Colonic Irrigation

The desire for good health is something we all share. We spend countless thousands of dollars treating the symptoms of disease and a portion of our income on health insurance to cover our expenses for cancer, heart disease, etc. in the event our bodies should succumb to these diseases. Yet very little is invested in the prevention of disease, which costs far less than the treatment. One example of this is cancer of the colon. We don’t hear much about it, yet it is second only to heart disease as the most common cause of death in the United States. In fact, the American Cancer Society recently released information stating that cancer of the colon and rectum has now taken over first place as the most common form of lethal cancer in the United States. This need not be so.

While few would argue the importance our diet plays in our health, the removal of toxic waste from our bodies is important, too. You see good health is as much a result of how well we eliminate wastes from our bodies, as how carefully we choose what we eat.

How the health of our colon affects our total health

The colon is a tube approximately five feet long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. A healthy colon is uniform size and tone. It extends from the cecum where it joins the small intestine, up and across the abdominal cavity and down the left side of the body until it reaches the sigmoid and rectum. The three main functions of the colon are:

1. The final digestion of our food

2. The elimination of digestive residue

3. Discharge of toxins and wastes from body

We experience better health and well being when the colon is clean and functioning normally. When the colon is congested with stagnant wastes, poisons backup into our system and pollute the inner environment. This is called autointoxication, which literally means "self-poisoning."

All of the body’s tissues are affected by the autointoxication.

Poisons backed up into the nervous system affect irritability and depression.

Poisons backed up into the heart affect weakness and poor circulation.

Poisons backed up into the stomach affect bloating.

Poisons backed up into the lungs affect foul breath.

Poisons backed up into the skin affect sallow color, pimples and wrinkles.

Poisons backed up into the glands affect fatigue and lethargy.

Autointoxication can be a causative factor in numerous serious diseases and is considered by many to be the underlying reason for disease.

There are many contributing factors to autointoxication from a toxic bowel. Improper diet, insufficient exercise, stresses, smoking, drinking, medications, ignoring the urge to defecate, and even overeating can all lead to bowel problems.

Most of us, for instance, have had years of poor to average nutrition. Much of our food is subjected to chemical exposure and processing which includes refining, frying and overcooking, saturating the mineral elements of our food with oil or grease. As a result of this food processing, the digestive organs cannot process the minerals efficiently and they are passed out of the small intestine into the colon as wastes. The consumption of mucous-producing foods such as meat, dairy products and flour cause dense, sticky bowel movements. Excess mucous in our system is a sign of trouble. Mucous stools are difficult for the body to eliminate. When they are expelled, they leave behind a glue-like coating on the wall of the colon, which accumulates layer by layer into a hard rubbery crust. The body cannot eliminate the layers of hardened mucous on its own. They are carried for the duration of the person’s life as toxic burden.

Incompletely digested food ferments and putrefies when remaining in the colon longer than a day. When this fermented waste combines with the body’s own bile acids from the liver, carcinogens can form. We already know carcinogens can ultimately develop into colon or rectal cancers. Enhancing the colon’s ability to expedite the elimination of waste reduces the risks of developing colon-rectal cancer.

Constipation is one of the first signs indicating to us that our bowel is not functioning properly. When a person is constipated, the walls of the colon are often encrusted with accumulated fecal matter. The inner diameter of the colon is reduced like a waterpipe blocked by mineral deposits, and eventually the opening becomes narrower and narrower making it more difficult to pass wastes through. Since the encrusted feces line the colon wall, the colon is unable to absorb nutrients from our food in the last phase of the digestive process. Wastes from the blood stream, which should normally be drawn into the colon through the colon wall, are reabsorbed by the body along with other toxins resulting from the fermentation and putrefaction of incompletely digested food. Subsequently, intestinal stasis often follows which occurs when the muscular contractions known as peristalsis can no longer sweep the hardened feces along the digestive canal.

A person can even have several bowel movements a day and still be constipated. The movements are usually smaller and occur more often because the inner diameter of the colon is smaller than it should be. The body reacts to this constricted bowel by stepping up the frequency of the peristalsis wave action to allow the waste to exit the body. Taken to its limit, the effect can be diarrhea, which is when the body moves out the waste so fast, the bowel doesn’t have time to remove the water and consolidate the waste into stool.

The concepts of colon cleansing go back to ancient times and were very popular until replaced by drug therapy in the 1930’s. Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in this natural cleansing procedure.

For answers to many questions about Colonic irrigation, please see...
FAQ About Colonics



Colon Therapists at Harmony Healthcare...
Linda Atwell CCT, RMT, MTI
Michael Keliehor CCT