Menu
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Help
  • About PEN
    • About PEN
    • PEN Terminology and Features
    • Contributors
    • PEN Tours and Video Tutorials
    • PEN Promotional Material
    • PEN Policies
    • PEN Training Materials
  • Knowledge Pathways
    • Table of Contents
    • Population Health/Lifecycle
    • Health Condition/Disease
    • Food/Nutrients
    • Professional Practice
  • PEN Handout Collections
  • Practice Guidance Toolkits
  • Trending Topics
  • Calculators
  • International Guidelines Collections
  • Glossary
  • PEN eNews Issues
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • linkedin
  • instagram
  • EN
  • FR
  • ES
  • JA
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • |
    • Advanced Search
    • Search Tips

    Suggested PEN Quick Links

    • PEN Handout Collections
    • Practice Guidance Toolkits
    • Trending Topics
    • International Guidelines Collections
    • PEN Training Materials
    • PEN Tours and Video Tutorials
    • Alerts & Recalls
    • ICDA Definition of Evidence-based Practice
    • Calculators
    • FAQs
  • Home breadcrumb arrow
  • PEN eNewsletter Archive breadcrumb arrow
  • eNews - What Is The Latest On Cleansing?
Save as PDF

What Is The Latest On Cleansing?

PEN® eNews is a monthly e-newsletter shared with the global PEN Community and created to help dietitians position themselves as leaders in evidence-based nutrition practice. In addition, users of the PEN System will find articles on the new evidence, resources and features available and how to maximize one's use of PEN.


Knowledge Pathway Alert: Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery!


The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Knowledge Pathway has been updated. Check out these new and updated practice questions:

What nutrients/dietary factors are associated with a decreased risk of developing breast cancer?

What nutrients/dietary factors are associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer?

What effect does body weight and adiposity have on primary and secondary breast cancer prevention?

What is the effect of soy on breast cancer prevention and mortality?

What dietary factors influence the risk of cancer reoccurrence and survival in breast cancer survivors?

Sign up for PEN Content Alerts to find out when new and updated content is added. 


What is the Latest on Cleansing?

The Question

What is the evidence to support the use of cleanses (e.g. detoxification diets, herbal products, colon irrigation) to promote general health, for weight loss, to maintain bowel health and to prevent colon cancer?

Key Practice Point #1:  Detoxification Diets

Recommendation

Commercial detoxification (detox) diets may be harmful and should not be recommended. There is no evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight loss, bowel health or to prevent colon cancer. 

Evidence Summary

A 2015 narrative review noted that rigorous clinical research investigating commercial detox diets, including their effects on weight loss, has not been conducted and that the small amount of existing evidence has been primarily conducted in rodents or fish, is of very low quality and has significant methodological limitations. Risks associated with commercial detox diets include severe energy restriction, nutritional inadequacy, the potential overconsumption of supplements and the overuse of laxatives or diuretics. No benefits of commercial detox diets were described.

No clinical studies were found to support common detoxification diets (including macrobiotic, commercial cleanses or fasting) or herbal products to promote bowel health or prevent colon cancer in humans. 

Grade of Evidence D

Remarks

Commercial detox diets are short-term diets (duration not defined) that try to eliminate “toxins” from the body and/or aid in weight loss through starvation or juice fasts and/or the use of laxatives, diuretics, vitamin or mineral supplements and “cleansing” foods.

In humans, the liver, kidney, gastrointestinal system, skin and lungs all play a role in removing toxins from the body through a variety of pathways.

See Additional Content: 

What nutrients/dietary factors are associated with a decreased risk of developing colorectal, colon and rectal cancer?

Are probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics effective in the prevention of colorectal cancer?

Key Practice Point #2: Bowel Cleansing and Colon Irrigation

Recommendation

Bowel cleanses and colon irrigation may be harmful and should not be recommended.

Evidence Summary

A 2009 systematic review found a lack of rigorous evidence for colonic hydrotherapy, enema therapy or orally administered bowel cleanses. Risks associated with these practices include rectal perforation, electrolyte imbalances and death.

Grade of Evidence D

To see the full practice question, including the Evidence Statements, Remarks, Comments and References, click here.


  • Gastrointestinal System 

PEN® Reviewers Needed! 

We need reviewers within the next few months for:

  • Cannabis and Nutritional Health
  • Diabetes/Glucose Intolerance
  • Nephrology - Chronic Kidney Disease: Dialysis Adult
  • Pediatric - Dyslipidemia

Did you know that PEN practice questions are peer-reviewed by experts in the field, just like journal articles? There are currently more than 400 PEN Reviewers. We would love for you to join this group and share your expertise and energy. Learn more about getting involved with the PEN System by visiting: https://www.pennutrition.com/contribute

  • PEN Uses, 
  • PEN Applied, 
  • Peer review 

Are you a dietitian working with clients living with gout or iron-deficiency anemia?


We want to share a fantastic opportunity to help shape PEN content to ensure it is relevant to dietitians in everyday food and nutrition practice.

The following PEN Knowledge Pathways are being updated:

  • Gout
  • Iron-deficiency Anemia

When developing new or updating existing PEN content, we look for input on practice questions that make up a knowledge pathway. Specifically, this will look like:

  • Providing input on the existing practice questions that reflect the everyday practice situations faced by dietitians in the specific topic area.
  • Providing direction on any practice guidelines, national policy documents or reports that would be important for authors to include in their work.
  • Recommending reviewers for content review once it's been written.

This is a 1:1 request. Meaning it's a one-time request that requires about one hour of your time (meaning you are not committing to writing or reviewing content). 

With your permission, you will be acknowledged for your role as a Topic Advisor. You can also download a letter of contribution signed by PEN's Director of Knowledge Translation acknowledging your contributions to the PEN System once the content is published.

Are you interested? That’s great! Reach out to our PEN Content Manager by August 31st, 2022.


PEN® Backgrounds – Ready for You When Needed


Backgrounds provide general information about a topic for new practitioners as well as for experienced health professionals.

Here are the new or newly updated backgrounds:

  • Physiology of Body Weight, Weight Gain and Adipose Tissue Background 
  • Diabetes - Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (Insulin Pump) Background 
  • Quality Improvement Background 
  • Food Safety - Production and Storage: Home Canning Background 

Want to know what else is new and updated? Bookmark these pages:
New Knowledge Pathway Content (Knowledge Pathways, Practice Questions, Summary of Recommendations and Evidence, Practice Guidance Toolkits, Backgrounds)
Tools and Resources.


PEN eNews
PEN: The Global Resource for Nutrition Practice  
July 2022  Volume 12 (7)


A Publication of the PEN® System Global Partners,
a collaborative partnership between International Dietetic Associations.
Learn more about PEN.
Copyright Dietitians of Canada . All Rights Reserved.
Articles in this issue
  • Knowledge Pathway Alert: Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
  • What is the Latest on Cleansing?
  • PEN® Reviewers Needed!
  • Are You a Dietitian Working with Clients Living with Gout or Iron Deficiency-Anemia?
  • PEN® Backgrounds – Ready For You When Needed
  • Popular Tags
    • Advanced Practice
    • Allergens
    • Antioxidants
    • App
    • Arthritis
    • Artificial Sweetener
    • Autism
    • Awards
    • Beliefs
    • Bias
    • Bone Health
    • Breast cancer
    • Breastfeeding
    • Calcium
    • Calculators
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular
    • Cardiovascular Disease
    • Children
    • Chronic Disease
    • Conference
    • Controversial Topics
    • Counseling
    • COVID-19
    • Cranberry
    • Credibility
    • Critical Appraisal
    • Cultural Foods
    • Customize PEN
    • Dairy
    • Deficiency
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Diet
    • Diet Trend
    • Dietary Lifestyle
    • Dietary Restriction
    • Dietetic Advocacy
    • Dietetic Education
    • Dietetic Practice
    • Dietitians
    • Diversity
    • DRI
    • Dysphagia
    • Endocrine and Metabolic
    • Evidence Literacy
    • Evidence Quality
    • Family
    • Fats
    • Food
    • Food Allergy
    • Food Policies
    • Food Security
    • Gastrointestinal System
    • Gerontology
    • Gluten-free
    • GRADE
    • Guidelines
    • Health Care Costs
    • Health Literacy
    • Health Warning
    • Herbal Supplement
    • Immunity
    • Infants
    • Integrity
    • International
    • Ketogenic Diet
    • Knowledge Creation
    • Knowledge Translations
    • Lactation
    • Leadership
    • Malnutrition
    • Meals
    • Meat
    • Media
    • Microbiome
    • Myth Busting
    • Nephrology
    • Networking
    • Nutrigenomics
    • Nutrition
    • Nutrition Communication
    • Nutrition Counselling
    • Nutrition Evidence
    • Nutrition Labelling
    • Nutrition Science
    • Nutrition Supplement
    • Obesity
    • Opinions
    • Organic
    • Paleo Diet
    • Pediatric Health
    • Peer review
    • PEN Achievements
    • PEN Applied
    • PEN Features
    • PEN Partners
    • PEN Skills
    • PEN Uses
    • Plagiarism
    • Potassium
    • Practice
    • Practice Challenges
    • Practice Guideline
    • Pregnancy
    • Probiotics
    • Profile Help
    • Pseudoscience
    • Public Health
    • References
    • Research
    • Research Skills
    • Resources
    • Reviews
    • Schools
    • Social Media
    • Sodium
    • Students
    • Sugar
    • Sustainable Diets
    • Tea
    • Thought Leadership
    • Tools
    • Trending Topics
    • Trends
    • Underweight
    • Urinary Tract Infection
    • Urogenital
    • Vegetarian
    • Vitamins & Minerals
    • Weight Management
    View Past PEN® eNewsletter Issues
    PEN eNews is Free! Sign Up Today
    PEN logo
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • eNews Issues
    • twitter
    • facebook
    • linkedin
    • instagram
    • Help
    • Contact Us
    • Helpful Links
    • Privacy Policy
    • License Agreement
    • Disclaimer

    Copyright © Dietitians of Canada 2005 - 2023. All rights reserved. While individual copies of documents may be reproduced for the convenience of the licensed subscriber according to the end user license, distribution to non subscribers or reproduction of multiple copies of PEN content is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. Licensed subscribers may download, duplicate and distribute copies of the PEN-branded client handouts for educational use with their own clients. Institutions must have sufficient numbers of site licenses in order to make multiple copies to meet client needs. The PEN website may also contain information which is copyrighted by others; multiple copies of these documents may not be reproduced without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

    Copyright © Dietitians of Canada 2005 - 2023. All rights reserved.

    "PEN: PRACTICE-BASED EVIDENCE IN NUTRITION" is a registered trademark of Dietitians of Canada/Les diététistes du Canada

    "PEN (LOGO) The Global Resource for Nutrition Practice" is a registered trademark of Dietitians of Canada/Les diététistes du Canada