Is Your Colon Healthy? Secrets of Colon Cleansing|Dr.Steve’s Bottom Line

[mc id="440" type="video"]Colon Cleanse Secrets[/mc]

Before I get into the pros and cons of colon cleansing, let me say that I did not include anything about parasites. Two things. First, in the USA parasites are rather unusual, estimated in the 5% range in the general population and mainly being a problem if you live under conditions known as “waste to face”". In other words, you practice terrible hygiene or drink stool infected water or in some cases get a little too friendly with animals. Second, parasites like tapeworms CAN go somewhat un-noticed with the only symptom being weight loss. However, with most others you would feel pretty sick and not just have some temporary symptoms of intestinal upset.

One thing is for sure. There are no parasites that cause weight GAIN. Sorry folks, this is simply not SciFi time. There are no huge creatures (ala “Tremors”) living inside you with big teeth that can get so big as to obstruct your intestine. Lastly, to get rid of parasites would require a WHOLE lot more than just a flush, although alternative remedies do work…..often slowly. Treatment usually requires some pretty big time medicines unless you want to spend a lot more time being uncomfortable. Having said all that, getting back to reality, there are some things worth considering…….so read on.

There is no mainstream scientific evidence supporting the alleged huge benefits of routine mechanical, chemical or herbal colon cleansing. So, why has it retained popularity and keeps earning widespread accolades from many users over the last 100 years?  Is there anything to it at all?  Consider the following….

**From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First let’s dispel some myths. Your bowel, both small and large intestine, on average is about 25-28 feet long (20-23 for small and about 4-5 for large bowel or colon), and can be much shorter in women. The small intestine is about 1.5 inches in diameter and the colon is about 3 inches in diameter.  If you artificially packed that full of average foodstuff you might cram in up to 40 pounds, with the colon being able to hold about 15 pounds max.  But the key is that, with out disease,  your intestine constantly moves on its own. It pushes food all the way through for an average of about 1.5 bowel movements per day.  The average amount of time food spends in your intestine  can vary widely, but it is mainly a colon problem as far as food getting “stuck” inside you.  Roughly, it takes about 3 hours after you eat for half of stomach contents to empty into the small intestine, and the process is usually complete by about 4 hours.   Following this, half of the small intestine contents are emptied into the colon by about 3 hours. However, stool can stay in your colon up to 40 hours.  That may be long, but stool does not somehow get mysteriously stuck to the wall in various parts of your intestines/bowels for weeks and months.   The body is simply too efficient at cleaning itself to allow this.

The problem is that there are many of us who do not have 1 or 2 bowel movements per day, but rather are constipated and empty our colon once every several days or so.  We also know that foods degrade and a lot of metabolic byproducts are toxic, not to mention the chemical preservatives you take in every day.  Since food  transit time is mainly long in the colon and since we know that cancer of the small intestine is extremely rare a theory developed that keeping your colon moving and emptying it at least daily is a very good thing and protects against cancer and other diseases like diverticulosis and inflammatory conditions.  This has not been universally accepted and the evidence is weak, but other related issues may be the reason.  People have different types of intestinal bacteria, different dietary consumption of toxins (natural and synthetic), different genetic resistance to disease etc.  So, while it is not proven, even mainstream medicine strongly suggests regular bowel habits as a good health goal.

**From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All of the above is related to mechanical emptying.  The intestine ALSO has an extremely complex and delicate balance of microscopic and biochemical processes which affect how food is broken down and absorbed, there is a presence of good bacteria that help with the digestive process, and so forth.  So, it is not like your food goes through a sterile plastic PVC pipe that you can find in your home’s plumbing.  It is infinitely more complex than that, and this represents even more natural cleansing power on the microscopic level. If you interfere too much on this level you can actually do yourself harm.

So, what do we think about colon cleansing overall?

PRO: If you don’t have 1-2 bowel movements per day, you should work towards that with a higher fiber diet, drinking plenty of water and exercising (helps the bowels move).   Colon cleansing herbal and fiber products can help you, but do not go overboard.  Remember, your body is a finely tuned machine.

CON: If you overdo the cleansing concept with too much artificial stimulation by way of laxatives, mechanical or herbal colon cleansing products you may knock yourself out of balance.  Bad bacteria can overgrow the colon, electrolytes (like sodium and potassium) can become imbalanced and lead to all sorts of problems including death.  If you use mechanical cleaning products (irrigation) you run the risk of perforating your colon which can lead to emergency surgery and death.

Bottom line: While scientific evidence is not conclusive that there is any benefit, individuals who need to periodically improve their colon elimination may find the concept of gentle herbal/fiber colon cleansing very reasonable.  It is better than getting “addicted” to laxatives, but please consider daily fiber supplementation as well.  With that you may or may not  find less need for intermittent cleansing.  As always, please check with your physician when considering  anything that may affect your body and health, such as this.

As far as products, there are way too many and some are not particularly well researched or made.  Since I am familiar with the Organica Research group and know that they uphold high quality standards,  I can recommend that you consider their Ultimate Colon Cleanse product as an option if you choose to try herbal based colon cleansing. They offer a 30day Free Trial.  (**N.B.This is a commercial site link and therefore their site is an advertisement.  I have chosen to be an affiliate of that site because I personally know them to be reputable from the information available to me. As such a proceeds % helps support my informational websites).