If someone wants to try this w/o the high price, I've seen products like this at places like Whole Paycheck.. uh, I mean, Foods. Pretty much the same thing for around $10 I think. Not as many bells and whistles though.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

first my qualifications: i am a pharmD (pharmacy doctor), soon to be M.D.
where should i begin, well, let me tell you that you are wasting your money and time not to mention healthy colon cells by resorting to these products that claim to "clean you up". i still look at my patient with disbelief when they ask me to recommend a "colon cleanser" or something to "flush out the system" as they describe it. And they look at me with the same disbelief when i tell them there no such thing and that there bodies does it naturally anyways. i certainly can't blame them since most have no medical training and are easily swayed by these miracle products that claim numerous health benefits without the hard scientific evidence or FDA approval (as 99% of OTC "over the counter" herbals are).
most people assume that since the product is natural or from herbal origin it is safe. this is where they are absolutly wrong. i have seen countless serious side effects and interactions from patients taking these supplements. just because we don't have enough data and scientific research to tell us about the pharmacology, kinetics and toxiclogy of a certain product, DOES NOT make the product safe.
back to our subject about colon cleansers:
the colon naturally produces mucous to protect the underlying cells. this mucous cannot aggregate to form clumps or masses as this has never been documented in the liteteature.
as to people with intestinal worms these represent a very small percentage of people in the 3rd world countries, and even a much smaller percentage in 1st world countries. intestinal worms are a result of unsnanitaty condtions where the worm can enter the GI tract through infected foods or through the skin-blood-GI tract. these worms can grow to a relatively large scale and the patient will present with symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, anemia, and occult blood in feces. it can be treated with antiparisitic drugs such as mebendazole in combination with antiprotozoals.
now for the rest of us who don't have intestinal worms, a regular balanced diet is quite sufficient to support a healthy colon. people who do not consume enough fiber and calcium in their diet are at risk of developing polyps that can progress to cancer. this can be eliminated by a fiber rich diet ( a salad with that beef steak wouldn't kill you) and good calcium intake. fiber can be from natural sources"preferred" (whole weat, salads etc), or from supplements (metamucil, fibercon etc) that contain methylcellulose, psylium, and other water soluble fibers. yealry exams for people over 50 is recommended also (you get a camera inserted in your ass )
back to those products that claim to cleanse your body, here his the secret:
most of these product contain bulk forming laxative or an assortment of saline laxatives, stool softners, GI irritants (spices and such), in addition to bentonite (a porous clay that swells up in contact with water) and similar products. i have heard some of my patients describing some home brewed formulas that sound more like poisons that a magical cure. one of my patient came to me with severe abdominal symptoms and complaining of a erythemaous pappular rash all over her boby after drinking a preparation consisting of citrus juice+cayene peper and some other stuff.
some if not most of these advertised produsts can be very irritating to the lining of the GI tract, and can result in the desquamation of the epithilial cells lining your intestins (your intestins have villi and microvilli-wrinkels- that effectevly increase the intestinal surface area to about 200 square meters).
losing that lining can result in various problems including but not limited to variious forms of colitis and other health problems. upseting the critical balance of bacteria in the colon can result in equally devastating problems too.
what people see in their stools after using these products are a result of the laxative action in addition to the bulk forming products they use effectively increase the amount of stool excreted by swelling with fluids. what some people describe as worms might the result of the desquamation of the surface of their intestins. continious use of strong laxatives is never recommended as it can lead to dehydration, electrolyte inbalances and severe GI irritation. use of stimulant laxatives is reserved to occasional constiapation or before medical procedures and should not be used regularly. misuse of these products can lead to dependance as the natural peristalsis action in the GI tract slows down causing the patient to constipate if they suddently stop taking the laxative.
my only recommendation remains to eat a healthy balanced diet rich with fiber and cacium. if that is not possible, any fiber supplemention would do.
and forget all that crap about colon cleansing!!

P.S about lead amalgum and lead toxicity. yes, lead can cause intestinal problems at a toxic level, usually perfuse or bloody diarrhea because lead would strip the lining of your intestins if ingested. however i doubt that the levels released form the amalgums would be enough to cause that reaction. switching lo gold amalgums is not very safe either because the alloys used will have a galvanic reaction with the gold causing electric currents (a battery near your brain) and increasing the release of the lead from the amalgum.

now can i have $100 for the consultation please!

Sounds great but is it covered by Afquack?

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

To go off on an oddball health supplement tangent:

I eat a lot of clay

Sucks a lot of poisons out of your body and also contains lots of trace minerals.
Works for me.

__________________
'87 300SDL

dieselbenz

we use a bentonite clay in many pharmaceutical preparations. although it does have several trace minerals it's advantages are lost if used on a regular basis since it can adsorb to many nutrients and minerals and medications inhibiting it's absorbtion. occasional use of bentonite for situations like gastritis, food poisoning and such is fine. too much of a good thing is not always good!

Mr. Afquack is too busy running from RICO lawyers these days to be covering much of anything.

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(2) 1988 300 SEL W126

Haha peer reviewed studies on something that has been around long before the invent of the pharmacartel and is much less dangerous than eating a double whopper with extra mayo and ultrakingsize frys. That's a good one.

Some of us here have had more research into "alternative" methods than any supposed-MD or armchair surfing reactionist around. We know what works and what is a waste of time.

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(2) 1988 300 SEL W126

OK. Where is this independent based research at then? So far I haven't seen them send it to an FDA lab or any accredited lab with controlled proecdures used to measure anything they claim. That is probably the reason they call it a supplement. So they can make outrageous claims and not have to back it up except with a guy wearing a white coat and pointing at some graphs.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

You are right, but no you can't have $100 for your consultation. (-: I gave sam einfo in a few sentences with better practical advice to others in post #16. But you deserve the $$$ for typing all this detail.

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'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

eat fiber....the more the better........

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

this is the kind of attitudes that i would expect from the general public or at least somone who does not have any medical or pharmaceutical background.
i would like to start by stating that pharmacutical companies have a lot of interest and investments in herbals and "alternative medicine" as it is a big money maker. from my experience average profit margin on such products is about 90%. i would definitly advertise these products if i am a business owner. as most of you know herblas are not regulated by the FDA, but by the FTC (federal trade commision). the same commision that regulates dishsoap and paper towel and other otc's. so basically i can fill my bathtub with grass and weeds, formulate them into a tablet or capsule and sell it as a cure for cancer. although i can't say that it actulally can cure cancer, but i can say it in an indirect way as long as this statement is included : "this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA, this product is not intended to diagnose , cure or prevent any disease. based on this statement this product will be sold as a nutritional supplement or food.
I'm not trying to dog traditional medicine. i submit that a lot of herbals contain active moieties that can be just as potent as some medication and are actually precursors to the active ingredients in these medications. several herbal supplements has been proven effective. this has been done by using peer reviewed double blinded placebo controlled , with or without a crossover design with the results showing P<0.01 for statistical significance and clinical significance identified. i can name for example : st john worth for mild depression, saw palmeto for prostaic hyperplasia and such...
most herbals do not contain a single active ingredient, and herbals sometimes can contain up to thousands of chemicals that can be either clinically or biologically active or inactive. these chemicals can very depending on the seasons, temperatures, parts of the plant cultivated and other variables. i beleive our ancestors had a better experience cultivating these plants based on experience and teachings passed on acquired by trial and error. todays companies that advertise perhaps the same products don't care about the details. money is the simple most important factor in their business. in a recent study on several formulation of ginseng showed that about 50% of the product did not even contain ginseng in it , while the other showed marqued variances in the levels of falvenoids (active ingredients).
i also forgot to point out that modern pharmacists and doctors usually have extensive knowledge in herbals and "traditional medicine" as it is incorporated in any decentt curriculum.
If by "alternative methods" you mean the set of behaviours and methods that where practiced before the onset of modern medicine, i can tell you that science has become advanced to the point where we can confortably admit or refute these methods as safe and effective. In midieval times the practice treating schizofrenia was to remove the skin off the top of the scalp and rubb garlic againt it to chase away the evil spirits, or drill a hole to let it escape faster. well the only thing escaping from that hole will be a lot of blood and the poor person soul . i also heard in a documentary that the salem withches where actually suffering from ergot poisoning. ergot is an alkaloid that results form moldy reye harvest and is a potent halucinogenic and vasoconstrictor. today treatment of ergot poisoning is by modern medicine to conteract the effects. tough luck for those blasted whitches, they burned to a crisp. by the way ergots are used today to treat migraine headaches and to stop bleeding (just an interesting fact), did u also know that a blood thiner is made from rat poison and snake poison can be used to melt clots in your blood.... ok i got to stop right now. after spending years reading and writing 500 page research papers, you tend to go on and on about stuff,
hope this is helpful, --can i get my money now --

Buy that Kashi high fiber high protein cereal if you're a cereal whore like me... not like all the other processed sugarcrap cereal, eat a decent sized bowl and that's probably more than half of your daily fiber needs and minimal sugar added. I think it tastes pretty good too. It's actually a dollar cheaper than your regular sugarcereals too i've noticed.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Speaking of St John's Wort. I remember an article that said that when tested, only 1 out of 10 or more brands had the correct amount of active ingredient as listed on the label. Therefore, how do you know how much is being ingested?

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I am suprised I am the first to post this:


Colon Blow!

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http://comp.uark.edu/~dmgill/signature.jpg

BALTIMORE—A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found a link between the consumption of dog urine and the decreased likelihood of heart attacks, team leaders announced Tuesday in cracking, uneven voices.
"Our research indicates that by drinking six to eight glasses of fresh dog urine per day, individuals can reduce the risk of cardiac arrest by as much as 70 percent," said Dr. Arnold Minton, covering his mouth with his hand. "This abundantly available material contains magical cardio-fluxo-medicines that strengthen the heart's mitral chambers and help keep its four aortic corridors clear of toxins and other such harmful substances."

Apologizing for his occasional laughter and explaining that the morning's Hi & Lois comic strip was "really funny," team member Dr. Dinesh Patel explained the origins of the six-hour study.

"I noticed that my dog had never had a heart attack, and I'd never heard of a dog having a heart attack, so I realized that there is what scientists call 'a cause-effect phenomenon' at work here," Patel said. "Well, it turned out it's their urine."

Patel then ran from the podium.
After being pushed to the microphone by Minton, Dr. Leonard Weiscz outlined the team's recommendations for those wishing to diminish their chance of a potentially deadly myocardial infarction: "Get yourself a dog, ideally a Labrador retriever, as the Ph level is optimal in this particular breed, and then train it to urinate into a bucket," Weiscz said. "Then, when the bucket is three-quarters to four-quarters full, lift it to your mouth and chug as quickly as you can."

Minton said a more convenient form of the active ingredients in dog urine will likely one day be synthesized for an over-the-counter medication, but he stressed that such a breakthrough is at least 10 to 15 years down the road.

"For now, you need a dog—excuse me a moment," said Minton, doubling over and inhaling sharply. "And a bucket."

According to the Johns Hopkins team, for maximum effectiveness, the urine should not be mixed with any other substance.

"Drink it straight," said Weiscz, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. "Don't mix it with anything, not even water."

The group then called for a short break in the press conference. Returning after five minutes with somber faces, the scientists revealed more of their findings, including their suggestion that the urine be consumed "right out in public."

"It's also important to yell out, 'Ah, that's some tasty dog pee!' as soon as you're done," said Minton, his chest visibly shaking. "I should know. I'm a trained medical professional."

Turning to the panel of scientists behind him, Minton shouted, "Shut up, you guys!"

Upon the conclusion of Minton's remarks, the floor was opened to questions. The first came from Washington Post reporter Ken Coultier, who asked the researchers to discuss their own dog-urine-consumption habits.

"I wouldn't drink dog piss," Patel responded.

Coultier then asked the researcher to explain why, if urine reduces the risk of heart attacks, he would choose not to follow his own advice.

"I don't have to drink it," Patel said. "I'm not in a high-risk group."

"Why don't you drink some?" added Patel before calling for an end to the question-and-answer session.

Tuesday's announcement is believed to be the most significant medical breakthrough from the Johns Hopkins team since its 1997 discovery that a grape stuffed in the left nostril for 48 hours will lower blood pressure by 30 percent