Simple theorizing has also contributed to the widespread belief that we should periodically “cleanse” the insides of our bodies. Just as we periodically clean our car engines or our videocassette recorders to make them function more effectively, so it is believed that our alimentary canals could benefit from an occasional housecleaning as well. Some people do so by fasting, others by administering enemas, drinking large quantities of water, or eating yogurt. Perhaps the most extreme manifestation of this belief was the surgical procedure known as “Lane’s kink.” The British physician Arbuthnot
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