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Mucoid plaque

Mucoid plaque
ClaimsClaimed to be a harmful material coating the gastrointestinal tract.
Related scientific disciplinesMedicine
Year proposedEarly 20th century
Original proponentsRichard Anderson
(Overview of pseudoscientific concepts)

Mucoid plaque (or mucoid cap or rope) is a pseudoscientific term used by some alternative medicine advocates to describe what is claimed to be a combination of harmful mucus-like material and food residue that they say coats the gastrointestinal tract of most people. The term was coined by Richard Anderson, a naturopath and entrepreneur, who sells a range of products that claim to "cleanse" the body of such purported plaques.[1]

Many such "colon cleansing" products are promoted to the public on websites that have been described as making misleading medical claims.[2] The presence of laxatives, bentonite clay, and fibrous thickening agents in some of these "cleansing agents" has led to suggestions that the products themselves produce the excreted matter regarded as the plaque.[2][3] The concept of a 'mucoid plaque' has been dismissed by medical experts as having no anatomical or physiological basis.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ "Colon cleanses thrive despite scant proof". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hochster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schwarcz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Soergel, Dagobert; Tony Tse; Laura Slaughter (2004). "Helping Healthcare Consumers Understand: An "Interpretive Layer" for Finding and Making Sense of Medical Information" (PDF). MedInfo2004. 107 (Pt 2). IOS Press, Amsterdam: 931–5. PMID 15360949. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-31.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Uthman, Edward (7 January 1998). "Mucoid Plaque". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  6. ^ Friedlander, Ed. "Ed's Guide to Alternative Therapies: Colonics". Retrieved 2007-02-21.