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Laxative teas, coffee enemas, and detox diets abound on social media. Proponents claim that our colons are clogged with . This purported 鈥渢oxic sludge鈥� can be blamed for , from diabetes to cancer, arthritis to asthma. It鈥檚 the reason you鈥檙e not losing weight, you鈥檙e always tired, and you have a rash on your elbow. The only problem with this paradigm is that we do not have massive amounts of fecal material in our colons, and cleansing our intestines does nothing except increase our toilet time.
Even if you鈥檝e never heard of a colon cleanse by name, you鈥檝e likely heard one of its pseudonyms. Everyone from Dr. Oz to the Kardashians has pushed juice diets, flushes, detoxes, colonics, and other words that mean clearing the crud out of your intestine. Not everyone focuses on the poopy parts of the story, but a quick look at the ingredients of Instagram鈥檚 famous shows that they鈥檙e largely based on laxatives.
As I said before, we simply do not have mounds of waste built up in our bodies at all times. If that鈥檚 true for you, you need medical attention immediately, not a detox product. Clearing out the nonexistent waste cannot, therefore, have the health benefits proponents proclaim. On the contrary, our bodies are excellent detoxifiers. Our livers, kidneys, skin, and other organs do, to quote , 鈥渁 better job than any homemade solution could.鈥�
Even if you鈥檙e desperate to slim down temporarily and willing to take all the risks, cleansing your colon is not the answer you鈥檙e searching for. that you鈥檙e liable to lose a couple of pounds at most.
Unfortunately, the trend of scapegoating poop for every possible illness could lead patients to delay or avoid actual medical treatment, prolonging or worsening their condition. The colonics and detox products are far from benign as well. There have been noted of infections resulting from colonic irrigation. Other side effects nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and even . In addition, take it from someone who has had a medically necessary and doctor-administered enema; it was extremely unpleasant.
