From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Injection of coffee into the colon
A
coffee enema
is the injection of
coffee
into the
rectum
and
colon
via the
anus
, i.e., as an
enema
. There is no
scientific evidence
to support any positive health claim for this practice, and medical authorities advise that the procedure may be dangerous.
[1]
[2]
Efficacy and safety
[
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]
There is no medical or scientific evidence to support any detoxification or anti-cancer effect of coffee enemas.
[2]
[3]
Coffee enemas carry a risk of
adverse effects
, some of them serious, including
infection
,
seizures
, heart and lung problems, and death.
[4]
History
[
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]
The rationale for using enemas can be traced back the earliest medical texts, to the
prescientific
misconception that the accumulation of
faeces
in the intestines can lead to
autointoxication
and that the "cleansing" of intestines can prevent that.
[5]
The practice of
colon cleansing
experienced a renaissance in the 1990s, and at this time, coffee enemas were used as alternative cancer treatments.
[6]
Their frequent use is a feature of
Gerson therapy
and
Kelley therapy
, ineffective alternative cancer therapies.
[7]
Their use is promoted with claims they can "
detoxify
" the body by boosting the function of the
gallbladder
and
liver
. Such claims are not supported by
evidence
.
[8]
In 2018,
Gwyneth Paltrow
's company
goop.com
was promoting coffee enema kits, one of a number of questionable medical products it has sold.
[9]
Advocates of coffee enemas often point to their inclusion in editions of the
Merck Manual
through 1972, where coffee is listed as an ingredient for a
retention enema
for treating
constipation
. The
Merck Manual
does not list any other uses for coffee enemas, and in editions after 1972 all mention of them was dropped.
[7]
See also
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]
References
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]