Colon Cleansing Made Easy

Constipation may very well be the most misunderstood health problem of modern society. In fact, it's so overlooked many if not most people suffer from various states of constipation and don't even realize it.

Correcting our misperceptions of bowel health is imperative, as a toxic colon can be at the root of almost every disease!

Years of eating refined and processed foods, the destruction of enzymes through cooking, existing in a state of permanent semi-dehydration and overeating take their toll on the body's intestines. Undigested matter travels through small and large intestine and can settle in the colon. The colon is not prepared for this undigested waste, which can sit in the intestine for extended periods of time, ferment and become toxic. This toxic sludge is then reabsorbed into the body, stressing the body further.

Many vegetarians think that, because they haven't eaten meat in years, their colons must be relatively free of putri-fied wastes. This isn't true any food will rot if held in the body for any length of time, including relatively small quantities of dairy products and tofu.

These undigested food particles stimulate a protective mucus to form on the intestinal walls. Eventually, this builds to a thick layer of mucoid and fecal matter on the colon walls. Stools are formed with stools formed with this mucoid material move through the body slowly. The longer they remain in the colon, the more liquid is reabsorbed by the body and the stickier the stool becomes. A mucoid stool usually looks like it was formed out of lumps that were pressed together. Bowel movements usually occur no more than once per day when these types of stools are present. One bowel movement per day is commonly considered a measure of health, even though a healthy bowel moves two to three times per day, or once for every meal.

Natural Detoxification

Once inadequate elimination is recognized as a state of disease, various natural remedies and simple lifestyle changes can help return the body to a healthy state.

Laxatives, the mainstream approach to constipation, is of no use in healing the bowel. They operate by irritating the colon, which causes the bowel to move until the laxative, together with anything free enough to flow out, is expelled. It does nothing to render the stagnant material within the colon free enough to move out.

Many people have had success with fasting or olive or coffee enemas. Drawbacks to these methods are that they are time consuming and sometimes inconvenient. They can also be harsh upon the body, even depleting the body's concentration of healthy lactobacteria, which promote bulky, well-lubricated stools. These bacteria also facilitate greater frequency and quantity of bowel movements and help to counteract harmful bacteria and yeasts in the intestinal tract.

Robert Gray, director of the Food for Health Institute in San Francisco, realized that in spite of successes, many people weren't able to follow these invasive methods long enough to thoroughly clean their intestines. He developed a three-part program for colon cleansing that would involve minimum effort, but would produce maximum cleansing. It consists of an herbal mixture in tablet form and an intestinal bulking agent, each of which you take one to four times per day and about four to five minutes of skin brushing which you do once per day.

The most significant aspect of this program is the maintenance of lactobacteria. Although lactobacteria can be implanted through supplements, it can take up to a year before they can maintain themselves in the body; fostering and maintaining the body's natural levels is far more desirable. Gray's program is designed to effect cleansing, while at the same time stimulating natural lactobacteria growth.

Skin brushing is included in the program because the lymphatic system can contain stagnant waste matter as well. Once the colon is at least partially cleansed, it takes a few months of daily skin brushing to completely cleanse the lymphatic system.

No cleansing program will produce results without a corresponding shift in eating habits. A diet which includes fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables, sprouts, millet and kelp supplements will reduce mucoid-forming activity. Don't try to make a sudden change evolve your diet over a period of six months.