The fraudulent claims and marketing of colon cleansing products

Controversial Dietary Products and Theories

According to the advertisements promoting colon cleansing diets and related websites, the human colon becomes "impacted" with undigested foods and the average person carries a substantial amount of excess weight because of this type of intestinal "impaction" (Colovox, 2008; MVDT, 2009). Commercial websites such as those maintained by Colovox Cleanser (2009) and the Martha's Vineyard Detox Diet (2008) promote colon cleansing through laxative-type products and even colonic irrigation. In addition to promoting colon "cleansing" for the supposed purpose of eliminating the impacted fecal material in the intestines, both of these products suggest that fasting and cleansing are necessary for human health because "toxins" build up from synthetically processed food in the modern diet (Colovox, 2008; MVDT, 2009).

In reality, there is absolutely no truth to the claim about intestinal "impaction" because the colon does not allow anything to build up along its walls (Barrett, 2008). According to physician Steven Barrett (2008), the walls of the human colon actually slough off every 72 hours and any view from the television cameras typically used in colonoscopies reveals that the walls of the entire colon are extremely thin with blood vessels clearly evident in the intestinal tissues. Likewise, there are no such things as any "toxins" that build up in the human body that are capable of being reduced or eliminated through any type of diet or cleansing of the colon (Barrett, 2008).