The
Colon
The small and large intestines-with the help of enzymes from the liver and pancreas
change food into a form that the body can use for energy. The final part of
the digestive tract, the colon; is about five feet long and has an average diameter
of 2 ½ inches. It must handle the bulk of the food we eat. Its lining
includes sensitive nerves and glands that aid in the assimilation of food, especially
vitamins, enzymes and water. A healthy colon is essential to a healthy body.
When the colon is working properly, its peristaltic (muscular, wave like) motions
move food through the system and eliminate unassimilated substances in the form
of waste within 16-24 hours of eating.
Effect of a Toxic Colon on the Body
When a bowel is under active, toxic wastes are more likely to be absorbed
through the bowel wall and into the bloodstream. The blood then circulates
these toxins to every part of the body and deposits some of them in tissues.
The greatest amounts of these toxins are retained in the constitutionally
weakest tissues. If any other elimination system in the body is under active,
more wastes are retained in the body. As toxins accumulate in the tissues,
alterations in cellular functioning takes place, especially in the tissues
in which toxins have settled. In addition, digestion may become poor, with
the partially digested material adding to the problems because the body cannot
make tissue out of half digested nutrients. When a person reaches the degenerative-disease
stage, it is a sign that toxic settlement has taken over a specific part or
parts of the body. This is the time to consider detoxification.
A healthy, strong functioning colon is essential to maintaining good health.
Your colon, together with the kidneys, lungs and skin are responsible for
eliminating waste from the body. But over time, your colon may lose its ability
to properly eliminate all waste from the gastrointestinal tract due to a combination
of poor diet, improper food combining, drug intake and/or lifestyle.
Millions of people in this country who suffer
all manners of health problems may never even consider that the source of
their problems is a toxic, sluggish colon. This is not surprising. The traditional
treatment of health disorders, disease symptoms and disease management using
pharmaceuticals and surgery may completely obscure the root cause of recurring
health problems.
Most people have no idea how much old, hardened,
fecal matter is lodged within their colons. Many experts believe that the
average person has 5-20 pounds of accumulated waste matter in their colon.
While colon irrigation is not a weight loss procedure it is interesting to
note that many people whom complete a series of colon hydrotherapy session,
often report significant weight losses.
Health Problems
An unhealthy colon can adversely affect your total health, including
all your body systems. You may benefit from a series of colon hydrotherapy
sessions if you have any of the following health problems:
constipation, headaches, hemorrhoids, backaches, arthritis, diarrhea,
chronic fatigue, asthma, irritability, depression, prostate trouble, hypertension,
frequent colds, hypoglycemia, insomnia, food cravings, abdominal gas, foul
body odor, skin problems, distended abdomen, menstrual problems, difficult
weight loss, bad breath/halitosis.
Common bowel disorders
- Constipation
- Over 70 million Americans suffer from bowel problems. The number 2 cause
of death in the United States is cancer. Of these, 100,000 give up their
lives every year to cancer of the colon. Constipation contributes toward
the lowering of body resistance, predisposing it to many acute illnesses
and the creation of a great many degenerative and chronic processes. Most
people do not drink enough water; they are chronically dehydrated. This
causes all body tissues and fluids to become thicker and more viscid. The
mucous lining in the colon changes in consistency, failing to provide a
slick lubrication for the movement of feces.
- Chronic Diarrhea - there are people
with chronic diarrhea who say they are not constipated because their bowels
move several times per day. Their daily bowel movements are not constipated,
but let us look at the cause of their diarrhea. Chronic diarrhea is most
often due to the presence of irritation in the colon. As long as the irritating
influence is present, the colon attempts to expel it by repeatedly emptying
itself of whatever can be forced out. In chronic diarrhea, the accumulation
of stagnant mucoid, sometimes laden with harmful bacteria or even parasites,
is generally of such a magnitude and nature as to be actively irritating.
In this case, the source result is chronic diarrhea. Chronic diarrhea will
often respond remarkably to an effective colon-cleansing program.
- Parasites - The discussion of diarrhea
brings up the question of parasites because chronic diarrhea is often due
to the presence of parasites in the system. Intestinal parasites thrive
in filthy environments. The many varieties of intestinal worms lodge themselves
in the old matter that encrusts the walls of the intestinal tract. Without
the presence of stagnant material to embed themselves in, many intestinal
parasites cannot maintain a foothold in the body. Remove this old, putrid,
decaying mucoid matter and you will flush these parasites out as well.
- Autointoxication - This is the process
whereby the body literally poisons itself by maintaining a cesspool of decaying
matter in its colon. This inner cesspool can contain as high a concentration
of harmful bacteria as a cesspool under a house. The toxins released by
the decay process get into the bloodstream and travel to all parts of the
body. Every cell in the body gets affected, and many forms of sickness can
result. Because it weakens the entire system, autointoxication can be a
causative factor for nearly any disease.
- Putrefaction - One of the main causes
of autointoxication is putrefaction within the intestinal tract. Putrefaction
is a process of decay in which foul odors and toxic substances are generated.
Ideally, there should be little or no putrefaction happening within the
body. That is, daily bowel movements should have very little or no putrefactive
odor, and there should be no stagnant putrefactive material within the alimentary
tract. The amount of putrefaction present in the body depends upon how long
the food undergoing putrefaction has been in the body, upon the efficiency
of the digestive processes, and upon what kind of food is undergoing putrefaction.
The length of time food stays in the body depends upon two factors-stagnation
and transit time.
- Stagnation
Stagnation is the failure of matter in the alimentary tract to continue
moving until expelled through the anus. When material becomes lodged in
the alimentary tract, it can continue to putrefy and release toxins for
weeks. Stagnation occurs primarily in the colon and is usually the body's
largest contributor to putrefaction and the consequent autointoxication.
- Colitis - This is an irritable bowel
condition that is highly associated with psychological distress. Few people
truly realize the benefits of a calm and peaceful lifestyle. They are often
unaware of the mind's ability to sink into the body's functioning ability
and upset normal tissue activities. Fear, anger, depression, stress tension,
worries and obsessions can all upset delicate processes in the body, and
in particular, those of digestion and elimination. Sometimes what we need
is a good cerebral laxative to rid the mind of emotional autointoxication
and constipation.
- Diverticulitis - This particular
disease of the colon is occurring at an ever-increasing rate. It is a serious
bowel disturbance leading to many difficulties and must be avoided. When
the diet is lacking in bulk or fiber, the colonic muscle must work extremely
hard to force feces through the organ. Where there is weakness in muscle
fibers a hernia occurs, producing a small pouch or sac-like protrudence
in the tissue. It looks like a blister on the side of a tire where the air
is forcing its way to the surface through a weak spot in the tire wall.
These sacs, or diverticula's, are blind in one end. Therefore feces accumulates
within them and hold morbid matter in, which a variety of very unfavorable
organisms can begin to breed. They become sources of infection, inflammation
and degenerative conditions. They are also the host for the production of
powerful toxins, adding to an already over-burdened and toxic body. When
these diverticula have become inflamed and irritated, we have a case of
diverticulitis. Should any one of these festering sacs produce a rupture,
and then we have a grave situation in, which life is threatened by the release
of these very poisonous substances into the abdominal cavity of the body
where infection can spread quite rapidly.
References and recommended reading:
Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management
..Dr.
Bernard Jensen
The Colon Health Handbook
..Robert
Gray
Dr. Jensen's Guide to Better Bowel Care
Dr.
Bernard Jensen
Colon Dealth
.Dr.
N.W. Walker
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