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The Impact modern life and lifestyles are having on the colon

Colon issues and health related difficulties are very common in Western and developed countries and more common than you might first think. The are several reasons for this, the first being we tend to be embarrassed and shy away from subjects dealing with constipation and other digestive disorders, the other is the increasing demand the modern hectic lifestyle has on not only our ability to relax and fight stress but in the ever increasing amount of process foods we eat because of convenience and the increase in exposure to chemicals.

Despite not be willing to talk about these matters, we cannot avoid the fact that the healthy functioning of the colon is at the heart our overall health and well-being. When suffering from chronic pain, constipation, fatigue, lack of concentration and lack of energy, you cannot discount these may well be symptoms indicating the need to cleanse the colon whether that be through diet, herbal remedy, exercise or by way of colonic hydrotherapy you need to recognise the need. It may well be the way forward for many is using each of the above and looking at lifestyle changes.

Establishing a process you are happy with to detox and cleanse your colon should be one of your main priorities in life, obviously this should be done along with a natural healthy diet combined with regular exercise. The colon and waste management system in the body is designed to function effectively processing natural food sources aided by regular exertive physical exercise - something the majority of us do much less these days, often we are more at home eating processed and engineered food stuffs which not only have chemicals and preservatives added but most likely damage any of the little natural nutrition left in them. This is a sure way to create a legacy of toxin build up in the body, which in turn affects the colon and places a great load on the organs whose job it is to eliminate waste products, that is why symptoms often come from areas not directly associated with the problem.

One of the stories that have been bantered around after John Wayne's death from Cancer was that at his autopsy they removed over 35 pounds of impacted faecal matter from his colon.

Whether this is true or not it is hard to say but there must be some truth however small and if it is true it is certainly easy to understand how this retained waste would have seriously and adversely affected his health.

When trying to imagine cleansing you have to understand the body has seven channels of elimination and waste removal. These are the liver, lungs, lymphatic system, blood, skin, colon and kidneys. This is like the process you would employ to cleaning your entire house A cleanse which focuses on only one of these areas of elimination is like deciding that you are only going to clean one room and still expect your house to be clean. Although it is true to be said that if you make changes in one area you will take some of the strain of the areas systems/ organs and allow them to function more effectively.

By Thomas Dorman, M.D.

Stretching

When fluid is passed into the colon, and particularly when it is passed in skilfully, without the introducing of any gas, such as air, there is a gradual distension of the organ. It should be remembered that the colon is a flexible, irregular tube contained within the flexible, irregularly structured abdominal cavity.

An increase in the pressure of the lumen of the bowel has an instantaneous effect on the abdominal contents. From this point of view, the relationship to each other is like that of fluid in a hot water bottle. Is stretching the colon a good idea? My answer is a clear yes. Here, I take the liberty of making a comparison with stretching the fascial layers of the body elsewhere.

After all, what is the colon? It is a fascial bag with an outside lining call the 'serosa' and an inside lining called the 'mucosa'. There are some muscular thickenings within the fascial bag called 'circular' and 'longitudinal' muscles (tenia), the action of which we have already discussed when reviewing the weak peristalsis of the colon and the strong mass action (longitudinal bands) earlier.

When we stretch the body itself, the fascial layers of the trunk and limbs, and those around the axial skeleton improve alignment of the contents. The stretching evens out tension and restores function. We sometimes speak of the tensegrity model, when discussing this, because there is a relationship amongst the tension of all the components of the system to all others.

Does this consideration apply to the internal organs? Of course, it does. One way to improve the overall function and integrated action of the colon is by stretching the organ, and it is quite plain that the only available way for stretching is through the instillation of water gradually under slight-to-moderate pressure through the anal canal. Almost certainly this is the reason why colon therapists report after these irrigations they retrain the bowel.

Retraining the Bowel

An important benefit of colon therapy is this business of retraining the bowel. In 'civilised' society there is a tendency to defer the urge to defecate for social reasons. A person might be in a board meeting or any other assortment of social engagements. The mass action that might have been initiated by the mid-morning coffee, loading the rectum, is ignored.

The contents might either stay in the rectum of shift back into the descending colon. Further inspissation and toxic absorptions are now likely to take place and, after ignoring the urge to stool repeatedly, the phenomenon of a regular bowel evacuation occurs less frequently. The bowel is trained in bad habits.

It is true that the fermentation in the bowel is apt to lead to flatus in the circumstance, but many civilised men ignore that stimulus, as well. Almost certainly the phenomenon of rehydration and stretching the colon, particularly when combined with education of the subject that a call to stool should not be ignored and in fact olicited from the bowel, so to speak, two-three times a day at regular intervals will restore normal colonic function and indirectly enhance the person's health substantially.

Accordingly, it is an important role of the colon therapist to educate patients in combating constipation and generally improving bowel habits. Many of these benefits can be permanent after a series of, say, 10 treatments at, say, one-two treatments a week. It is up to the physician, in my opinion, to select the patients in whose cases this treatment should be recommended.

Tips to maintain a healthy regular bowel and bowel movement

1. It really helps to have breakfast. Most experts agree that a daily dose of dietary fibre, from unprocessed cereals, helps keep your bowel motions in good shape.
2. Eat fruit and vegetables every day. Fruit and vegetables are a major source of fibre and sufficient fibre helps prevent straining.
3. Drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day. Plenty of water, plus herbal and normal teas, all help ensure your bowel movements enjoy a smooth passage!
4. Exercise is a great help. For reasons medical science doesn't yet understand, a vigorous walking motion helps propel your other sort of motion on its one metre journey along your large intestine.
5. Take time to go to the toilet. A relaxed routine gives your system permission to get its job done effortlessly. "It doesn't really matter if you go to the toilet at eight o'clock in the morning or eight o'clock in the evening. It doesn't have to be everyday, you just have to find a regime and routine that's comfortable for you," says Dr Ellard.

What should you bowel movement or stool look like?

They say our eyes are a window to our soul, but our bowel movement offers a pretty good glimpse into what's happening inside too. Changes in consistency or colour shouldn't be ignored. Sometimes the reason is fairly simple, sometimes it can be more serious.

"In gastroenterology we divide people into people who look and people who don't. I would urge everyone in Australia to look," says Dr Ellard. Now, some of what you see in the toilet bowel you shouldn't worry about. Corn almost always goes straight through. "It's because we don't have cellulose to break down enzymes and that's the main reason why we don't graze and eat grass or eat timber" says Dr Borody.

A tinge of beetroot red shouldn't alarm you either: "It will go through with the pigment unchanged" he says. But there's one red tinge you should never ignore. Blood red can mean big trouble. "Bowel cancer is very common. One in 18 men and one in 26 Australian women develop bowel cancer. And one of the cardinal signs of people developing bowel cancer is blood in the motion. If you see it, you must get it checked out. It's never normal" says Dr Ellard.

Conclusion

In summary, I have come to the conclusion that colon therapy is not some mysterious therapy with myth or legend attached it is infact a procedure that has been around and in regular use for thousands of yeas, although the technology and techniques used to employ the procedure may have changed or improved. It is a very useful adjunct to any detoxification which can be a great aid in a the fight against a variety of illnesses in which the accumulation of toxins plays a major or contributory role to a person's ill health; therefore, washing the lining of the bowel is just as sensible as maintaining cleanliness in other parts of ourselves and, in the modern living environment, there is a tendency for the accumulation of toxins, increased constipation, increased concentration of the residue in the bowel because of a shortage of roughage in the diet; thus cleaning and irrigation is an advantage.

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