Colon cleansing is the process of cleaning the colon of toxins as a way of improving your overall health. Practitioners believe that substances left in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to a number of health complications, such as arthritis, allergies, acne, irritable bowel syndrome and even the common cold. The cleansing is touted as a method of weight loss, largely due to the increased rate of bowel movements often experienced while using a colon cleanser.
Calories
To lose weight, you must generate a caloric deficit; a deficit of roughly 3,500 calories is required to shed 1 lb. of fat. This can be done through diet modification; practitioners of colon cleansing reason that increasing the rate of fecal excretion can help you get rid of unwanted calories. However, the majority of calories in food are absorbed well before the food reaches the colon. Cleansing really does nothing to eliminate calories from your body.
Water Weight
It is quite possible to lose some weight using a colon cleanser, but this loss is at least partly the result of water weight. Colon cleansers increase the rate of fecal movement within the colon, which limits the amount of fluids absorbed by the intestinal walls. During a bowel movement, a person using a colon cleanser evacuates more fluids than usual, giving the illusion of weight loss; however, this is a temporary situation. As soon as you replace the lost fluids, the weight will return.
Fecal Matter
The increased rate of fecal movement limits the amount of waste in your colon, which may be reflected when you weigh yourself. Nothing is necessarily wrong with having less waste in your digestive tract, but it does not affect fatty tissue; you still carry the same amount of fat on your body as before. The goal of weight loss is to shed the fat. Eliminating the small amount of excess weight from the intestinal tract does nothing to minimize your waist, hips, thighs or any other part of the body carrying excess fat.
Weight Loss
Instead of using a colon cleanser to shed excess pounds, follow a calorie-controlled diet in combination with an increase in physical activity. Reducing your caloric intake helps generate a caloric deficit, while regular exercise burns additional calories.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Colon Cleansing: Is It Helpful or Harmful?; Michael Picco; March 25, 2009
- Western Kentucky University: Bio 113: Digestion
- National Eating Disorders Association: Laxative Abuse: Some Basic Facts; 2005
- Clinical Correlations: Myths and Realities: Colon Cleansing: Healthful or Just a Load of @$%!; Chau Che; July 16, 2009
