Colonics -- also known as colonic irrigation, colon cleansing or colon hydrotherapy -- are an alternative medical therapy that involve flushing the colon with water through the rectum to cleanse the intestinal tract. The aim of a colonic is to remove fecal matter and toxins from the colon, and a colonic can sometimes involve the use of special herbs or liquids. Colonics can be used to relieve constipation, cleanse the intestinal tract and improve overall health.

Colonics are performed by trained professionals, called a colon hydrotherapist. During a colonic treatment, warm water is flushed into the colon through the anus, causing peristalsis, a contraction of the colon muscles. This contraction forces fecal matter out of the intestinal tract, into a closed waste collection system. The process can feel slightly uncomfortable and typically lasts between 45 minutes and an hour. Possible side effects include nausea and fatigue. Some medical professionals feel colonic cleansing is unecessary but many alternative health practitioners advocate it as a healthy way to reduce harmful waste in the body.

Learn more about Alternative Health and Medicine from That's Fit.

Here at That's Fit, we're constantly telling you what we think about things, but sometimes it's nice to know what you think. So from time to time, we'll ask you a question. Don't be afraid to speak up -- we love feedback.

If you're looking for a quick slim-down, just look to the stars. No, not the ones up in the sky, I mean all the detox-happy celebs out in Tinseltown.

Cleanses are quite popular right now, but they've been around for years. They can lead to some quick (though likely temporary) weight loss and, as Bethany found out, detox diets can leave you feeling quite good (after a few days of feeling kind of lousy, anyway).

Proponents of detox diets will leave you believing that your body is full of nasty toxins that have no other way to come out. But many health experts will tell you that your body does a pretty good job of getting rid of toxins on its own. So I wonder what you think ... do you detox?



If you've done a detox diet, what did you think about it? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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This week marked the beginning of, I imagine, thousands of detox diets across North America. It's only natural, really, that after weeks of indulging in more sugar, fat, alcohol and laziness than we do all year that we're looking for ways to cleanse our bodies of our holiday sins and start 2009 off right. But before you rush to the drug store to pick up a detox kit to the tune of $30 or more, keep in mind that leading scientists have declared many so-called detoxes to be a waste of money.

You can save your hard-earned cash with a do-it-yourself detox. It won't be easy -- most experts believe that detoxing requires you to cut out sugar, salt, refined carbs, wheat, dairy, alcohol and caffeine, not to mention drinking lots of water and eating plenty of fruits and veggies -- but doing it yourself is healthier and more economical.

Click here for some more DIY-detoxing tips.

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Felicity Huffman is no stranger to fitness. She's a fan of running and has participated in triathlons. But Huffman has a new fitness love -- she's getting addicted to Bikram yoga. The 45-year-old Desperate Housewives' star says "As you get older, you get stiffer. Doing yoga has shown me that flexibility is as important as strength."

Bikram yoga is nicknamed hot yoga and for good reason. When following along with Bikram's series of 26 poses, you'll be doing so in a room set to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (some classes may not set it quite so high). The idea is that your body is more flexible in heat, and the hot atmosphere warms your muscles more quickly. In addition, it's said to reduce the risk of injury, promote sweating, and release toxins from the body.

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Not only are we constantly barraged by noise and air pollution, we're regularly filling our bodies with garbage: chemicals, additives, even poisons. So it's never been so important to cleanse both our minds and our bodies of the toxins we can't seem to escape in our day-to-day life.

But detoxing doesn't have to mean forking out a small fortune at an uppity spa. Divine Caroline offers a number of ways you can give your body a break, naturally:

• Drink lots of water. It flushes the system.
• Sweat, either in a sauna or steam room, or through exercise.
• Meditate or pray regularly, and take deep, cleansing breaths when you do.
• Eliminate electronics from your bedroom.
• Cleanse your body with natural herbs like dandelion and ginger root.

There are plenty more tips where these came from -- head over to Divine Caroline for more detox data.

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Dreaming of a lobster feast? If so and you make good on your dreams, you'll want to steer clear of lobster tomalley.

Maine officials are recommending consumers avoid eating tomalley after tests revealed high levels of toxins in some lobsters. Lobster meat is perfectly safe. It's the tomalley, a soft green substance found in the body of the lobster, that poses a risk.

Apparently, high levels of toxic algae known as red tide have been found along Maine's coast this summer, causing all sorts of problems. Regardless, the FDA has long advised consumers to not eat tomalley, which is considered a delicacy to some.

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Kinoki Detox Foot Pads claim to remove your cellulite through a pad you tape to the bottom of your foot while you sleep. When you awaken, it will be covered with icky brown junk -- these are the toxins your body needs to eliminate (apparently in the same way a tree eliminates toxins through its roots). In addition to removing cellulite, they are supposed to cure headaches, depression, and insomnia by helping your body detox through "Kinoki's Natural Power of Nature."

I'm not convinced. Not at all.

While there might be some merit in the ancient Japanese (or Chinese, depending on whether you're watching the infomercial or reading the website) secrets upon which these are based, they're not going to remove cellulite. This is one product I won't be spending my hard-earned cash on -- I'd rather use it toward a new set of running shoes or a healthy meal, both of which are more likely to yield real results.

12 "healthy" foods that really aren't:

Why? Click to find out!

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If you live in an older home with original wood floors, listen up. The stain that was used on that beautiful wood floor may in fact be giving off toxic fumes right into the air you breath while enjoying that quiet time at home.

Research from the U.S. this week indicated that PCBs may be contained within the actual finish that nice wood floor received more than four or five decades ago.

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) were used in many products until the 1970s when its use was banned in the U.S. and elsewhere due to high toxicity. Now, if that original wood floor has been refinished or restored, chances are the original finish was removed and you may not longer have PCBs near your feet every day.

In the study, PCBs were detected in 31 percent of homes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Yikes. If you have an older home with the original wood flooring and you're unsure if it's original, having it tested by a company specializing in hazardous material may be a sound idea.

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Thanks to the human body's defense systems, we are able to fight off germs, infection and certain diseases. Additionally, some food additives, pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals are also contended with by this natural mechanism. With this ongoing struggle for health always taking place, it's vital that we do what we can to aid our bodies in the fight.

To do so, try to consume foods that are high in antioxidants to neutralize free radicals produced by toxins. Also, be sure to wash your fruits and vegetables, even if they are organic and locally grown. And lastly, consume green tea, for it acts as a chelator -- an agent that removes heavy-metal toxins from the body and replaces them with healthy elements.

To learn more ways to keep your body as healthy as you can, continue reading here.

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Autism is a condition that has skyrocketed in children in recent years, and it's baffled researchers ever since. What's the cause? More importantly, how do we prevent it? Recent studies are pointing the finger at a widely-used technology: the cell phone. Well, not just cell phones -- cell towers, Wi-Fi and other mobile devices.

The key component of wireless devices that is thought to affect autism is the EMR (electromagnetic radiation) they transmit. Recent research has shown that it can negatively affect cell membranes, and this can cause heavy metal toxins to build up in the body. So, it's thought that these heavy metal toxins can get trapped inside nerve cells, which can lead to Autism. For more info, click here.

Cell phones have been linked to several health problems in the past. What do you think -- is it a case of hyperactive worry or are they really ruining our health?

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It's not a secret that pollution isn't good for the planet or the many creatures that inhabit it, but still I find the results of the study reported on here are absolutely mind-blowing. According to a study conducted at Cornell University by a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences along with a team of graduate students, various forms of pollution can be blamed for up to 40% of deaths across the globe.

Numbers that large offer a pretty scary wake-up call. Water, soil and air pollution are the biggest killers, with air pollution alone being blamed for up to 3 million deaths a year. The piece points out that toxins in the environment can lead to a range of potentially deadly health problems including cancer, immune system defects, birth defects and more.

I think that this sort of news really brings home that fact that we all need to think more about not only what we put into our bodies but also what we're expelling into the environment, as eventally a lot of that junk will end up in our bodies anyway. What do you think?

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Though we've made so much progress in the war against cancer in the last few decades, it seems today like the disease is more rampant than ever. So when Prevention Magazine asked the question Are we winning the war on cancer? I had to read.

The short answer: Yes. The disease might seem more prevalent, but the treatments and diagnosis have come a long way in recent years. And awareness is at an all-time high -- more and more people are adopting healthy habits that have been shown to prevent cancer, such as maintaining a healthy weight, eating a diet rich in fruits and veggies and low in fat, getting the recommended amount of exercise and limiting exposure to toxins and hormones in food.

For more info, read the full article.

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What's the key to aging well and retaining your youthful vitality? Best-selling author Dr. Diana Schwarzbein has the answer, and she's shared it with everyone in her book, The Schwarzbein Principle. I haven't read the book, but if you do, you can expect to find lots of helpful tips on how to attain balance and have the healthiest life you can. True health revolves around five principles:

• Nutrition: Eating to be thin isn't the goal here -- eating well and maintaining a healthy body weight is
• Stress Management: Figuring out how to deal with stress is the key to attaining balance
• Tapering off Toxins: Tobacco, alcohol, refined sugars, caffeine and medications are toxic and should be weaned off of.
  
• Smart Exercise: Exercise is good, but too much exercise can be dangerous
• Hormone Replacement Therapy: HRT is not for everyone but for some who are lacking in a certain hormone, it can make a world of difference.
  

What do you think of the Schwarzbein Principle?

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There's a belief out there that you shouldn't dye your hair during pregnancy because the toxins can affect the baby and potentially lead to childhood cancer. But if you look at the many celebrities out there, their natural hair colour doesn't seem to come out when they're pregnant so is this a hard-and-fast rule, or is it an urban myth that is safe to break?

There's no solid answer, according to the mayo clinic. So what should you do? I'm of the 'better safe than sorry' realm of thinking, but if it's really an issue for you, check with you doctor, and follow these tips from Fitsugar.

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I live in a place known for it's ranches and its meat, where being a vegetarian is a sometimes bizarre and incomprehensible lifestyle choice. I'm not a vegetarian but I'm not much of a meat eater either. Basically, if it's served to me, I'll eat meat but I don't keep much of it in my house and I rarely cook it for myself. It's not that I don't like the taste of meat--I do--but I do lots of research about food and nutrition, and hearing about all the hormones that go into meat frankly grosses me out. Plus, I read Fast Food Nation and let's just say it does not paint a pretty picture of how meat is produced.

The Daily Apple has a great post on the safety of meat. Whether it's beef, pork, poultry or even fish, all meats have gone through questionable practices to get on your plate, including being exposed to toxins and injected with hormones. And chances are the hamburger is made from stripped spinal meat. Ewwwww.

But although I don't eat much meat, I would have trouble cutting it out of my life altogether. The key is buying free-range and organic meats that aren't exposed to the same conditions as regular meat. It's expensive, yes, but you have to be careful about what you're putting in your body, don't you think?

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