Soul Invictus

I am sure that the importance of a clean colon is well grounded, however it seems to be a very fad-type thing to do...especially with all the naturalistic health care vehicles that are hot right now. What's an average colon like from a health perspective? What should we do to lessen the chance for disease or unhealthy or poor hygiene regarding this part of the body?

critter

Why would you believe this? What do you mean by "clean", considering the colons functions

(1) concentration of faeces by absorbing water and electrolytes
(2) storage and ejection faeces
(3) digestion and absorption of undigested food.

not sure what would therefore be considered a clean colon?

Colon cleansing is yet another example of fringe "health' professionals taking advantage of a gullible public.

Leave it alone!

Cleansing alters the bacterial balance and is completely unnecessary or beneficial to your health.
You can cause infection if the equipment is not cleaned properly or even a breakage in the wall of the colon. There is also the risk of absorbing too much water.

Waste of money and potentially dangerous is the short answer.

Too keep a happy colon save your money and

1) After age 50 get screened for colon cancer (earlier if family history)
2) eat well (high fiber diet, low in fat)
3) exercise
4) don't smoke

Better yet chat to a doctor if you want accurate advice, that advice is from memory and from my understanding of several articles that have denounced yet another alternative medicine fraud.

Aria

Don't mess with your butt, son. As the previous poster said, there is no reason to cleanse your colon. Just eat a lot of fibre, leafy vegetables, and nature will attend to your nether bits without you needing to worry about them. But, if your feces is dark, pebbly/liquidy for a long time, see a doctor!

radagast

While I am sure you should keep your colon clean of such things as dirt, rocks, ground glass, and used car parts, I really think you need to be extremely skeptical of someone that believes you need to 'clean' it out.

Your colon works and needs to work, in an environment that is chock full of bacteria. You start flushing them out, you start to change the natural flora of the colon, then you open the door to more pathogenic bacteria and fungal type infections. The natural bacteria keep them at bay, for the most part. If you don't believe so, look up the term super-infection.

While there may be some form of emotional (or sexual) satisfaction from colonics, they are not sound, medically speaking.

Glenn

penumbra

You wanta clean colon? Schedule a colonoscopy. The prep involves drinking about a gallon of a semi-liquid the texture of snot and then shitting fluid every ten minutes or so for the next 3 to 4 hours. And your colon will be squeeky CLEAN!!! :Cheeky:

loinburger

The reason I've often seen trotted out for why you need to get a colonic is to remove "impacted fecal matter," e.g., "John Wayne had forty pounds of impacted fecal matter in his colon when he died." It's a lie. As the snopes article says, if you've got impacted fecal matter in your colon, then you'll know it.

Aristophanes

the accumulation of toxins within the colon can lead to colon cancer umong other diseases, so yes, you should keep your colon clean
in fact, you should keep every part of your body clean... if you want to stay alive that is

ninewands

I would especially recommend avoidance of used car parts ... some of them can have quite sharp edges that are PAINFUL on elimination. :rolling:

ETA: Similar reasoning applies to ground glass ...

I. C. Unicorns

I recommend a long bottle brush and dishwashing detergent.

Matt the Medic

Paging Dr. Rick! I expect he can put any such rumors to rest.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he addressed this once or twice in the past.

Have you tried a search?