Do I Have to Cleanse My Colon?

by Nicole Bandes

Most people understand how important it is to stay clean on the outside, but few realize that it's equally important to keep the body clean on the inside. Your body is constantly performing many natural functions to keep itself clean. Most of us take these functions for granted until there's trouble. Periodic cleansing and detoxifying helps to open up the eliminative channels to keep the body systems running clean, uninhibited by toxin and waste buildup.

Consider the cumulative effects of the years (or decades) of donuts, potato chips, beef and soft drinks. Your digestive and intestinal systems take care of some of that accumulated junk, but these systems were not made to run on refined flours and sugars.

Each of us is at risk for some sort of digestive disease. According to "Colon in Crisis, A Secret Source of Disease" by Dr. Michael Cutler, Colorectal cancers are the second largest cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., obesity increases your odds for colon cancer by 25-33%, and only 25% of Americans eat the recommend 5+ daily servings of fruits and vegetables which are high in fiber, anti-oxidants and promote colon health.

If you say yes to any of the following, you should cleanse your colon.
1. Do you have a family history of polyps or colon cancer?
2. Do you consume red meat more than two times per week?
3. Do you use tobacco, alcohol or other drugs?
4. Are you over age 50?
5. Are you overweight?
6. Do you have diabetes or a sedentary lifestyle?
7. Do you regularly have constipation or hardening of solid waste in your colon?
8. Do you have bloating, gas or excessive fullness after meals?
9. Do you have pain in the lower esophagus with swallowing?
10. Do you have an "acid heartburn" feeling in your stomach with or without meals?
11. Does your stool "float" or appear greasy?
12. Does your stool contain large pieces of undigested food?
13. Do you ever have bloody or black-colored stool?
14. Do you have painful bowel movements?
15. Do you have lower intestinal cramping associated with meals?
16. Do you get a stuffy or runny nose during or after meals?

Nearly 90% of all Degenerative Disease Begins in the Digestive Tract

Imagine taking all of the food you eat for breakfast and putting it into a container, sealing the lid and warming it to 98.7 degrees. Now take everything you eat for lunch and put it into the container and reseal. Keep doing that with every meal you eat until you finally have a bowel movement. Has that food been in there for one day? Two? Maybe even many more than that. Now open up the container and take a nice good sniff. Now you have a better idea of what is being "stored" in your colon. Do you really want all that in your body?

When your body is forced to "store" rotting food much of the toxins put off by the food will be reabsorbed into the blood stream through the colon walls. These toxins can lead to inflammation, the root of nearly every degenerative disease known to man.

One Bowel Movement Per Day is Not Enough!

Most doctors will tell you that one bowel movement a day is normal and they are correct. Most Americans do not have more than that. However, it is not healthy. Even if you are "regular" in how often or when you have a bowel movement, it can still be damaging to your system if you have less than one movement per meal.

Consider a train station. If three trains pull into the station every day and only one train pulls out, you will soon have a quite a train wreck!

Your Diet Determines the Health of Your Colon

Consider this. Today we eat an average of 500+ more calories than we did 30 years ago. In addition, we eat less than 1/3 the recommended daily intake of fiber each day, fewer than 13 grams. Fiber is critical to absorbing the toxins we take into our bodies, promote regular elimination and clean the intestinal walls. The bonus, fiber also helps stave off hunger while keeping up our energy levels.

It's understandable that we feel hungry an hour after eating fast or processed foods. Our bodies are not getting the nutrients we need. These foods also don't contain the enzymes that help to break down the foods so that our bodies can assimilate what little nutrients they may actually have.

So What Can You Do?

Most important, decrease your intake of fast and processed foods and increase your intake of natural, uncooked vegetables and water. However, while these factors are critical, they rarely do enough by themselves. It really is essential to perform a colon cleanse at least twice each year.

A colon cleanse may help you add years to your life but it will definitely help you add life to your years!

About the Author

Nicole Bandes is a Certified Herb Specialist that has been helping others to regain their health and vitality since 1999. Nicole's weekly blog (link to http://www.naturallyherbs.com/articles/blog/blog.html) is a "Dear Abbey" style blog that allows her to share her knowledge to simple questions regarding the use of natural supplements.