Colon Cleanse - Yea or Nay?

[Jason]

I've been reading a bit about colon cleansing and I'm a bit skeptical. On the one hand, you'd think your colon could handle what you eat just fine, just based on it being evolved to do its job. On the other hand, no doubt our modern diets are deficient in fiber and such, so maybe colon cleansing could be a good thing, at least some of the time?

So, what are your opinions based on the science? Fraud, good idea, some products frauds, others good, etc? Thanks for the discussion!

[PainRack]

Eating a high fibre diet, regular bowel motion with the benefit of exercise and etc= good.

Coffee enemas and pond scum= batshit insane.

[PeZook]

Go, and be englightened. Has quite a bit of commentary on other stupid fads, like blood group specific diets or oxygenated water.

To answer your question shortly: no. Just...no. Enemas are something you do if you can't defecate, not as a matter of course. There is a non-neglible risk of damaging your colon with various stupid shit those "natural healers" put in there.

[NoXion]

How does exercise affect bowel motion? I've heard people say it before, but I've never understood the link.

[PeZook]

How does exercise affect bowel motion? I've heard people say it before, but I've never understood the link.

Moving around simply helps move the food forward faster, so the colon fills up more quickly, as far as I know.

[Ted C]

I've been reading a bit about colon cleansing and I'm a bit skeptical. On the one hand, you'd think your colon could handle what you eat just fine, just based on it being evolved to do its job. On the other hand, no doubt our modern diets are deficient in fiber and such, so maybe colon cleansing could be a good thing, at least some of the time?

So, what are your opinions based on the science? Fraud, good idea, some products frauds, others good, etc? Thanks for the discussion!

Colon cleansing is generally bogus. Yes, eating the recommended amount of fiber is a good thing, but going overboard to try to actively cleanse you colon is pretty silly.

Some people actually pick through their poo to see what sort of oddities they can make come out of it. Since many colon-cleansing "therapies" combine large quantities of lime juice, olive oil, and fiber, resulting in some odd reactions in your gut, they can produce some strange results, but it's not some kind of "layer of grime" coming of the intestinal wall.

[PainRack]

How does exercise affect bowel motion? I've heard people say it before, but I've never understood the link.

Activity of any sort increase peristalsis, which thus increase the speed at which you digest food.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristalsis

[Alferd Packer]

Unless you're going to play a really involved, really disgusting practical joke on someone, don't bother. Going on the cleanse will likely produce a comedically impressive amount of shit, but a healthy colon should be able to handle whatever you're eating, provided your diet is reasonably balanced.

If you're having trouble shitting, drink more water. By staying hydrated, your colon will pull less water out of your feces as it forms, and this usually results in softer, more easily-passed stools.

[Broomstick]

I've been reading a bit about colon cleansing and I'm a bit skeptical. On the one hand, you'd think your colon could handle what you eat just fine, just based on it being evolved to do its job. On the other hand, no doubt our modern diets are deficient in fiber and such, so maybe colon cleansing could be a good thing, at least some of the time?

So, what are your opinions based on the science? Fraud, good idea, some products frauds, others good, etc? Thanks for the discussion!

Colon cleansing is bullshit, plain and simple.

True, we do not eat the diet our neolithic ancestors did - but then, as a whole humanity has never eaten just one diet since we left Africa. And probably before then, what with Africa being as diverse a continent as any other.

We are not quite as fragile as the "woo-woo's" (a term I recently heard on another board) would like you to believe. We are true omnivores, capable of adjusting to a variety of diets.

If you need to poo more often eat more fiber in FOODS - you know, carrots, celery, other fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, etc.

Last year when I was recovering from an intestinal infection and my system was, shall we say, not quite functioning as it should for several months the trained medical doctor in no way recommended enemas, laxatives, or other stuff beloved of the alternative medicine groupies. More fiber and maybe a stool softener (with lots and lots of liquids - the doc said if I had to pee every two hours that would be about right), probiotics from reputable sources (he gave me an extensive list), and if I started pooing TOO much back off on the fiber. (Also had to avoid dairy for awhile, but fortunately my body started manufacturing lactase again. Yay, European ancestry.)

Even when I had to clean out the plumbing for the colonoscopy they did not recommend enemas or anything like that. Instead they make you drink this vile stuff so the resulting "flush" is like Niagra Falls compared to what your toilet normally does. If you really feel compelled to do something of the sort you can buy that stuff over the counter, but I do strongly recommend you consult a medical person before doing so. And have plenty of toilet paper and reading material on hand. At least the stuff they had me drink was of standard dosage and known effects/side effects, packaged in a sterile manner by a reputable company. Og knows what kind of weird happy horseshit you'll get in some of these "health food stores" (and if they're food stores, how come all I see are pills in bottles and no food?)

[Gullible Jones]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record... It's crap. The colon is lined with mucus membrane, precisely so that stuff doesn't stick to it. And attempting to purge your colon (or other parts of your digestive system) on a regular basis can cause some serious damage. Just back away slowly, and ignore the braying of the alties...

[Jason]

Yeah, I've known about this for a long while, someone I know had a colon cleansing done and swore by it, but it just doesn't seem to add up. Your colon ought to be able to handle what you eat, most anything like bacteria and such that lives down there probably NEEDS to be there as a symbiotic relationship between humans and the microorganisms and such.

Also, all this stuff about your colons being filled with gunk? My dad has colitis and has had colon cancer, and he gets a regular colonoscopy. They go all the way up your colon with a tube and camera, but I've never heard of them finding his colon lined with piles of gunk.

[PeZook]

Yeah, I've known about this for a long while, someone I know had a colon cleansing done and swore by it, but it just doesn't seem to add up. Your colon ought to be able to handle what you eat, most anything like bacteria and such that lives down there probably NEEDS to be there as a symbiotic relationship between humans and the microorganisms and such.

Also, all this stuff about your colons being filled with gunk? My dad has colitis and has had colon cancer, and he gets a regular colonoscopy. They go all the way up your colon with a tube and camera, but I've never heard of them finding his colon lined with piles of gunk.

That's because alties don't make claims based on study and experimentation, but rather superficial resemblance, common sense and fallacious appeals to emotion (Doctors don't want to cure you, they just want to treat you forever! All completely true, find out the truth for just 19.99$!).

I should know. My mother pretty much went through it all, from Atkins diets through blood-type foods and deacidization all the way down to gluetenfree diets as cure for all maladies. The only fad she didn't go through was butt candling and colon cleansing (and god, I hope she never will - I get a lecture every time I order a salad in their presence, can't imagine what would happen in that case)

She also believes in Egyptian spaceships, ancient industrial civilizations, spirit guides and the 9/11 conspiracy. Also, she hates doctors, but doesn't mind them treating her for everything that's not related to her uterus. I think it's a menopausal thing...

[Napoleon the Clown]

Ever heard of a colonoscopy before this thread? As Jason said, they shove a camera up your cornhole and look around. They don't find a bunch of shit plastered all over your colon. It's actually very clean.


Also, stop and actually think about this. If you had an essentially permanent build-up of feces in you, wouldn't it stand to reason you'd end up getting a nasty infection going on, seeing as how fecal matter is pro-bacteria?