reaches more than 98%, while the content of other trace components varies depending on the type of tears.

Can shedding tears really help detoxify?

As early as the last century, scientists analyzed the composition of different types of human tears and found that compared with reflex tears, tears caused by sadness have more protein components, including prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, neurotransmitter leucine enkephalin and so on.

This study confirms that although tears shed due to sadness contain more protein components, these proteins are not so-called "toxins" to the human body. In fact, they have a positive effect on our regulation of negative emotions and pain relief.

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In addition to the "harmful protein theory", the rumor about the detoxifying effect of tears is also related to the manganese content in tears.

Manganese is an essential trace element for humans, and its content in the human body is second only to iron. Manganese has many functions, such as improving immunity, maintaining nerves, improving the hematopoietic system, maintaining heart and muscle function, etc. It plays a vital role in the growth stage of the human body. If manganese is deficient, it may lead to early embryonic maldevelopment and growth stagnation.

But on the other hand, excessive manganese can also be toxic to the human body. Excessive manganese entering the human body can cause acute manganese poisoning, and long-term intake of excessive manganese in the body can cause damage to the nervous system.

Tears contain a lot of manganese, which is about 30 times the manganese content in blood serum. Perhaps it is because of the toxicity of excessive manganese that people mistakenly believe that more manganese in tears is detoxification.

In fact, this is just the normal metabolism of the human body. Manganese is not a toxin, and the excretion of manganese by the human body does not mean poisoning. In fact, the human body excretes a certain amount of manganese every day. This is because the food we consume every day contains a certain amount of manganese. For example, grains, beans, nuts, and tea are all common foods rich in manganese. If you eat more manganese-rich foods, the manganese in the human body needs to be excreted through metabolism to maintain the steady state of manganese content in the human body.

But the need to excrete manganese does not mean that manganese is a toxin, but only because we ingest too much in a short period of time, and we need to maintain a stable manganese content in the human body. In addition, tears are not the main way for the human body to excrete manganese. More than 97% of the manganese ingested by the human body is excreted through feces, and the rest is excreted through sweat, tears, nails, etc. The manganese content in tears is only about 20~40ng/ml, while in normal excrement, the manganese content is about 40~50mg/kg. The manganese excreted in one excrement (about 500g) is not enough for a lifetime of tears.

Therefore, tears cannot help the human body excrete so-called toxins.

Although we can't detox, we can cry appropriately

Although crying cannot help us excrete toxins from our bodies, it can help us get rid of emotional garbage. Appropriate crying is actually an effective way for us to regulate our emotions and calm ourselves down.

After a good cry, the emotions that originally made us feel very troubled and painful will become less severe than before. This is not our illusion, but the human body does change during the process of crying.

When we cry loudly, the parasympathetic nervous system of the human body is activated, and the accumulated stress is quietly released. The action of crying will also prompt our body to secrete oxytocin, endorphins and other hormone components, which all have the effect of relieving pain and making us feel better.

Therefore, when your emotions are on the verge of collapse, you don’t have to hold back your tears. You can find a suitable place to cry loudly. After crying, you will find that the difficulties in front of you are not so insurmountable.

Although crying without any psychological burden is a good way to release, if you always can't help crying, you should also pay attention to whether there is a health problem. For example, patients with pseudobulbar mood disorder can't help crying and laughing, which is usually a complication of some other neurological diseases.

In addition, when there is a problem with psychological conditions, such as severe depression, frequent and uncontrollable crying may also occur. When such frequent crying symptoms occur, timely treatment is needed.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Some rumors that have been circulating for a long time often seem to make sense at first glance, but they cannot withstand scrutiny. For example, tears contain manganese, and people directly deduce that crying is a way to detoxify. Obviously, this deduction logic has some errors. When you encounter such rumors, you must think more and read more information.

Author: Hydra popular science creator

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association, National Health Science Popularization Expert