Colon cleansing has no benefit

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- There's no evidence to back claims that colon cleansing has health benefits but it can have many side effects including vomiting and death, U.S. doctors advise.

Lead author Dr. Ranit Mishori, a family medicine physician at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in Washington, and colleagues conducted a review of 20 research papers on colon cleansing in the last 10 years.

The review, published in the Journal of Family Practice, demonstrates that colon cleansing -- called colonic irrigation or colonic hydrotherapy -- can cause side effects ranging from cramping to renal failure and death. The procedure often involves use of chemicals followed by flushing the colon with water through a tube inserted in the rectum.

It has ancient roots, but was discredited in the early 1900s by the American Medical Association, yet it is being touted again.

"There can be serious consequences for those who engage in colon cleansing whether they have the procedure done at a spa or perform it at home," Mishori says in a statement. "Colon cleansing products in the form of laxatives, teas, powders and capsules with names such as Nature's Bounty Colon Cleaner tout benefits that don't exist."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no authority to monitor these products, Mishori says.