# Colon cleanse **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156 "2008-02-18T20:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/1 "2008-02-18T20:38:37Z")
So what’s the straight dope on the colon? Do I really have ‘pounds’ of stuff built up in there, or is that a crock of…you know. Those who make colon cleanse products (and those who do colonic irrigation) say yes. Others, including Penn and Teller, say it’s BullSH\*t. And if it is a crock, what about the aisles of colon cleanse products at my local Whole Foods store? Do they do anything at all? Are they just higher priced fiber? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/2 "2008-02-18T20:40:47Z")
High priced fiber, or worse. Unless you have a medical problem, and I think our Dr. Dopers will agree, if you eat a varied diet everything you need for a healthy colon will come to pass! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/3 "2008-02-18T20:53:22Z")
[QUOTE=spooje] And if it is a crock, what about the aisles of colon cleanse products at my local Whole Foods store? Do they do anything at all? Are they just higher priced fiber? [/QUOTE] They are all complete BS. If you’re lucky, they are just high-priced insoluble fiber, which certainly isn’t bad for you, but doesn’t “cleanse out the colon” because there’s nothing to clean out. The worse ones (often peddled late at night on fake “medical news” programs) aren’t even fiber, they’re basically [cat litter.](http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4083) > [@](#): > > These pills consist mainly of bentonite, an absorbent, expanding clay similar to kitty litter. Combined with psyllium, used in the production of mucilage polymer, bentonite forms a rubbery cast of your intestines when taken internally, mixed of course with whatever else your body is excreting. Surprise, a giant rubbery snake of toxins in your toilet. > It’s important to note that the only recorded instances of these “mucoid plaque” snakes in all of medical history come from the toilets of the victims of these cleansing pills. No gastroenterologist has ever encountered one in tens of millions of endoscopies, and no pathologist has ever found one during an autopsy. They do not exist until you take such a pill to form them. The pill creates the very condition that it claims to cure. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/4 "2008-02-18T21:57:56Z")
My SO had a colonoscopy the other week. The day before, she had to start a regimen of crazy laxatives because they needed her colon “cleansed” prior to having a camera send up where the sun don’t shine. There weren’t “pounds of build-up” or anything else in her colon. The results would have been similar if she’d gone on a “clear liquid diet” a few days before the procedure. If you’re worried, eat a lot of kale. It’s nature’s colon scrubber. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/5 "2008-02-18T22:00:51Z")
You might wonder, “how can they lie about products that are openly sold on the shelf?” It’s because they aren’t drugs. They’re “food supplements.” Those are very thinly regulated, unless they turn out to be actually harmful. They use clever phrases such as “often used to ease” and “believed to help with.” Colon-cleansers, though, start with a scare about a problem that doesn’t exist. They can assure you that your colon will be clear of toxins and memcor clovians 😉 , because you didn’t have them before you took the supplement. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/6 "2008-02-18T22:07:13Z")
[QUOTE=GaryM] High priced fiber, or worse. Unless you have a medical problem, and I think our Dr. Dopers will agree, if you eat a varied diet everything you need for a healthy colon will come to pass! 😃 [/QUOTE] Not entirely true. The average American dude does need more fiber in his diet. But those “colon cleanse” products are a very expensive way to get it. If you just can’t get enough fiber from your foods, adding some Benefiber or whatever fiber product you like is a much cheaper way of making your colon happy and clean. Some probiotics are also good, you can get them from live culture yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/7 "2008-02-19T03:35:38Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Not entirely true. The average American dude does need more fiber in his diet. But those “colon cleanse” products are a very expensive way to get it. If you just can’t get enough fiber from your foods, adding some Benefiber or whatever fiber product you like is a much cheaper way of making your colon happy and clean. Some probiotics are also good, you can get them from live culture yogurt. [/QUOTE] Hey, I said varied diet. that would include lots of fruits and veggies! Maybe some folks think a varied diet means a hamburger on Monday and a cheese burger on Tuesday. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/8 "2008-02-19T03:36:42Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] My SO had a colonoscopy the other week. The day before, she had to start a regimen of crazy laxatives because they needed her colon “cleansed” prior to having a camera send up where the sun don’t shine. There weren’t “pounds of build-up” or anything else in her colon. The results would have been similar if she’d gone on a “clear liquid diet” a few days before the procedure. If you’re worried, eat a lot of kale. It’s nature’s colon scrubber. [/QUOTE] I had a sigmoidoscopy a few years ago and had to take some laxatives the night before and give myself two enemas the morning of the test. (Those were treasured moments I will always remember). They don’t knock you out for a sigmoidoscopy, so I watched almost the whole thing; it’s a shiny pink cave in there; nothing weird. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/9 "2008-02-19T03:53:54Z")
You need [Colon Blow](http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=17012). ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/10 "2008-02-19T04:13:16Z")
The Straight Dope: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a900525.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a900525.html) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/11 "2008-02-19T09:54:40Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] They use clever phrases such as “often used to ease” and “believed to help with.” [/QUOTE] Or my personal favorite: “Results Not Typical” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/12 "2008-02-19T10:16:13Z")
[QUOTE=spooje] Others, including Penn and Teller, say it’s BullSH\*t. [/QUOTE] Not just P & T, but the entire the [medical](http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/gastro.html) [profession](http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.194/news_detail.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colon-cleanse/438156/13 "2008-02-25T07:11:36Z")
Thanks for all the info. Interestingly, I was at the gym the other day and the TV was playing an info-mercial about…you guessed it…Colon Cleanse!!! I was waiting to see if the ‘expert’ mentioned “mucoid plaque” and, sure enough, he did. And he even showed the pictures from the first link in this thread. :eek: