You can, I hope, imagine my surprise when after our extremely thorough consultation process lasting an hour and a half, a lady sitting in front of me said, “Well, it all sounds very good but do you think colonic irrigation would work just as well?”
Before telling you exactly what I think of colonic irrigation – not difficult to anticipate I suspect – let’s have a look at why people do it and what evidence there is to justify it. A survey suggests that 84% of those using colonic irrigation are women, most of whom believe that it ‘detoxifies, cleans and unblocks’ the system. Organisations offering colonic irrigation are not quite so coy and want to insist that the treatment is effective for a wide variety of common ailments ranging from asthma to skin problems, rheumatoid arthritis, menstrual irregularities and circulatory disorders. Some even claim that it may help to prevent bowel cancer. The treatment is based on the ancient (and completely obsolete) theory of ‘autointoxication’; the idea that in some way the body poisons itself with ‘toxins’ which, if not removed, can lead to various illnesses.
All of this, of course, is pure rubbish. There isn’t a shred of credible evidence to support any of these claims and the “autotoxin” theory on which it’s based, is complete fantasy – even if Princess Diana swore by it. Furthermore, it isn’t harmless; side effects include abdominal cramps, nausea and diarrhoea and more serious risks include perforation of the bowel. Two recent reviews in the scientific literature have concluded that colonic irrigation is not merely worthless, but biologically implausible. The title of one of these papers says it all: “Colonic Irrigation and the Theory of Autointoxication: A Triumph of Ignorance over Science”.
So, to suggest that colonic irrigation might be an alternative to a serious solution (i.e. obesity surgery) for a serious problem (obesity) is – I’m afraid - a sad testimony to the lengths people will go to delude themselves.
Dr David Ashton
2nd November 2010
