for more than 1-2 weeks. Definitely consult your doctor before going this route – not only is cascara sagrada an active ingredient but also you will be taking it morning and night for 30 days on this program. It may or may not work for some people, but for a good deal of people, there will be very unpleasant side effects that include diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal pain, and intense continual intestinal spasms.

You really have to be willing to pay the price to see if you’re one of many who are intolerant to Cascara sagrada. If you are, as the package and leaflet state itself, you must stop use immediately. It is worthwhile to look at other comparable options that contain a different laxative herb with perhaps lesser side effects. Other herbal laxatives used to flush the colon and release waste include dandelion root, rhubarb root, butternut bark, flaxseed, red raspberry, senna, and barberry bark (not to be used during pregnancy).

Another thing to consider is that unfortunately the fiber for this cleanse comes in a tablet form, which many would argue is considerably less effective than in powder form. I got around this by adding more ground flaxseed and psyllium seed husks to my beverages.

This product is widely available at natural health food stores which is why we bought it and took the leap of faith. For my man, this product was tolerable and he kept with it for three weeks. He didn’t have the negative side effects that I had which included strong continual (and audible) spasms in my abdominal area and really bad diarrhea all day long for every day I was on the cleanse. I love the idea of ‘cleansing’ so I gave it a good faith effort to see if the symptoms would subside. It meant being near the bathroom a lot, but I was hopeful to see things improve. On the ninth day, after re-reading that tiny disclaimer on the product package about Cascara sagrada, I stopped the program. It is VERY important to know that if you experience all-day diarrhea or loose stools at all with this product, STOP! It may seem counter-intuitive, as ‘cleansing’ is meant to remove a lot of retained debris in the colon, but it does much more harm than good.

I hope this helps someone out there who has either started the program and cannot explain the intestinal mayhem taking place, or someone who may be ready to jump and try the product. Conceptually it is an excellent detoxification program. Short of an ingredient alteration or two, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this program. If you have guts of steel and are willing to pay to simply try it out, I wish you the best on your cleansing journey and I hope you are one of the lucky ones!