Message Boards › Food and Nutrition
Heatmiser
Posts: 44Member Member
Posts: 44Member Member
Cleanse anyone??
Heatmiser
Posts: 44Member Member
Posts: 44Member Member
Ok, gross topic and I apologize, but has anyone done a cleanse or dextox? I have had high liver enzymes on my last two blood tests and it has been suggested I try a cleanse. I have also heard that doing one helps you get all kinds of gross things out of your body as well as kills cravings for sugar and artificial stuff. I urge people to check out this website and read some of the testimonials. It was a real eye opener. I want to try it but I am a little scared. Let me know what you think. :sick:
Thanks!!!
http://www.drnatura.com/index.html
Thanks!!!
http://www.drnatura.com/index.html
Replies
Thanks!!!
http://www.drnatura.com/index.html
If you do one just make sure that you take a day or two off to stay home and relax. The very first couple days can be pretty rough. I had headachs and felt sick. But then after that it got better.
The Dr.Natura seems a little more intese. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has tried this as I too, have looked at this alternative.
I have, however, tried colon hydrotherapy. It is difficult to get past the details of the procedure, but after just one, I am over it and get them several times per year. It is a natural therapy that pushes water up into your colon and when drawn out, brings with it all the waste and stuff that cloggs you up. Afterwards, I felt light, clean, and completely energized!
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/colon-cleansers-are-they-safe
In addition to the precautions list in the article, colon cleansing removes your normal intestinal flora which helps protect you from intestinal infections such as Salmonella. Please think twice about colon cleansing!!
Colon Cleansers: Are They Safe?
Experts discuss the safety and effectiveness of colon cleansers.
By Jenny Stamos Kovacs
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Charlotte E. Grayson Mathis, MD
You may have heard about colon cleansers, and even wondered whether you might need one yourself.
According to some alternative health advocates, just as you routinely shampoo your hair or scrub your floor, you should be regularly cleaning your colon as well. In fact, some people are making a lot of money persuading people that their colons are packed with several years' worth of decaying waste and that a colon cleanser will solve the problem. Colon cleansers come in a variety of forms, including capsules, laxatives, enemas, and "high colonics" which flush large amounts of water through the intestines.
"Artificial colon cleansers are big business," says Melinda Johnson, MS, RD, a registered dietitian based in Phoenix, Ariz., and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. How big a business? Just type "colon cleansers" into any search engine, and you"ll get an idea.
But it turns out that, when taken to extremes, an obsession with inner purification can be harmful.
WebMD consulted the experts to find out all about colon cleansers -- their safety and effectiveness, and whether or not colon cleansing is for you.
Colon Cleansers: Dirty Business
Colon cleansing is based on the theory that waste collects in the colon over time and stagnates there, causing toxins to form and spread throughout the body -- a phenomenon known as "autointoxication." Many 19th century doctors accepted autointoxication as fact. Although scientific research conducted as early as the 1920s failed to confirm it, the misconception persists. Other colon cleanser advocates insist that the accumulated stool blocks the colon, preventing the proper elimination of waste.
But experts say there is no such thing as autointoxication, and that the human body is actually very good at taking care of itself. Colon cleansing is really a strange fad, says Ruth Kava, PhD, RD, director of nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health in New York City. âThe body can cleanse itself quite well. The kidneys and lungs remove toxins and by-products from the blood stream, and regular bowel movements remove any waste products from the gastrointestinal [GI] tract."
David L. Diehl, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at New York University, and chief of gastrointestinal endoscopy at Bellevue Hospital Center, agrees. "High colonics are often touted as a way to cleanse the colon of 'adherent stool' that has been there for years or even decades," he says. "The problem with this concept is that there is no such thing. The body does a good job of eliminating stool, and there are no 'pockets' in the colon that collect stool for years. I do a colonoscopy every day of the week, and a preprocedure purge is sufficient to clean out the stool and leave a pristine looking colon."
Colon Cleansers: Are They Safe?
Experts discuss the safety and effectiveness of colon cleansers.
(continued)
Colon Cleanser Cautions
Colon cleansers aren't just unnecessary, according to experts, they may even cause harm. "Using coloncleansers on a repetitive basis is not a great idea," Kava says. Your intestines aren't just a waste disposal unit; they're also a place where nutrients from food are absorbed to the bloodstream, to be transported throughout your entire body. Washing out the intestinal tract could potentially interrupt this absorption, leaving you with a vitamin or mineral deficiency, Kava tells WebMD. Â In addition, frequent use of some types of laxatives can have a boomerang effect, so that cleaning your colon could leave it less able to do its job the way nature intended.
Another pitfall of colon cleansers is that they can lead to dehydration, Johnson says.
Moreover, high colonics can potentially harm the colon, causing small tears or internal damage.
Perhaps most alarming, colon cleansers have no proven safety record. "Colon cleansers are really not strictly regulated and tested," Johnson says. "If a product is shown to be harmful, the FDA will take action to have it removed from shelves, but it's not at all the same as taking a prescription drug that's been tested meticulously."
Healthy Colon Cleansers
"A healthy diet that includes enough fiber and water is nature's way of cleansing your colon," Johnson tells WebMD. A diet that is low in fiber and water, on the other hand, usually results in constipation. You can think of fiber as acting like a "toothbrush" passing through your colon, she says. So every day that you meet your recommended daily dose -- between 21 and 25 grams per day for adult women and 30 to 38 grams for adult men -- you're literally consuming a colon cleanser. Up your fiber intake slowly by making room in your diet for foods like fruit, vegetables, beans, and high-fiber cereals. Keeping your body moving as much as possible is important, too, Johnson says. Physical activity increases blood flow throughout the body, and the better your blood flow, the easier it is for your colon to work efficiently.
The Truth About Colon Cleansers
"They may provide temporary relief if you're constipated," Johnson says, "And yes they will cleanse your colon of its contents, but they can also be dangerous, expensive and inconvenient." Bottom line? Your colon knows its job; leave it alone and it will take care of itself.
Part of the Master Cleanse includes doing a top-down enema. You drink a quart of salt water in the morning. Since the salt water is the same density as your blood, it's not absorbed and within an hour or so you'll be passing it right back out. It's not the most convenient - you can't expect to drink it in the morning and head to work. That would be disastrous. But, if you're looking for a cleansing experience, this is a more natural and less invasive way, in my opinion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Cleanse
Good luck!
We are now 3 weeks into their 30 day program (cleansing/fasting once a week), to change some of our bad eating habits. We are both very happy with the results & how we feel...
I don't know the expense of your program, but I know ours was worth it. Sometimes money can be a big motivation factor.
As far as the actual cleanse days - they were/are tough...
Good luck.
Good Luck!
Your colon cleans itself. There is no reason to stick a hose up your *kitten*!
A natural, herbal cleanse can be very helpful, especially if you have problems staying regular. Your body is quite efficient at cleansing itself, but when it's having a little trouble, the toxins will just build up.
I definitely wouldn't recommend anything that involves fasting or too restrictive a diet, because then you're losing valuable nutrients and risking starving your body.
If you are going to do a cleanse, in order to avoid what was mentioned above, (losing beneficial intestinal flora) you can take probiotics, which replenish this bacteria. You can get these at health food/nutrition stores.
Keep in mind that a simple colon cleanse isn't going to do much, if anything, for sugar cravings. Candida is a yeast, or "bad bacteria," that can grow in place of your beneficial flora. This is what causes sugar cravings, as well as other symptoms such as grumpiness, bloating and exhaustion. There are cleanses specifically for Candida you can get as well, but if you're going to do one of those you NEED to take probiotics, because one of those will kill both kinds of bacteria, and it's important to put the good kind back.
So before you make a decision, you should really do a little research, take a look at how you really feel without it, and decide if its necessary. If it is, take a look at your options before buying the first thing around. Always do what you feel is best for you.
:flowerforyou:
1) The human body is a system that depends on consistancy. Changing your biochemistry drastically can have harmful implications. Most doctors recommend slow gradual changes. That's why diets almost never work in the long run, changing your eating permanently works much better.
2) Liquid diets can have severe impact on the human body, and can permenantly damage organs like the gall bladder and do damage to the kidneys, liver, and intestines. It usually takes a week or more for these things to start, but they will start. The human body was designed to break down solids, if you don't give it solids the body will eventually start shutting down some of the processes used for it.
3)I have talked to dieticians, nutritionists, and doctors on liquid "cleansing" diets. Not one of them has ever recommended it for anything more then 2 days to me. I Have also researched it and the results from just about every study have said that aside from temporary gains, they aren't as good as changing your eating habits to include less of the things your trying to expel in the first place. and using the body's own toxin removal processes (waste disposal, sweating) is very effective at removing toxins, try cardio first. If you don't feel better after a few months sweating hard, then maybe think about it.
4) With respect to everyone on here, we aren't doctors, please talk to your doctor before you do something like this.
Thanks again to everyone. I appreciate your time and info.
I absolutely agree with that statement everyone should consult with their doctor when doing something drastic
If we dont want to talk to our doctors isnt that telling us that we are scared they will most probably say "NO" to what we are considering .. (our gut instinct tells us so much to protect us that we really shouldnt ignore it ) ... everyone is also unique and has different illnesses and blood results etc so its best to have an informed choice and not to be reckless..