Holy crap, Batman! or "Why I am suspicious of colonics"

I've just been reading this fantastic Guardian article by Ben Goldacre. It's quite specific in its discussion of one particular individual but summarises quite nicely my suspicions of all new-age health fads.

... that's exactly why you do scientific research, to check your assumptions. Otherwise it wouldn't be called "science", it would be called "assuming", or "guessing", or "making it up as you go along".

Don't get me wrong, I have watched and enjoyed "You Are What you Eat", but for it's enjoyably sensationalist cruelty, certainly not it's nutritional advice. (I find myself laughing out loud at the table full of bad food, the shocked expressions on the unhealthily-skinny one's face, the reactions to the poo...). And, there's nothing wrong with some of the advice; eat more fruit and veg and less fried food, drink less, take more exercise etc.

Next time you're in a bookshop, pick up (and I don't mean "buy") a copy of the book, and look for the hilariously touched-up photo of the author - she is almost unrecognisable. This vanity, coupled with the fact that she is married to a lawyer who writes threatening letters to people who publicly disagree with her, must ring alarm bells with most free-minded individuals.

All this got me thinking of a conversation I had with a work colleague last week, where she mentioned that most of the people she knew had regular colonics. She reported that it made her feel better, rejuvenated, fresher.

Well... so can a really big poo!