What Do Colon Cleansers Do?

A colon cleanser is a dietary supplement that is utilized to clean and remove toxins from the digestive tract. They are the foundational elements of a colon cleansing program. There are a variety of colon cleansers available over-the-counter that utilize a range of different ingredients and work in different program structures. While many alternative medicine practitioners swear by colon cleanser as a key way to handle many different health concerns, from asthma to weight gain, the mainstream medical community has stated that colon cleansers may actually compromise digestive health instead of enhancing it.

Function

• A colon cleanse program seeks to remove harmful bacteria, parasites, and toxins from the organs of the digestive tract, including the stomach, large intestine, and bowels. These toxins are considered to be responsible for a variety of physical and emotional maladies, such as depression, chronic fatigue, and seasonal allergies. These malignant elements are thought to enter the body through pollution in the air and pesticides and chemicals in food. In order to restore or maintain general health and wellbeing, the accumulation of these toxins needs to be flushed out of the system several times a year.

Types

• There are several different types of colon cleansers an individual can use during the cleansing process. One of the most common forms of cleansers is dietary supplements which are made almost 100% of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is an excellent cleanser because it passes undigested the system yet attaches fecal matter in the intestines to its structure as it moves through. Other types of colon cleansers include herbal-based supplements, which typically use Seneca as their main ingredient, or oxidizing chemical compounds.

Features

• The colon cleanser is but one element in the overall cleansing process. Cleansing programs can last anywhere from several hours to several weeks, and typically require individuals following the cleanse to not only ingest the cleansers several times a day but also limit their diet and ramp up their water intake. Most cleansing programs insist that individuals avoid alcohol, dairy products, processed meats, and processed flour during the cleansing process to ease the strain on the digestive system and help the cleanser work.

Benefits

• Colon cleansers can provide a host of initial benefits which can encourage an individual to follow a cleansing program on a regular basis. Some commonly noted benefits of using a colon cleanser include relief from constipation or diarrhea, decreased abdominal bloating, weight loss, reduction in water retention, decreased skin congestion, and improved sleep patterns.

Considerations

• However, these benefits are disputed by the medical community, who instead suggest that colon cleansers actually do more to decreased digestive health and improve it. The main point of the opposition is that cleansers reduce an individual's ability to absorb nutritious elements, deplete colonies of helpful bacteria in the digestive tract, and form substance-based dependencies for bowel movements.