My hubby and I have been hearing a lot about colon cleansing procedures. And I won't go into all the gory details, but they say that you can carry up to 25 lbs of extra weight in unpassed matter in your intestines as well as be at higher risk for illness, allergies, fatigue, etc. due to the bacteria living in that matter.

Our massage therapist recently had a cleansing done and said she felt 1000% better, including with her asthma and allergies.

We heard on a radio program about a product that does this same process at home. It has 8g carbs but 8g fiber, so I don't think it will hurt this WOL.

Has anyone ever tried this? I am really curious.

Shelley

colon cleanse

BF and I used to make up our own which was cococted by our alternative health chiropractor. Yea, it's great. The carbs won't hurt you if they are fiber.
Not doing them, however, I do not notice a difference in any aspect of my life. BF wants to go to one of those places, even has a coupon for 10.00 off, but he can't seem to find the time. I don't think I'd go, myself, to me it's a pretty private thing.
HTH.
Brenda
p.s. you can always call the place and ask for some references from clients...

My dad recently had a colonoscopy. He had to drink 4 liters of this solution (I called it Liquid Plumber) that REALLY cleaned him out for the next couple of hours! He went through the procedure and was OK but he didn't mention feeling better from the clean-out.

There may be some medical conditions which involve sluggish bowels or a tendency to have some matter remain in the colon which would benefit from this. I thought of diverticulitis, but I don't know enough about that to say anything definite.

I use to do a colon cleanse about once a month. I started LCing and got constipated. I tried their Physllum husk and it doesn't seem to work for me, but I got the pills. Thats all I could find. The pills I got were called Colon Formula and they have Psyllium Seed Husk powder 1500 mg, but I normally get the super colon cleanse from Rite Aid/GNC. It does a really good job and you feel better. Just follow the directions. My BF just jumped in and swallowed 3 the first day. WRONG. It's easy to use. Hope you like it. There are alot of different ways to do it. The colon cleanse powder seemed like it just wasn't gonna taste too good. So I chose the pill method, but whatever works for you. Good luck and I hope I helped.

Amber

I strongly condemn anyone who claims that a healthy person's colon is full of parasites or anything else harmful. There's absolutely no evidence to support it. It's quackery, in my opinion, to try to make healthy people believe they're sick. They want your money. Bottom line? If you had "parasites" or matter that had never passed, you'd be extremely sick and/or in a lot of pain. Medical tests would confirm that something's wrong. You NEED the bacteria that are in your gut.

Psyllium is a good source of fiber, but I think it's cheaper by the bag.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Drink plenty of water and eat enough fiber. That's all your colon needs. It takes care of itself. You don't need to "cleanse" it any more than you need to cleanse your eyeballs.

Kristine, If I don't use the colon cleanse than I don't go at all. Not all peoples bodys are the same. Apparently there is a problem. I drink water 24/7 and eat pleanty of fiber. That is the problem. My body is not use to this way of eating as yet. I think it is up to the person whose body it is. I have no choice until my body gets use to this much fiber. I believe you quote to be quite true. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Drink plenty of water and eat enough fiber. That's all your colon needs. It takes care of itself, but that does not work for everyone. I have followed the induction menu to the tee, but it is more fiber than I am use to. It is very painful, when your stomach fills up from the entire weekend and no relief is in sight. I tried Atkins way and it doesn't work. What alternative is there? Have a great day.
Amber

Hi there,
You are asking about colon cleansing, and I would be worried about it being a bit too invasive. Also, there are certain bacteria in your gut/ intestinal track that are necessary for health, and I'm not sure what impact it would have on them.

Anyway, your last post mentions that your 'stomach' feels full, and I wonder if you have a gas/ bloat problem there, sometimes caused by too much fiber - rather than in your colon, which is a bit farther down the system?

All in all, maybe a visit to your doctor. And hey, I once had TERRIBLE stomach bloating, cramps and pain. My girlfriend said it was probably from this wierd beer that I drank, too much fiber and gas. She told me to do 'touch your toes' about ten times every hour or so, kinda to 'coax it thru'. By the end of the day, I was much better.....

Hope this helps.
Suzan

I went to my doctor. First I had a problem and was constipated. She told me to get apple pectin pills, so I did. That made it worse. I normally eat alot of stuff with olive oil in it but since I have changed my diet I don't eat those foods, so I have to find a new happy medium. My problem isn't fiber, it is the other way. I have been using the colon cleanse for about a year or two. Only when I don't have alot of oils and such. It is gentle, way more than laxitives which cause gas and bloating. When I am bloated it is from not having a BM for a week. I had a problem this week because I forgot my fish oil caps. I take them everyday and am almost at my happy medium. The new WOL takes a bit getting use to, thats all. Thanks for the info and have a great day.

Amber

Kristine: You seem to have really strong feelings about this, but don't give much background as to why other than to say it's "quackery."

I guess my being on a board for low-carb eating that too is considered "quackery" by many professionals makes me more curious than not as to why you are so adamant? Could you elaborate for us maybe your experience with this so we can better understand?

From my understanding (and I've got a lot to learn) colon cleansing removes stagnant matter that needs to pass but hasn't for whatever reason and is harboring harmful bacteria. Sometimes so much so that the good bacteria can't keep up and either other areas suffer or the good bacteria is overcome by the bad. Is this not the case?

I'm not Kristine, and I'm far from an expert on this, but I do have a common sense feel for the issue.

If colon cleansing was a true way of 'cleansing' the body of bad or toxic things, then it would be alot more main stream. Our bodies are made to perfection, really. We have an elimination system that should work properly, when we treat it or feed it appropriatly.

Now, I hope you don't get me wrong here, I have cleansed at home numerous times in numerous ways. I've even done a epsoms salt flush followed by a 5 day juice (organic) fast. I'm the same. Constipation~ any change in your diet can cause this (sans adding fiber).
My fear for someone choosing to cleanse on a regular basis is that the body adapts when it dosen't really have to.
I do believe there are those that have 'slow' colons, but don't necessarily think it's a health issue.
my 2 cents,
Peace,
Brenda

p.s. - aloe vera juice is a great supplement to drink to aid in a healthy colon.!

>"...but don't give much background as to why other than to say it's "quackery."

Well, that's why the 'in my opinion' part is there. My definition of quackery, if I understand correctly: trying to sell a concept in health that has little or no scientific basis, but is worded in such a way that makes sense and appeals to people. Though plenty of people toss low carbing into the quackery category, it's backed by plenty of scientific evidence. OTOH, there is no evidence that there's anything in the average person's colon that shouldn't be there.

http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/9811.html

That's the only link I know of off hand; I'll search for more later when I have time, but it's nearly impossible to navigate through the slew of MLM pages that comes up when you try to do a google search on the subject.

>>"What alternative is there?"

I don't know , but that's a serious problem. I do know that continued use of *stimulative* laxitives can cause the bowel to be dependant on them. Out of curiousity, what type of product is it that you use? (If you don't mind answering)

I did a colon cleansing about 3 times, then decided it wasn't really doing anything for me.

My daughter (18) suffers from IBS and has to do several tests to determine that is what she is suffering from. She has a "nervous" stomach, with diarrhea and constipation, mostly the d. A year or so ago one of the tests was a lower barrium gi. We made an appointment for immediately after the test to make sure all of the yuk stuff was out so that it wouldn't harden and make her life even more miserable. She felt better after.

IMHO, it may be good once in a while if you have been very constipated. With this WOL/WOE, I have been more regular than the previous 49 years so I don't do a colon cleanse anymore.

I am really enjoying the fats like the bacon, the butter, cream cheese, cheese, salad dressings, the olive oil. It drives my DH nuts when I snitch a piece of butter while cooking, but it sure tastes good. I did WW for years, but could never do the margarine, can't stand the taste, I always stuck with butter. Guess my body already knew what was good for it.