A need to know about digestive cleasing

caroleann · Post by **caroleann** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:01 pm

Hello out There,

Kind of an embarassing topic but here goes.

Has anyone ever practiced digestive track cleasing? I am going to a weight loss support group which is hosted by a Herbal Life rep. We just read an article about cleasing and she swears by it. Of course she wants to sell herbal life products but the article made perfect sense. It stated that the digestive system is fequently messed up and causing illnesses as it is not used to the things we put in our bodies. As a result it gets nasty and doesn't work properly. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with what Reinhard said about how and what our ancestors ate in comparison with our eating habits today.

So is anyone practicing cleasing? If so does it make a difference? Let me know.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:07 pm

If you want to clean your digestive system, try fruits and vegetables! The cleaning is totally not necessary, expensive and might be dangerous.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:44 pm

Trust me Caroleanne, that whole cleanse spiel *sounds* like a reasonable argument, especially if you want to believe in it, but above anything, Herbalife people are just big multi level marketing guys and wanna sell you..

I actually used to be a representative for a while, but that was just so I could get discounts on my own purchases.. This was years ago.
Now I'd never believe a single thing any of them say.
Basically all they are pushing are "natural" speed pills.
How healthy is that!!???

I even did the master cleanse about twice. It was just a draining experience and a waste of time. All it did was make me lose 6 lbs of water weight, which I gained back immediately after it was over.
(I could only handle it for four days before I thought I was gonna pass out)
Drink lots of good water and try not to eat processed foods as much and lots of healthy sources of natural fiber and you will be fine.
I don't really buy into the whole thing about having a dirty intestine causing diseases etc.. Rest, exercise, a properly balanced diet and stress reduction techniques like meditation, will boost your immune system and keep you healthy.

Sorry if I'm coming across a bit harshly, but I am extremely wary of these types of people trying to talk you into their products and feel they are just part of a big lie.
Have an apple a day.. It will keep the doctor away

Debs x

maslowjenkins · Post by **maslowjenkins** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:26 pm

save the money and just take a big ol' dose of milk of magnesia. As a nurse, I have seen colonoscopies performed. The colons are cleaned out with basically a mega-dose of Miralax. I have never seen old pieces of hot dogs or crayons or wads of gum or any other type of sludge stuck to the walls of any colon I have seen. Yet this is exactly what those herbal sellers will tell you that people will pass when using their product. It's simply not true.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:38 pm

maslowjenkins wrote:save the money and just take a big ol' dose of milk of magnesia. As a nurse, I have seen colonoscopies performed. The colons are cleaned out with basically a mega-dose of Miralax. I have never seen old pieces of hot dogs or crayons or wads of gum or any other type of sludge stuck to the walls of any colon I have seen. Yet this is exactly what those herbal sellers will tell you that people will pass when using their product. It's simply not true.

I'm also a nurse and while I've never seen colonoscopies done, I've seen pictures of the colon during procedures -- including some where the colon wasn't so well cleaned out. I've never seen any of the stuff you mention, either.

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:49 pm

I would steer clear of anything like this.

Thalia · Post by **Thalia** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:06 am

Your colon is self-cleansing. It's SUPPOSED to have ... er, to be delicate, let's call partially digested food ... in it. That's because the whole reason you have intestines is to complete the digestive process -- you absorb a lot of nutrients while things are passing through to their final destination.

The idea that it is somehow unhealthy, diseased, or dirty to not have an empty colon is really perverse, and I think they're just preying on American's obsession with cleanliness and hygiene -- we're really grossed out by our bodily functions and byproducts!

LoriLifts · Post by **LoriLifts** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:42 am

One of the colonic rumors is that a person had a barbie shoe come out!
HA!!!
I'm in the lots of fruits and vegetable camp.

apomerantz · Post by **apomerantz** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:41 am

A barbie shoe!!!

That's pretty funny. It's nice to see all the sensible comments here coming out against this though . . . I feel that a lot of these supposed "remedies" are put together just to take innocent people's money. It makes me angry that a substance that you ingest is not regulated by the FDA.

caroleann · Post by **caroleann** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:20 pm

Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom. I thought it was a bunch of bull. I eat lots of fruits and veggies and have no problems. You are right about them wanting money. Not only do they want money but they're over priced. I bought some Kellog protein drink mix at the grocery. It cost me 3 something; Herbal life wants 11 something and makes the same amount of drinks.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:38 pm

Also Carolanne, I used to use Herbalife years ago.. The shakes didn't really help with weight loss. It was the appetite suppressants that they sold that made you lose weight. When I found out that the main ingredient at the time was Ma Huang, which had just been sited as a stimulant that killed a few college kids who were taking them to cram for their mid terms, I decided that I wouldn't use it anymore. It was really something. I remember being so speeded up.. you just don't feel like eating.
Once I stopped using them, and stuck with the shakes, the weight loss stopped.
They changed their formula to caffeine after Ma Huang became illegal here, but I don't think taking caffeine pills is too great an idea either!
I'll stick to plain coffee!
I know you are talking about cleansing here, but just in case anyone is considering using Herbalife, I am just telling my story to discourage that.
Have a great weekend!

Debs