Colon Cleanse Products: Good Plan or a Scam?

Parasites. Toxins. Pounds of backed-up fecal matter stewing in your intestines. These are the common reasons the manufacturers of colon cleansers give you to buy their product. Is your fear justified? Or are you simply being manipulated?

Colon cleanse websites like Blessed Herbs, HPS Online, and Dr. Natura, which sells the popular "Colonix" product, contain photo galleries designed to panic the viewer. Accompanied by quotes like, "I can't believe this came out of me," these visual testimonials are some of the most effective advertising I've ever seen. But effective advertising doesn't necessarily indicate an effective product, as consumers too often forget.

I agree, the prospects are frightening. But before you fork over hundreds of dollars and sacrifice countless hours with your behind glued to the toilet seat, think skeptically for a moment:

• I start taking this product.
• I start passing odd-looking stools.

The logician's immediate reaction would be, what you're putting in your body is, in fact, creating the foul bowel movements.

Browse those picture galleries one more time, then take a critical look at a diagram of your large intestine, such as the cross-section shown at right. The shape is remarkably similar. And since when did your stools have a consistency that allowed them to be hooked over a newspaper or plastic spoon?

Before you write me off as a conspiracy theorist, try this experiment: Take a glass and fill it 1/4 full of water. Add several tablespoons of Metameucil powder, or several of their capsules. Stir and let sit for a day or two. The mixture will settle, then gradually begin to form into a gel, which takes the shape of the glass.

You know what's coming next. Check your favorite colon cleanse product's list of ingredients. More likely than not, one of the first on the list will be some form of psyllium husk, which is, you guessed it, the main component of Metameucil, and many other fiber supplements.

When the spokesperson on the Dual Action Cleanse infomercial tells you he's spent years developing the perfect formula, he's not lying. He has created the perfect formula, but not for cleaning your colon. Colon cleanse products are painstakingly designed to produce visible, horrifying results that will induce the consumer to buy again, and again, and again. Customer satisfaction skyrockets, but does customer health?

The fact is, our bodies are very well designed, whether by an omnipotent Creator or by millenia of evolution, and the colon does its job pretty efficiently on its own. There are cases, like cancer, polyps, and IBS, where additional treatment is necessary, but in general, if you're eating enough fiber and drinking enough water, the most you'll ever need to take in the way of colon cleansing is a simple fiber supplement. And as you can see above, psyllium husk on its own is pretty darn cheap!

So don't waste your money, your time, or your peace of mind. Read up on how to fit more fiber into your diet, pick out a supplement from the list above, and try to appreciate the magical workings of your body. It's the only one you've got.