Medical Evidence for Colon Cleanses

As colon cleansing has gained in popularity in recent years, a debate has been raging over the Internet about the effectiveness of the procedure for better health. Colon cleansing is based on the theory that illness is based on a backed-up bowel. Different types of colon cleanses have gained in popularity as more people suffer from broad range disorders that don't have easy-to-find causes--exactly the types of maladies that a toxic buildup of waste in the colon might be expected to cause.

Significance

• Colon cleanses purportedly work by eliminating years of buildup of encrusted fecal material and mucoid plaque--which, it's claimed by proponents, is an unnatural byproduct of a typical Western diet of low-fiber processed foods. Enemas are used before certain medical procedures such as a colonoscopy, but doctors don't usually recommend these for colon cleanses. Colonic irrigation procedures carry a risk of fatal illnesses such as amebiasis if the equipment isn't sterilized properly, according to Dr. Stephen Barrett.

Effects

• Proponents of colon cleanses claim that the procedure has helped them with infertility, acne, arthritis, fatigue, obesity and a host of other problems. Cleansing your colon may lead to a short-term benefit as accumulated waste is loosened, but if this lining is a normal part of colon functioning it could return afterward. Colorectal cancer has become the second most deadly cancer after lung cancer in the United States, but incidence of it has dropped slightly in the past 30 years due to more advanced screening processes.

Studies

• Because colon cleansing is complex, the market is expanding so quickly and the procedure is susceptible to personal error, any medical study could be made to show negative or positive results based on the whim of the researcher. According to the American Cancer Society, factors that increase your chances of getting colon cancer are obesity, having a sedentary lifestyle and eating a high proportion of red meat--as well as having polyps, diverticula and other precursors to cancer in your body. If colon cleanses remove encrusted material that contributes to these problems, it could be assumed that it is beneficial.

History

• The idea that illness in the body results from the accumulation of putrefied waste in the colon originated with doctors in ancient Egypt, and the practice soon spread to Greece. According to Stephen Barrett, many 19th- and early 20th-century doctors believed in the theory of autointoxication and promoted the use of enemas and fibers to keep a person regular. Many autopsied people in the early 20th century did not have any impacted fecal material on their colon, so the procedure fell out of favor. Colon cleansing's resurgence is based largely on the idea that waste is accumulating on the colon walls due to the toxins that are more plentiful in our modern environment.

Warnings

• If you decide to do a colon cleanse, you must drink your body weight in ounces of water in order to lower your risk of autointoxication, which can occur when you become constipated during a colon detox. Consult a medical professional if you want to do a water, juice or broth fast with your cleanse; this can be risky for some individuals. Colon cleansing can be done by taking herbal cleansers and laxatives, by having a colonic irrigation, or by simply eating more fiber-filled foods and avoiding red meat. Hopefully the gap in scientific literature is filled soon with regard to this procedure.