Did you know that 15 million colonoscopies are performed in the US every year? And did you know that one in five (or 3 million) of those procedures are deemed medically unnecessary? To put it another way, 45,000 colonoscopies are done every single day in the US, and 9,000 do not really need to be performed.

It really stops to make you think.

Don’t get me wrong, colonoscopies are beneficial. The discovery of precancerous polyps occurs in about 15% of patients. Most procedures are done on patients with no symptoms, e.g. it is a screening, so if it detects something, that is good.

Colonoscopies may not always be medically necessary. We think of colonoscopies as a procedure, but I think of it as an industry. Private gastroenterology practices are one of the most lucrative medical procedures. A doctor can be reimbursed as much as $5,000 for one colonoscopy procedure. 

As with other instances, we’ve seen the screening age for colonoscopies drop from age 50 down to age 45. The driver? Rising colorectal cancer rates in younger adults. This is also true, because many of these cancers are being caused by the mRNA covid jabs. But Big Pharma won’t tell you that.

Is the rising incident of cancer the only driver for reducing the age? Recall that they’ve lowered and lowered and lowered both the cholesterol “healthy” level, as well as the “healthy blood pressure” level as well. Health is not the only driver here. By doing so, they can sell lots more statins and lots more lisinopril and other blood pressure medicines. So, health is likely not the only driver when it comes to colonoscopies either. In fact, I know it isn’t. Colonoscopies account for over half (55%) of all cancer screenings, and it is a $27.5 billion industry. That tells you for sure that health is certainly not the only driver.

The medical establishment cites the “rare but possible” complications. There are 8,000 serious bleeding events from colonoscopies each year. Given that 9,000 colonoscopies out of 45,000 performed each day are medically unnecessary, this could equate to 8/9 patients with bleeding events in that whole day, but where all 9,000 of those didn’t even need to be performed. My point is, why would you risk a serious adverse event from a procedure you didn’t need in the first place? About 2,000 colon perforations occur each year, too. If you’ve ever known someone who has had this happen, the body becomes infected with E. coli, and it is a serious infection that is tough for the body to overcome. 

The medical establishment message assures you these complications won’t happen to you, and that you should take solace in the fact that this is one of the most common procedures performed in the US. Remember: a colonoscopy is still an invasive procedure.

When I look at all the information on colon health, the singular focus is on colonoscopy. There’s so much more to the story–not only about other tests, but also about other things you can do to keep your gut in shape. So over the years as people have asked whether they need a colonoscopy, my answer has been “not necessarily”–a response that doesn’t necessarily align with the insistence of the medical community that you must have a colonoscopy starting at age 45.