There are several ways to detoxify and cleanse the intestines

The vast majority of healthy people do not need to take additional "intestinal cleansing and detoxification" drugs. The so-called "intestinal toxin" itself is a marketing concept created by health care product manufacturers. The medical equivalent is nothing more than constipation and bloating caused by poor discharge of metabolic waste.

Last month, I helped my senior sister in the Department of Gastroenterology sort out nearly 200 outpatient consultation records on "intestinal cleansing and detoxification". More than 80% of the people were attracted by the "enzymes" and "defecation pills" sold by Internet celebrities. After taking them for a long time, they felt they were effective. As a result, they ended up with intestinal dysfunction or even melanosis. Many of them came to see a doctor.

First let’s talk about the polyethylene glycol and lactulose that you may have prescribed in the hospital. These are volumetric laxatives. The principle is that they enter the intestines without being absorbed. They also lock in water and soften dry and hard stools. When the volume increases, it naturally stimulates intestinal peristalsis and is discharged. If you usually sit for a long time and don’t move much, and you have no urge to defecate for two or three days in a row, and your belly is bloated like a balloon filled with water, the doctor will usually give priority to prescribing this product. It will hardly irritate the intestinal mucosa. Pregnant women and children can also use it as directed by the doctor. Oh, by the way, many "high-purity dietary fiber powders" sold by internet celebrities are actually marginal in this category. However, the purification precision is not enough, and some also add messy sugar substitutes and pigments. After eating, they will bloat without laxatives and keep farting, which is not worth the gain.

The most misunderstood ones are actually stimulant laxatives, such as the senna leaves you may have soaked in, the fruit guide tablets that were often sold in the early years, and many detoxifying enzymes and intestinal cleansing jelly that claim to "defeat black stools and lose 3 pounds in the same day". The active ingredients are actually anthraquinones, which directly stimulate the intestinal mucosal nerves and force the intestinal tract to contract violently. The effects are very fast. You have to run to the toilet two or three hours after eating. The merchants claimed that the black and sticky stuff that came out was "intestinal toxins accumulated for decades." To put it bluntly, it was just irritated intestinal mucosal secretions mixed with undigested food residue. This medicine can be used once in a while to provide emergency relief. For example, if you have uncomfortable constipation for four or five days in a row, drinking a few sips of light senna water will help. However, if you take it every day, your intestines will turn into "black intestines" within half a year. The mucosa will be full of pigmentation, and your own peristalsis function will be completely useless. By then, you will not be able to pull it out without taking medicine. We previously treated a 22-year-old girl who took Internet celebrity detox pills for half a year to get rid of acne. In the end, she became constipated to the point where she had to have an enema to defecate. When she went for a colonoscopy while crying, her intestines were so dark that they seemed to have changed color. It was so painful.

There is another kind of lubricating laxative that everyone is more familiar with, which is lubricating laxatives such as Kaiselu and liquid paraffin. The principle is simpler, which is to "lubricate" the intestinal wall and dry stool, so that the hard stool blocked in the anus can slide out smoothly. It is suitable for those situations where the urge to defecate is particularly strong, the legs are numb after squatting for half an hour, and the stool is as dry as sheep dung and eggs and cannot be expelled. During the Chinese New Year, my relative's child was greedy and ate too many fried melon seeds and fried New Year products. He squatted in the toilet and cried. He squeezed half a bottle of Kaisailu and the problem was solved in two minutes. However, this cannot be used frequently, otherwise the muscles around the anus will become dependent. In the future, they will not be able to defecate on their own without external stimulation, which will aggravate constipation.

Nowadays, many practitioners in the fields of nutrition and traditional Chinese medicine do not agree with the idea of "using medication to cleanse the intestines." They believe that as long as the diet is adjusted, for example, eating enough 30g of dietary fiber every day, drinking enough 1.5L of warm water, and taking time to exercise for more than half an hour three times a week, the intestines will have a normal excretion rhythm, and no additional medication intervention is needed. There are also many people who think that supplementing probiotics and prebiotics to regulate the intestinal environment can be regarded as "gentle cleansing". There is currently no unified clinical conclusion on this. It is true that some people have more regular bowel movements after taking probiotics. There are also studies showing that additional probiotics are difficult to colonize in the intestines. To put it bluntly, it is useless if they pass through the intestines. Individual differences are very large. You can try it according to your own situation. There is no need to stick to a certain method.

Oh, by the way, I’d also like to mention a rumor that has been circulating for a long time: Many businesses claim that purifying the body can help you lose weight, remove acne, and lighten spots. They are all deceptive. The few pounds you weigh after having a bowel movement are all water and the weight of the stool, not fat at all. If acne is caused by endocrine disorders or excessive oil secretion, it will be useless no matter how much you poop. Don't take medicine for this non-existent effect.

After all, the intestines have a very mature self-cleaning mechanism. If you really haven’t had a bowel movement for two or three days, try eating two more red dragon fruit first, and go out for a couple of runs and jump rope for a while. If it doesn’t work, follow the doctor’s advice and use some mild medicine. Don’t just blindly take bowel cleansing medicine to detoxify, and ruin a good intestinal tract. In the end, it is you who will suffer.