Colon Cleanse
Everything You Need to Know

A colon cleanse is the process of using various tactics to help clear the large intestine and/or digestive tract of accumulated waste. It may involve a specific diet, taking nutritional supplements or even getting colonic hydrotherapy.

Some believe that due to poor diet and other environmental factors, a colon cleanse can help remove unwanted, accumulated toxins and waste to feel lighter, more energetic and, in some cases, even lose weight. Is this for real?

Why do a Colon Cleanse

Digestion is central to health, while impaired digestion can make you feel sluggish, sick and tired. In truth, the digestive tract, colon included, don't always work as they are supposed to. Highly processed foods are hard to digest, fast foods are often high in fats, making them difficult to digest, and stress can wreak havoc on the hormones that help us stay healthy.

All of these factors are reasons why people do a colon cleanse, and most of us probably need some kind of help in this area. But taking laxatives is not the same thing, because this type of program should support your body's natural processes, not force it into action.

Unfortunately, it's difficult for many of us to indulge in self-care as we are busy working, running businesses, helping kids with school activities, and managing our homes all at the same time. When it comes time to take care of ourselves, priorities include exercise, personal hygiene, getting enough sleep and keeping up with medical appointments.

And unless you have a special problem, diet, nutrition and digestion are put on the back burner until something happens and we are forced to rethink these important aspects of health. But a colon cleanse might be more beneficial than you think.

The Sad Reality of Toxins and Health

Toxins are real. Once deemed false by the medical community, researchers and medical experts use the term xenobiotics to designate manmade pollutants in our environment - and there are many!

We drink them, eat them, breathe them, and even absorb them through our skin, the whole time thinking our bodies are perfectly capable of clearing these substances without additional thought on our parts.

But, according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), all participants in their study entitled, National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, toxic chemicals were present in the blood of all participants of the study. What does this have to do with a colon cleanse, you may ask?

Your body has many systems and organs in place to deal with xenobiotics and metabolic waste, such as kidneys, the liver, the skin, and the intestinal tract. But it was only designed to handle a certain amount.

You also have systems that are designed to digest food and remove the waste, but if you overeat, you will gain weight. The same holds true for toxins and/or waste. If we consume or come into contact with too many, our bodies begin to lose the ability to remove all of the waste and instead stores it.

Here is just one example of how the body can become overwhelmed with xenobiotics:

Bile is a body fluid that travels mainly through lymphatic vessels, liver and gallbladder. It has many different metabolic functions, however, we are only concerned with is that bile helps remove toxins and waste.

While the process is long and involved, we can break it down to a general outline. Certain metabolic toxins are transported to your liver, where they are then picked up by bile, sent to the gallbladder and then the small intestine for removal.

If your small intestine is not moving the chyme (semi-digested food) through your digestive tract efficiently, a buildup of waste may begin - and thus your entire system may become sluggish.

If any of organs of elimination are overworked, your body may store "toxins" in adipose tissue (fat) instead of removing them. Adipose tissue is a natural storehouse for waste, but if it is consistently overloaded, fat cells get larger to accomodate. If the fat cells can no longer accomodate, stem cells are converted into fat cells to accomodate the excess metabolic or xenobiotic waste. At this point, body fat increases.

This leads to an entire system slow down, which may suppress metabolism, cause sluggish digestion or a host of other health issues. It may take years before you notice anything, but once you do, it may be a slow road to reverse the process through diet alone.

Signs You Need a Colon Cleanse

Due to environmental and lifestyle factors, we all have various manifestations of toxic or waste buildup. A colon cleanse can help anyone, and there are many ways to cleanse the colon. The way you cleanse is dependent upon your current state of health, your lifestyle, and your personal preferences.

But one thing is certain, just as you need to adjust your diet to lose or gain weight, you need to adjust your lifestyle to support your body's efforts and cleansing and detoxification.

Here are some of the signs that your body may be storing waste and toxins instead of moving them out or detoxing them efficiently;

Weight Gain
Foggy Thinking
Skin Eruptions or problems
Headaches
Edema
Fatigue
Abdominal Bloat
General Achiness
Foul Smell (breath, body odor, flatulence)

Colon Cleanse or Detox?

A colon cleanse and detoxing are both practices that can help the above problems. You will benefit from doing either, because your body works as one unit. As you cleanse the colon all of your organs and body systems benefit.

It is possible to focus on a colon cleanse by using a colon cleanse supplement and a change in diet. This will benefit all areas of your body, but you can also focus on clearing environmental buildup from your blood and lymph by eating a diet that supports your organs of detoxification while taking supplements that are shown to attract toxic substances, thereby allowing your body to remove them easier.

Colon Cleansing Diet

A colon cleansing diet can vary from person to person, because cleansing is a process that your body goes through; not something that is done to you. Because of this, some people's body may begin cleansing by simply cutting out meat and dairy while others may require eating mostly raw fruits and vegetables.

Some people may need to be more strict with their diet, especially if they have health issues. For example, some people may need to cut out wheat from their diets altogether and consume vegetable juices to help their bodies heal. This is because since your organs do the work, they must be strong enough to cleanse. If they were already strong enough, they would have been able to do so without our help.

Foods that generally help a colon cleanse are; fresh organic fruits and vegetables, alkaline, whole grains such as amaranth or quinoa, fresh juices, herbal teas, water, organic animal or vegetarian proteins, and probiotic foods like saurkraut.

Foods to avoid include; sugar laden foods, junk foods, highly processed foods, food dyes and those with pesticides, white flour foods, processed meats, alcohol and desserts. (Remember this is temporary so if you like desserts wait until after your cleanse then make them - but use healthier ingredients so you stay feeling well!)

Colon Cleansing Supplements

Colon cleanse supplements come in many varieties. They consist of a combination of herbs, supplements and fibers to help remove the buildup in the intestinal tract.

Some herbs are meant to help the digestive tract heal due to the combination of nutrients contained in the herbs. Some herbs may help kill of pathogens while other herbs help waste move out quicker.

Oxygen Colon Cleanse Supplements are extremely popular these days, mainly because the effect is very dramatic. The dramatic results are often due to "normal" buildup, usually of 2-4 days worth of meals, being released quickly due to the laxative effect of the oxygenated magnesium oxide.

While this supplement may be good for short term use, use these types of colon cleanse supplements with caution. Magnesium oxide and Germanium-132, compounds often used in these types of supplements, can be problematic for those with kidney issues. Also magnesium oxide in any form may dehydrate the body and there is a possibility your body may come to rely on it.

Intestinal cleansing powders are more common and work by helping the body soften and remove built up waste. What makes them different from plain fiber supllements is the addition of herbs that help kill pathogens or bacteria as well as add extra nutritional support for the organs that all take part in cleansing and detoxification.

Conclusion

A colon cleanse was once considered a necessary practice in many cultures for thousands of years. Even though it might have been called by a different name, altering the diet to promote the clearing of waste is nothing new - except in our modern society where we believe we are above this practice.

But modern technology and chemicals will never replace our natural systems and how they function. We can feel and look our best by helping restore our bodies to their natural, healthy, strong state.