Are Colon Cleansers Effective?
Just How Effective Are Colon Cleansers?
As I work in the healthcare industry, I am highly sceptical about the claims made for alternative, herbal products. Of all the fields of alternative medicine, colon cleansers seems to have the most dubious claims made for it. What is strange then is that there are a vast number of honest men and women out there who genuinely have had good results from colon cleansers. So what is the lowdown on colon cleansers?
Colon cleansers suppliers assert that large amounts of partly digested food build up in the small intestine and colon and that this matter decomposes and harbours so called 'parasites'. The truth is that there is simply no clinical evidence that this happens despite a lot of sites out there with very credible looking diagrams and pictures of people in lab coats with stethoscopes. No doctor would ever risk their registration by making these claims. It's called the auto-intoxication theory and, following some popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was discredited following the publication of a scientific paper in 1919. The truth is that the bowel cleanses itself in operation and has to be to function. It should be readily apparent that, without this functionality your digestive system simply could not work and you would not be sitting there reading this article.
How Colon Cleansers Clear Blockages
Temporary mechanical blockages are the actual cause of the symptoms attributed to decomposing food matter. Obviously, the proprietary colon cleansers overcome this by helping things along. In other words they act as laxatives – albeit in a way less likely to be injurious with long term use. It is important though to remember when taking colon cleansers is hydration. Take more water than recommended and you risk flushing out the active ingredients – take too little and it won't have the desired effects. Also be aware that some of these colon cleansers contain ingredients that can be harmful – one common example is Senna.
The manufacturers often claim that the colon cleansers eliminate bloating and constipation – even higher energy levels and weight loss are sometimes claimed. The laxative and lubricating effects account for the success in tackling constipation and some forms of bloating. The weight loss claim is hotly disputed and is probably the result of the initial cleaning out of the digestive tract. The higher energy levels are probably simply a result of the user not feeling bloated and constipated anymore.
Some manufacturers justly claim their colon cleansers are probiotic and reduce levels of harmful gut bacteria. This claim has some validity as food products containing 'friendly' bacteria have been clinically trialled against C. difficile. They work by outcompeting with the pathogenic organisms, displacing them from the gut. C. difficile is a particularly unpleasant and lethal organism associated with failures in hospital hygiene and the misuse of antibiotics.
The fact remains then that, although their medicinal properties are dubious at best, these colon cleansers can have positive results for their users, sometimes to a life changing extent.
WARNING! You should check out user reviews of these products, look carefully at their ingredients lists and discuss them with your doctor before taking colon cleansers.