Colon Cleansing - An Ancient but Healthy Practice
- By Stephen Holt, M.D.

The inhabitants of the colon when friendly to the body are responsible for general health and well-being. For many years, the colon and its contents were viewed as a source of potential toxins to which the body was exposed, especially in the presence of constipation. There is no doubt that these thoughts led to the common belief that everyone should open their bowel, at least on a daily basis. However, modern studies have shown that there is a range of normality of bowel function that is experienced among healthy people. In general, it is recognized that a healthy bowel habit involves the opening of one's bowel less than three times daily, but more than once in three days. That said, many people suffer from uncomfortable changes in their bowel habit, most often in the form of temporary constipation due to lifestyle or environmental changes. Constipation makes many people feel lousy. Conventional medicine has been rather unwilling to acknowledge any benefit of intermittent colon cleansing. There is surprisingly little research on the benefits of colon cleansing, but there are thousands of people who claim they derive an improved sense of well-being by restoring the regularity of their bowel habit. Achieving a regular bowel habit involves a healthy lifestyle including regular exercise and good nutrition. An important aspect of regular bowel habit depends on the amount of unabsorbed fiber that is taken in the diet. There have been many studies that show the benefits of insoluble types of dietary fiber and combined soluble fiber intake on the promotion of healthy bowel function (e.g.; BioFiber™). Low carb dieters should consider colon cleansing.

Elegant studies of the weight of different people's stools show that the weight of an individual's stool is most often related to the amount of fiber taken in their diet. There is a massive deficiency of dietary fiber in Western diet and not only can fiber improve bowel function, it has other far reaching benefits such as helping to control weight, lowering cholesterol and preventing certain types of cancer. Scientific literature confirms a good basis to make health claims about the inclusion of fiber in diet. One famous study compared the weight of stool in certain African natives compared with the weight of stool in elderly females in Great Britain. African natives have stool weights that often exceed 1 kilogram, whereas many elderly ladies in Western society may only average a couple hundred grams of stool daily. This major difference in stool weight is readily explainable by differences in dietary fiber intake between these groups of individuals.

While regularity of bowel habit must involve general lifestyle principles, a large proportion of the population requires temporary help in overcoming constipation. There are many over-thecounter laxatives available, but these laxatives can be quite dangerous in some people and laxatives that cause excessive purgation can actually damage the function of the bowel. There is a disease entity that is well described among people who use powerful laxatives on a regular basis. This is called "cathartic colon". The word catharsis really means forced exit of stool from the bowel, in this context.

As a gastroenterologist with a major interest in alternative medicine, I believe in the need for simple, natural and gentle ways to engage in the healthy habit of colon cleansing. There are complicated but effective ways of safe colon cleansing with colon hydrotherapy but this practice is cumbersome, somewhat uncomfortable and expensive. The product Natural Colon Cleansing Naturally™ is a highly effective formula for supporting regular bowel function in a simple, gentle and natural way. The complex nutrient and botanical formula of Colon Cleansing Naturally™ is more versatile than many other colon cleansing formulas. The ingredients of Colon Cleansing Naturally™ are shown in Table 1.