The consumer advocacy news program Marketplace conducted a consumer trial with three women on the effectiveness of two colon supplements versus fiber. The idea that its walls are coated with years-old hamburger residue is preposterous". Medical doctor Harriet Hall writes that "The colon cleanses itself. Herbs taken orally may modulate the absorption or the activity of prescription medications. Frequent enemas or other colon-cleansing tools may lead to dependence and inability to defecate without assistance, as well as potential withdrawal symptoms. Įxcessive use of enemas has also been associated with heart problems, such as heart failure, as well as heart attacks related to electrolyte imbalances when performed as a coffee enema. Others claim that colon cleansing may impede the colon's shedding of dead cells. Rare but severe adverse events have been rectal perforation, as well as amoebic infection, from poorly sterilised equipment.
Colonic irrigation can disrupt the bowel's normal flora, and, if done frequently, can result in electrolyte depletion with dehydration. Īs the colon normally expels waste, colon cleansing is generally unneeded.
There is little evidence of actual benefit to the procedure, and no evidence that it can alleviate the symptoms that are attributed to the theories of colon cleansing. The benefits anecdotally attributed to colon cleansing are vague and the claims made by manufacturers and practitioners are based on a flawed understanding of the body. The symptoms that are attributed to autointoxication- headache, fatigue, loss of appetite and irritability-may be caused by mechanical distention within the bowel, such as irritable bowel syndrome, rather than toxins from putrefying food. Frequent colon cleansing can lead to dependence on enemas to defecate and some herbs may reduce the effectiveness of, or increase the risks associated with the use of prescription medications. Certain enema preparations have been associated with heart attacks and electrolyte imbalances, and improperly prepared or used equipment can cause infection or damage to the bowel. There is no scientific evidence for the alleged benefits of colon cleansing. Nonetheless, during the 2000s Internet marketing and infomercials of oral supplements supposedly for colon cleansing increased. Those who practice colon cleansing believe in autointoxication, that accumulations of putrefied feces line the walls of the large intestine and that these accumulations harbor parasites or pathogenic gut flora, causing nonspecific symptoms and general ill-health.Īutointoxication, a term coined in 1884 by the French physician Charles Jacques Bouchard, is a hypothesis based on medical beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks and was discredited in the early 20th century. Oral cleaning regimes use dietary fiber, herbs, dietary supplements, or laxatives. Some forms of colon hydrotherapy use tubes to inject water, sometimes mixed with herbs or with other liquids, into the colon via the rectum using special equipment. Colon cleansing in this context should not be confused with an enema which introduces fluid into the colon, often under mainstream medical supervision, for a limited number of purposes including severe constipation and medical imaging. Colon cleansing, also known as colon therapy, or colon hydrotherapy, or a colonic, or colonic irrigation encompasses a number of alternative medical therapies claimed to remove unspecified toxins from the colon and intestinal tract by removing supposed accumulations of feces.