Here’s an example of why you should avoid colon cleanses.
One person at acne.org forums posted, I presume, his experience after a colon cleanse. First, he didn’t have a bowel movement for 4 days. And when something finally came out it was so hard it caused fissures. Few days after he got a diarrhea and the fissures are still there. Plus he bleeds every time he has a bowel movement.
Other people chipped in saying they get bloating and constipation followed by a diarrhea after using fiber supplements.
I wanted to write this because many people with acne think they have to cleanse their colon before they can get clear. They’ve been told they have 10 pounds of undigested food rotting in their gut that’s poisoning their bodies. I used to think that, and I even used many of these products.
Luckily I know better now.
First off, the talk about undigested food and mucous plague rotting in your gut is pure BS. They tell you that tale because it scares you into buying their colon cleansing products. At the end of the post I explain why this mucous plaque cannot exist.
Second, while most people get no problems from colon cleansing products and procedures, they are not 100% safe. In the Perfect Health Program Dr. Graham tells a story of a person who, after a single colonic, could not have an unassisted bowel movement. One colonic and you couldn’t have a bowel movement anymore. For life.
Obviously these are extreme and rare cases, but they happen. And it shows that these products and procedures are not as safe as the people selling them let you to understand.
Sidenote. If you are interested of health and want to cut through all the BS, I highly recommend you get the Perfect Health Program. It’s not the cheapest thing, but easily worth the price.
The colon wall is lined with sensitive nerve endings. Harsh insoluble fibers in colon cleansing products and fiber supplements can irritate and damage them. Colonics (where you flush the colon with water) can cause excessive pressure on the colon walls and rupture the colon muscles.
Do yourself a favor and don’t use these products.
And even if they were 100% safe you still wouldn’t need them.
The only thing you need for a healthy colon functioning is a healthy diet and lifestyle, such as one described in Clear for Life. Plenty of fruit and vegetable fiber keeps the bacteria happy. Add some water and regular exercise, and you’ll have a recipe for a happy and well functioning colon.
Finally, let’s see the facts behind mucous plaque and undigested food rotting in the colon.
If it were there, makes you wonder why it never shows up in colon surgeries or autopsies. You’d think that when the doctor opens up the colon he would see this mess of undigested food and mucous plaque.
Funny enough it’s never reported. And some colon surgeons even say that after thousands of operations they’ve never seen it.
That’s because it only exists in the minds of the people who sell colon cleansing products.
When you understand even a bit of physiology, it’s clear your colon cannot house years’ worth of undigested and rotting food.
Think of the colon as a tube. If it were filled with undigested food that pipe would be blocked. You still go to the toilet, so obviously the pipe is still open.
But they say: ‘no, but it’s stuck to the colon walls, so the colon is not blocked, it’s only narrower’.
Interesting. I guess they forgot that the colon wall keeps renewing itself all the time. It keeps shedding off old cells off and replacing them with new ones. It happens so rapidly that every 7 hours the whole lining is replaced.
For something to stick there it would have to reattach itself over 3 times a day. That’s about 1000 times a year.
Quite a feat for a rotting piece of undigested food.
This is just one of the quacks the natural health field is riddled with. Unfortunately many well meaning people both believe into these and repeat them to their friends as solid facts.
I spend 7 years going through the jungle of BS until health and clear skin really opened to me. And I think I’d still be in there cleansing my colon and flushing my liver (and wondering why I’m not getting clear) if it weren’t for Dr. Graham and the Perfect Health Program.
Dr. Graham really cut through all the BS with his rational explanation and irrefutable logic of how health works. After that my results went through the roof.
That’s why I believe it’s so important to have someone explain and mentor you through the whole thing. I highly recommend the Perfect Health Program if you are interested of health.
If you are more interested of curing acne than reaching optimal health, then Clear for Life is more than enough for you.
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August 4th, 2008 at 11:26 am
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August 4th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Hi Seppo,
I always love your newsletters and the information they provide, but I don’t understand how you can knock colonics as money-generating scams and then point us to a link that is trying to sell us something else.
Thanks
August 4th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
That is not accurate at all sorry. intestinal plaque has been found in autopsies so many times and there are many evidences, records and pictures of that. In surgeries, and even just colonoscopies, your bowels are ALWAYS cleaned and emptied beforehand, guess why… There have been extremely great doctors who studied this, and not just regular doctors but also holistic alternative or natural doctors too and it has been practised forever throughout history, even since before the Egiptians times, as shown in multiple evidence. Please do some more research on this, talk to proctologists and expert people. Sorry about my English.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Whitney,
The whole point of the post was to inform you that colon cleanses are both useless and possibly dangerous.
I don’t see a problem if after that I point you to a sources that can really help you to get clear, improve your health and avoid other scams. I don’t see that as a problem, even if those sources aren’t free.
You are more than welcome not to take advantage of those offers. Your life won’t be any worse if you don’t. And since I don’t use scare tactics and bogus claims you can pass the offers with a piece of mind.
Of course this is just my opinion and yours may differ.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
L,
Would you kindly provide names, links or evidence of those great doctors? Or is this something you’ve just read somewhere and accepted?
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to make you wrong here. It’s easy to get sucked into those claims. I’ve been there also and I’ve cleansed my colon many times, thinking I’m doing a good thing.
Yes, colon are emptied before a colonoscopy. But according to colon cleanse ads that mucous is hard and won’t come out with normal laxatives.
So either the pill the doctor has does the same work than weeks worth of colon cleansing products OR the thing is never there in the first place.
Here’s what one doctor had to say about mucous plaque:
“David L. Diehl, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at New York University, and chief of gastrointestinal endoscopy at Bellevue Hospital Center, agrees. “High colonics are often touted as a way to cleanse the colon of ‘adherent stool’ that has been there for years or even decades,” he says. “The problem with this concept is that there is no such thing. The body does a good job of eliminating stool, and there are no ‘pockets’ in the colon that collect stool for years. I do a colonoscopy every day of the week, and a preprocedure purge is sufficient to clean out the stool and leave a pristine looking colon.”
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/colon-cleansers-are-they-safe
I understand colonics have been used since ancient times. Bleeding, leaching and witch burning are other time honored healing traditions.
The thing you see in the pictures is mostly the fiber and bentonite clay those products contain.
Sometimes, during long fasts, people pass similar thing that’s in those pictures – even if they haven’t used any colon cleansing products.
Here’s what it is:
“Over time, in people who make a habit of consuming cooked or inappropriate foods, the body acquires certain protections for itself against the harmful substances that pass through the colon. Dead tissues, accumulated mucus, and even impacted fecal matter (which typically exists to a much lesser extent than is hypothesized by colonics practitioners) are all part of that protection. Mucus is secreted in the colon to protect and lubricate the intestinal wall and to bind fecal material together. It also serves to protect the colon from acids formed by the enormous amount of bacterial activity that takes place in the fecal matter itself”
The clipping is from this excellent article:
http://www.rawschool.com/colonics.htm
Part of it is also the toxins, waste material and dead cells the body has eliminated during the fast. But this comes from inside of your body, not something that’s stuck in the colon walls.
When you remove that protective lining with colon cleansers you leave the body vulnerable.
The body will remove the protective lining when it doesn’t need it anymore.
Finally here are Dr. Graham’s comments on colonics and colon cleansing:
From: Dr. Doug Graham (DrGraham.vegsource.com)
Subject: Re: Question For Dr Doug/cleansing
Date: March 19, 2001 at 2:37 pm PST
In Reply to: Question For Dr Doug/cleansing posted by anon on March 18, 2001 at 3:09 pm:
If you have any abdominal, digestive, intestinal or colon problems, DO NOT take any cleanses. This can and very likely will aggravate your problem. Irritants, stimulants, and other toxic methods of ‘cleansing’ only line the pockets of the people who sell them to you. Why would you want to clean out all that is good in your intestines just to possibly eliminate that which is not good? The lining of your intestine is made of the same cells as the lining of your mouth. Do you see the food you have eaten for the last few years building up on the inside lining of your mouth? The whole concept is silly. Eat raw and live healthfully and your insides will know exactly what to do.
Dr. Doug
****************************
From: Dr. Doug Graham (DrGraham.vegsource.com)
Subject: Re: If the whole concept is Silly, How do you explain this?
Date: March 20, 2001 at 2:45 pm PST
In Reply to: If the whole concept is Silly, How do you explain this?
posted by jaybee on March 20, 2001 at 8:31 am:
The lining of the colon is of the same material as the lining of the mouth and the anus. You don’t see a buildup of material on the lining of the mouth or of the anus, do you? Sure, people have waste material in their colon. It is on its way out of the body, and the colon is the route it must take. Teaching people that they don’t have to eat raw to have a healthy colon, that all they have to do is take a cleanse of some sort encourages them to continue eating unhealthfully. I have spoken with several colon surgeons all of whom refute the info that was mentioned above. They say that when they cut into the sickest of colons there is no build up on the inside walls. A simple understanding of anatomy will make it clear that this buildup cannot occur as the inside lining of the colon is sloughed off literally every day. What would the debris hold on to when the mucus membrane comes off? The waste material must continue on ‘down the chute’. Is there outpocketing in an unhealthy colon? Very likely. Do they twist and otherwise change shape and size? Certainly. Will cleanses remove the cause(s) of these problems? No way. There is no substitute for healthful living,
Dr. D
August 17th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Why would someone want to do a colon cleanse? Believe it or not, you can carry up to 20 lbs. of old feces in your colon. Ugh! Nasty!
Ok, I would assume you’d have to be a pretty large person to have twenty pounds of old poop in your colon, but even a small amount of build up along the walls of the colon is undesirable.
Not only can this build-up contribute to uncomfortable constipation, but it can inhibit efficient assimilation of nutrients from food, compromise your immune system, and interfere with your general well being.
Short of visiting a colon-hydrotherapist, a good colon cleanse can clear you out, if you know what I mean.
Here is a colon cleanse I have used in the past with good effects. It relies on organic unfiltered apple juice — be sure to use unfiltered juice or it won’t work. And don’t stray, or it won’t work. For best results, try to do the cleanse for 3 days, or at least until what comes out is clear liquid.
-D
August 17th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
To ‘colon cleansing’. if you choose to comment here please at least bother to read the post and other comments.
And if you are going to claim something that I just refuted, please provide some evidence to back up your claims.
I know you comment to get a link back to your site, but next time do so in a less spammy way.
May 4th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I happened across this site and your comments – BRAVO. Finally someone taking a “Bite” out of these people who are taking a “Bite” out of everyone’s wallet for colonics. I am NOT a medical doctor, but I had Colitis last year and it really sidelined me. I asked her about this kind of stuff and she just laughed (not at me). She said it was all “crap” …and laughed again. She’s a great doctor and wonderful and funny lady. She said that its impossible for old matter to build up inside the intestines or colon. She said the “ONLY” time this might even remotely apply is diverticulitis where pockets form in the intestines and cause infections due to trapped fecal matter etc. She said if what all these quacks said was true people would be dropping dead from massive infections within days. Even a SMALL attack of diverticulitis can almost put you in the hospital or kill you from the infection if its not brought under control… that or loose part of your colon. Anyone paying for colonics or any of this nonsense – STOP. You are being lied to and harming yourself. If you don’t listen, then don’t complain later on when you have serious if not life threatening issues. Heck, I may even blog about this to try to help people!
May 4th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
James,
Great comment, and a great blog! Keep writing good, common sense stuff.
October 21st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I am reading all these posts, in addition to reading tons of books on colon cleansing. I firmly believe in a raw vegan diet. I did that for years and felt wonderful. Then I fell into negative thinking, severe depression, and eating horribly etc. Ok… so I have to admit, I am currently on the Arise & Shine cleanse. I suffer from constipation for a while and feel so much better when I have bowl movements several times a day.
Anyway, this cleanse advocates a raw vegan diet so I tend to believe it.
If anyone knows about the Arise & Shine cleanse, I would appreciate whatever input you have.
Thanks!
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 am
Raw vegan diet is very good. Not necessarily 100% raw vegan for everybody, but a majority of your diet should be raw and vegan.
I don’t know anything about Arise & Shine, but generally speaking I’d stay away from all such cleanses.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:34 am
Hi Erica,
Welcome. Glad to have you here.
I’m not a doctor, so better I don’t say anything definitive to you.
I just want to point out that you don’t have to eat large quantities of fruits to get clear. Generally speaking fruits are a good and clean source or calories and nutrients. But you can get all the nutrients you require also from other foods.
Greens and most vegetables are packed with nutrients. Beans are also highly nutritious – not to mention easier on blood sugar levels. Beans could also serve as healthy source of protein. Grass fed and free range animal products in limited quantities are also good.
I’ve heard only good things about Stevia. I haven’t tried it because I live in Thailand and I can’t find it anywhere here.
Fruits are best eaten raw, and so are most vegetables. Some vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower) are better slightly cooked (think steaming).
With or without peel I think is a matter of preference. There are pros and cons for both sides.
Water supply in undeveloped country is also a matter of getting used to. I lived almost 4 years in India, and India probably has the worst water quality in the world. After the initial adjustment period had no problems there. Of course I didn’t drink the tap water, but I washed all my vegetables and brushed my teeth with it.
June 8th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
‘intestinal plaque’ seen on websites and forums etc is normall the RESULT of the bentonite clay/psyllium husk supplements people take. Naturally if your impacting your colon with undigestible CLAY and similar ‘cleansing’ products, your going to pass it out in some way and of course it takes on a similar shape as the colon its passing through…