Unfortunately that is one of the longest running scams ever. Ask any doctor who has taken a scope and looked around the colon. It's healthy, and pink. No where in there can you hide a corn flake (that was the old sales pitch... "I've seen 20 year old corn flakes in people's colons!).

Here's a picture of the inside of a colon looks pretty pink, slippery as all get out. Like a giant slide.

http://www.gihealth.com/html/test/drfuscos_colon.html (click on the drawing of the colon to see the various parts)

Thanks Lisa!

It can actually be harmful. The intestinal flora is very important for digestion. By doing a "cleansing", you are upseting the balance of this flora & irritating the GI tract. Modern medicine is against this practice.

But then again, much of modern medicine is against the Atkins diet -- though it obviously works. So what do I know? Not much.

I agree with fatnewmom and others when they saw that upsetting the flora in the intestines is harmful. I also don't believe the pictures on some of these websites showing what comes out of the colon during one of these cleanses. That is just rubbish.

Read this:
http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine...ature05_19.html

This link is especially important.
http://www.quackwatch.org/01Quacker...ics/gastro.html

HN

Another very important link a must read. Found at the Mayo Clinic website.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=AN00065

HN

I think I'm gonna try it. I've searched for the website. Here it is
http://www.oxypowder.com/

I thought the same after reading all the sites about colonics and colon cleansing supplements. It actually took one routine colonoscopy and a small bottle of Phosfo Soda to get my colon so clean in 12 hours, that plain water was coming out without changing color, sorry for the gross details. They wanted my colon to be so clean that they could clearly see, and it worked. There is not much in our colon and especially those "cement like materials" like some colon "gurus" claim just to make you get the procedure done or or buy the supplement, which are mostly based on herbal laxatives like senna. Funny, but after the procedure I become "too regular", I think due to a good bacteria flushed out. Then it went back to normal. Constipation could be a sign of slugish liver, IBS, hypothyroid, not enough fat, too much or too little fiber, etc. What works for me is enough of good fats, live culture yougurt, and some bran crackers, which are also low carb. Phyllium and flax meal did not work for me either, especially in large quantities.

Nancy:
I agree with you, I happened to wake up during the procedure for a few seconds and saw my colon on the screen in front of me, looked pinkish and free of debris. But they put me back to sleep, so I did not get to see the rest of it . All of this "cleanse" your colon stuff is a big scam, same as liver and gall bladder cleanse.

I too had a colonoscopy and saw the color slides afterward.....no debris anywhere and just as pink and pretty as a new born babies colon.

These are in fact just scams......buyer beware. And Lillylou, if you look at the ingredients to these colon cleansers most of the herbs that are in it are in fact laxatives......senna, cascara segrada, etc.

HN

Having assisted during sigmoidoscopy procedures (the sig does not reach up as "high" in the colon and the colonoscopy procedure), I will say this:

Patients follow a rigorous cleaning procedure prior to the scope insertion. I've not yet seen any patient who did not have lots of material to be "cleansed" prior to the procedure. It is not possible to scope someone whose bowel is not cleansed prior to the procedure because the scope simply becomes clogged if the fecal matter is not removed first.

That's why the inside of the bowel appears pink and healthy...because the material has all been removed first. Not to say that the bowel is unhealthy...just saying it does NOT normally appear as you see it on the screen during the exam.

Secondly I will say that there ARE places where fecal material "hides" within the bowel lining itself. This is a severe problem for folks with diverticulitis because the material gets caught and causes irritation, inflammation and (sometimes) infection. This is not the norm, however.

So, is a colon cleansing program going to be harmful? Probably not if done in a correct fashion. It is not usually necessary to replace the bacterial colonies of the colon as this will naturally occur following a scope procedure without any "help".

Bottom line is if you use something that causes your colon to expel foods and water then you are taking a laxitive and laxitives shouldn't be used to LOSE WEIGHT! That is how this thread began. Someone used a laxitive to lose 25 pounds and now we have folks buying into it. I stated before and am stating again that we have folks joining up daily and when they see threads like this, well it gives the wrong impression. Laxitives should never ever be used to lose weight! And if our colons are are nasty as they claim then we would be dead because of the bacteria and can you imagine how swollen our bellies would be if stuff from 20 years ago were still in there? Come on folks...don't buy into this quick fix. Weight lost this way will be gained back along with a resistance to normal bowl movements without aid. Honestly, if all folks had to do was take something to make them poop in order to not be fat then there wouldn't be an obese person in the world! Bottom line is, if one eats a balanced diet and drinks plenty of water to aid in flushing out the system and hydrate the bod then one wouldn't need to take something to make them poop. If one is eating such a diet and still cannot poo then they need to see a doctor to find out why because more than likely there is a medical condition involved.

Right On MissScruff!!

HN

i talked to my doctor prev. about just this matter...he said some people have multiple bowel movements in a day some have them every other day some only once a week it depends on the person.what they are eating, hydration etc etc.

while i was doing induction i seriously only went about once a week...but this did not bother me..i took it as i was eating less crap and actually using the food i was eating as fuel therefore i had less waste cause i was eating only what i needed to...but i did not feel constipated either.

if you feel constipated and it actually is uncomfortable then you should take steps to alleviate the discomfort...ie extra fiber etc ... on the other hand if you are only going once a week and have no discomfort you should be okay. just because you dont go every day does not mean you are actually constipated.

at one point during this wol i did feel constipated and found some fiber pills (these were pure oat and wheat fiber pills-walgreens generic brand - 2 grams of fiber per pill recommends you take 4-5 a day for a total of 10 grams of fiber)..they did the trick and were cheaper than psyllium/metamucil and they worked immediately but not like a laxative...i think it is the type of fiber that works better.

Your doctor is right on the money, jedswife. What defines constipation isn't the frequency of bowel movements. Constipation is defined as hard, dry stools that are difficult (and sometimes painful) to pass.

But the problem is that unfrequent BM let fecal materials to sit in a colon for longer period of time, absorb too much water and get dry and hard to pass. I have this problem if I don't go everyday or at least every other day. I guess having multiple BM is not much better either, if food passes too fast, the nutrients are not getting absorbed? I think if one is comfortable with unfrequent BM: not bloated, does not have indigestion, heartburn, cramps and headches, it's not a problem. The only problem I see is using laxatives on a regular basis, wether it's herbal or not.
D.