Are Colon Cleansers and Detox Drinks Safe?

Are Colon Cleansers and Detox Drinks Safe?

September 03, 2008 by
Michelle L Devon (Michy)  
Michelle L Devon (Michy)
Michelle L Devon (Michy)
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Colon Detox  |  Weird Drinks  |  Cleansers  |  Healthy Drinks  |  Colon Cleanse

The Truth About Colonics, Colon Cleansers and Detoxifying Drinks

Recently, I have been amazed at how many of my friends, female friends in particular, are using colon cleansers, under advice from their friends or family that using a colon cleanser detoxifies the body and can help people lose weight. Something about the concept of
colon cleansing just didn't seem quite right to me, so I set out to do a little research to answer the question: Are Colon Cleansers and Detox Drinks Safe?

More than that, do colon cleanser actually DO anything or have any benefits?

I was skeptical, so after a bit of internet research to get the right questions to ask, the next thing I did was call my own doctor's office and talked to one of the nurse's there and asked her opinion about colon cleansers. Below is the transcript with that nurse:

Q: I've been hearing a lot about colon cleansers, for weight loss, for health, to remove toxins, to remove waste build up, etc. Do any of these products for sale actually do any of these things?

A: Nope, not even a little bit. Most of these colon cleansers are nothing more than some herbs and high doses of fiber, and not the best fiber for that matter. Taking the recommended daily grams of fiber each day will help any person trying to lose weight drop a few pounds at the offset, but for long-term weight loss, it's not going to help much.

As for waste build up, the colon and the human body does a pretty good job of taking care of that on its own. About the only potential good thing a colon cleanser product can do for someone is help them if they are constipated, and that really is just the fiber in most of the products.

Q: So they don't really cleanse the colon?

A: No, they don't.

Q: What exactly do they do then?

A: Not much more than taking fiber supplements or eating a fiber-rich diet, which is better for you anyway. Some of the colon cleansing products also have some of the weird herbs in them that kill certain bacteria, usually the good kind, and can actually cause a lot of problems. In fact, we've treated some teen girls for overuse of colon cleansers or detox drinks and diets and such.

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Related information
Takeaways
  • Overuse or mis-use of colon cleansers can be unsafe and even deadly.
  • Detox diets, drinks and teas don't really detox, but rather flush out water, nothing more.
  • Bacteria is not all bad, and detox drinks and colon cleansers get rid of the good and the bad.
 
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Thoroughly informative! Colon cleansing is getting to be a big, and(sounds like)a dangerous trend.
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Posted on 02/14/2009 at 6:02:59 AM

THANK YOU!!! for providing FACTS about colon cleansing and other so-called body detox diets. I am saddened when I hear people say colon cleansing and body detox "diets" are actually good for you. I hope more people read your article so they can save themselves from the harm they are actually doing to their body by taking colon-cleansing junk. Again, thank you!
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Posted on 02/04/2009 at 8:02:49 PM

I too have heard alot about colon cleansers, and was wondering if it was all hype, or actually something that worked. So, thank you for the article, it really is informative, and on an interesting topic/matter! Thanks again!
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Posted on 11/10/2008 at 5:11:37 PM

Good take on this subject! I've worked for an alternative health products company, and it is definitely not good to use a colon cleansing as a weight-loss tool. Your intestines can get too used to waiting on something to help them move. I have used them safely for parasite cleansing while taking "probiotics" - good bacteria supplements.
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Posted on 10/01/2008 at 6:10:56 AM

I don't think all colon cleanses are what they say, but I have to slightly agree with Todaysbest4me, when she said that your source came from one nurse. I also agree dr's are drug pushers and they do not agree with using herbs to heal. Maybe we should have an interview from different sources including a herbologist. (I made up that title...but you get my drift.) At least an opinion that these herbs and cleansers might work. All in all it is a great article and, for me, I am not brave enough to take something I have no idea what it is going to do to my body.
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Posted on 09/24/2008 at 8:09:51 PM

Very informative and glad you've debunked the myth.
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Posted on 09/24/2008 at 7:09:18 PM

OH man! there's this one "colon cleansing" product that advertises pictures of what these people shat out on their website! i totally forgot the address for it, but my first reaction was "jesus god what the hell! they pooed their intestines!" I''ve had to detoxify myself for surgery, which included drinking those lovely solutions that really actually do cleans your colon, and then enemas too just to be safe. I haven't talked to my doctors in particular about these 'colon cleansing' fads, but i do know they have one procedure where they shove a hose up your bum and slowly pour in hot soapy water via some kind of machine, then of course you get to see it all being sucked back out of you. not that much fun. Its crazy what people will try when it comes to weight loss, and what they think is an easy solution
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Posted on 09/22/2008 at 11:09:45 PM

One of those weird herbs would probably be senna. The companies like to skip over this important detail, but senna is basically a natural laxative. It's in a lot of detox/diet teas and drinks. That 5lbs you lose in one day? It's your poop and water weight. I know a lot of those detox drinks require you to fast along with it, too, so it adds to the fake water loss. A lot of people think they're all clean and stuff after doing this, but this is just basically the combination of fasting/crapping everything out, it puts you into this weird pre-ketosis mode.
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Posted on 09/22/2008 at 5:09:17 AM

very helpful article. thanks, I'd heard those boasts also. glad to know the real facts.
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Posted on 09/16/2008 at 4:09:00 PM

Wonderful article. Your resources were defintiely respectable. I love what a supersluth you are at getting right to the real cause and effect of these "fads".
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Posted on 09/13/2008 at 7:09:38 PM

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