By: J. Martin
Submitted: 2009-10-17 11:46:03 | Word Count: 556
Colon cleansing basically refers to the whole range of therapies aimed at ridding the large intestine (the colon) and by extension the rest of the gastro intestinal tract of accumulated toxins and fecal waste.
In keeping with the dual nature of things, there is both an upside and a downside to colon cleansing. Therefore the decision as to whether or not to submit to the colon cleansing, as indeed most major decisions in life, needs to be preceded by a cost benefit analysis; where the like positive outcomes of the decision are weighed against the likely negative outcomes of the same. Essentially then, when we talk about the cost benefit analysis for colon cleansing we are not looking at the financial cost of the procedure only (though that will be considered too), but rather the whole range of potential benefits of colon cleansing vis a vis the potential risks/side effects of the procedure.
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Perhaps we could start with the upside. The potential benefits of colon cleansing, which the practitioners of the procedure offer as promises (and which most of the people who have undergone the procedure before attest to actually having gotten), include: increased vitality (raised energy levels in the body), sustainable weight loss, improved immunity against illnesses and so on: all very highly attractive things to the health conscious person.
Turning to the downside –practitioners of colon cleansing argue that properly carried out the procedure is absolutely side effect free. The mainstream medical community, on the other hand, however, holds that the procedure comes with a number of risks worth exploring. The more intrusive forms of colon cleansing, that involve insertion of various tools into the colon to nudge out the fecal matter and toxins that colon cleansing aims to rid the body of, for instance, come with the risk of perforating the large intestine or another part of the gastro intestinal tract; with dire consequences to the victim. Moreover, according to mainstream medical practitioners, use of un sterilized or poor sterilized equipment in colon cleansing could expose the person undergoing the procedure to various infections. Colon cleansing, according to its critics, also comes with the risk of distorting the delicate balance of bacteria in the gastro intestinal tract, with dire consequences to the person undergoing the procedure since the good bacteria (also called pro bacteria ) that are resident in the belly play quite an indispensable role in the digestion of food. And questioning the need for the whole colon cleansing venture, some mainstream medical practitioners argue that the body has naturally cleansing mechanisms, and it doesn t quite need help in this role by way of colon cleansing.
So at the end of the day, we have both the sentiments of the pro colon cleansing camp, with regard to the benefits of the procedure; and the sentiments of the anti colon cleansing camp in the mainstream medical community, with regard to the potential risks of the procedure. In the final analysis one needs to honestly look at their current state of health, the potential benefits of colon cleansing to them given that state of health they happen to be in, as well as the potential risks of the procedure (keeping in mind that everything in life comes with a risk), to determine whether or not they should go for colon cleansing or not.
