Someone recommended I try a colon cleanse from the health shop.?

Question

I have read about colon treatments on the web which involve fasting for quite a while (or just drinking liquids) but is the stuff you get from the health shops different and do they work? I also know that some doctors say it is unnatural to do this but surely once wont hurt? It's to help my bloated tummy.

Answer 1

Most "colon cleanses" from shops (even health food stores) are just laxatives. If you suffer from IBS or bloating, it isn't going to help. If your bloating is a one-time thing, try calming your system with lots of water and a vegetarian diet w/out grains and with copious amounts of live culture yogurt for a few days (but don't eat your veggies raw, that can exacerbate bloating). Mix some flaxseed in w/the yogurt if you don't like the plain taste. And yes, a proper colon cleanse (usually involving 2 colonics) should only be done during a juice fast or a modified fast.

Answer 2

Bloating in the stomach sounds like a problem you should see a dietition about. Certain foods can cause this problem and a colon cleanse may be a temporary fix. Looking carefully at what you eat, how you eat it and when you eat it may be a more permanent solution.
If you're unable to see a dietition then do some self experimentation. Avoid cabbage and beans. Don't overcook your food. Chew your food well. Drink fluids between meals rather than at meal times.

If you're constipated Increase the things that move food through your bowel like fat/oil, fluid (preferably water), sufficient exercise and bulk or what people call roughage. Bulk is made up of indigestible leftovers from the food you have eaten (cellulose and pectin found in fesh fruit, vegetables and whole grains).

Make some changes in your diet for a week or two and see what happens. Try the colon cleanse once, like you suggest. Prunes or better still prune juice will give a gentle bowel cleanse (almost as good as a litre of a special mineral water supplemented with magnesium).

The results you may get from drastic fasting and water diets may be achieved with gentler long term changes.

See your pharmacist or doctor to exclude some microbe in your gut or a more serious problem.

Answer 3

I have tried most of the products available in the UK and they are all, pretty much without exception, poor. They simply do not do what they claim. The Nutrigold (available on the web or through practitioners) Colon Support and Detox Support Formulae are great and Dr Natura - available from http://www.drnatura-eu.com/log.php is absolutely fantastic.

Doctors always claim that our bodies are well equipped to detox themselves. However they fail to take into consideration the poor diet that many people seem to consume and the vast array of artificial chemicals that now reside inside our bodies (and stay there unless we do something extra to remove them). Basically doing a detox is about giving your body a boost with the nutrients it should be getting all the time. The idea is to support your bodies own detox system with what it needs todoits job.

Answer 4

All colonics are a total waste of space and do nothing at all to improve your health. They are all part of the urban mythology that is detox. None of this has even the tiniest amount of either scientific or medical controlled data.

There are no shortcuts to health. There are no quick fixes that make it OK for you to sit on the couch and pig junk food. No cigarettes no drugs.

Regular exercise and a good diet, no tricks.

Answer 5

They won't hurt you or you can even go get a professional colon cleanse which takes about an hour.

Answer 6

Superstitious 19th Century pseudo-science. Nonsense. Fuggedaboutit.