Just like the rest of the body, the colon is designed to clear and clean itself naturally. If it didn't we'd be in trouble in just a few days.
The colon only works at its best when fiber is present.
You can only get fiber from eating plants - especially the leaves and stems of plants. You can't get it from eating meat, dairy products or fish.
Fiber is important to digestion because it is the only thing that survives the digestive juices of the stomach in solid form. Everything else is turned into a liquid called chyme.
The colon needs fiber for two reasons.
First, fiber sweeps the walls of the intestines and colon. You can think of it like a coarse broom traveling through the digestive tract and sweeping debris away as it does.
Second, fiber produces the bulk that the muscles of the colon need to work against to produces peristalsis (elimination).
Fiber is so important to colon health that researchers have found that in societies with high fiber intake, there is virtually no incidence of digestive diseases such as colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis.
Interestingly, these diseases only started showing up in the industrialized world around 1900, with the advent of white flour (which has virtually no fiber).
Given the evidence, most doctors agree that consistent fiber intake is key to maintaining colon health.
And, in terms of colon cleanse recipes, any good one, with the exception of one that calls for extensive fasting, should include a fiber supplement.
Tip - when taking a fiber supplement for the first time, make sure to start out small and increase the dosage slowly.
By Mark Ament
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