The Colonics Debate Continues

We stumbled across a recent article titled "Dangers of Colonic Hydrotherapy" and wanted to pass it along to you.

Colonics have not been well researched, but some people have found them to be temporarily helpful. Although not risk free, the are certainly not any riskier than many treatments and procedures regularly used by gastroenterologists, when performed by properly trained technicians.

I prefer to work with patients to find out the true cause of their problem, but I feel that is important to point out that this article has an obvious bias against colonics. Please feel free to share your own thoughts in our comments section.

From Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News:

It is often billed as a natural therapy that can spur weight loss, reduce water retention, cleanse internal organs and increase energy. Yet, according to a meta-analysis published in the August edition of the Journal of Family Medicine, colon cleansing provides no known health benefits, only dangerous side effects including, in rare cases, death (Mishori R et al. 2011;60:454-457).

“There can be serious consequences for those who engage in colon cleansing whether they have the procedure done at a spa or perform it at home,” said the paper’s lead author Ranit Mishori, MD, MHS, a family medicine physician at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C., in a statement.

Cleansing Chronicle

Colon cleansing—also called colonic irrigation or colonic hydrotherapy—often involves the use of chemicals followed by flushing the colon with water through a tube inserted in the rectum. The procedure has been around since ancient times and its purported benefits are based on the belief that trapped intestinal waste can poison the body. Colon cleansing became popular in the early 1900s but fell out of favor after 1919, when the American Medical Association condemned the practice on the basis of scientific observations finding no evidence that hardened waste accumulates on the intestinal walls.

In recent years, however, colon cleansing has staged a comeback, thanks to a major marketing campaign, said Dr. Mishori. The increasingly popular procedures are offered at spas, wellness centers, doctors’ offices and through do-it-yourself home remedies. Many practitioners and clinics advertise their colonic irrigation services, and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé Knowles have endorsed colon cleansing as a natural way to improve health.

“It’s like cleaning baked lasagna from a pan,” according to one reviewer.

“Colon hydrotherapy is a gentle and painless treatment with incredible health benefits,” according to an online homeopathic clearinghouse, homeopathicremediesandtreatment.com.

The Web site states that the individuals who may benefit include those with Crohn’s disease, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies, digestive problems, obesity and ulcerative colitis.

This article continues at the source, Gastroendonews.com.

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Image thanks to qito.co.uk