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If you are feeling tired and run-down, if you have been bloating or suffering from constipation, if you feel generally blah; you may benefit from colon cleansing. A colon cleanse flushes harmful fecal matter that is clinging to the walls of your lower intestinal tract causing toxins from that waste to leach into your body.

These toxins can cause a variety of problems that generally slow a body down. When you eliminate the source of the toxins, your energy will increase and you will have regular bowel movements and less gas.

Colon cleansing can be accomplished in a couple of general ways: You can get a colonic, which is also called colon irrigation, colonic irrigation, and colon hydrotherapy. This procedure involves warm water being introduced into the colon which forces feces from the colon through a tube into a closed container. You don't smell the feces, but you ma y feel slight intestinal discomfort during the procedure and for a few hours after this type of colon cleanse.

Colon cleansing can also be done at home by special diets, fasting, and special herbal teas or supplements. These are often used in combination or succession to achieve a complete colon cleanse over a few days or a few weeks. (Herbal supplements can interfere with prescription drugs. If you pursue a colon cleansing regimen that includes herbs, consult your natural pharmacist or health care professional.) If using Oxygen-based colon cleansers (recommended) generally there is no pharmaceutical interactions.

Regardless of whether you choose to get a colonic and get your colon cleansed fast or go slower with an at-home colon cleansing plan, you will want to change your diet to support continuing colon health. This diet should include fiber and probiotic supplements to aid in the digestion of food and elimination of waste from your body.

More specifically, you will want to eliminate as much red meat, animal fat, dairy (except yogurt), and food that has been heavily preserved or processed, including most fast food from your diet to keep a naturally clean colon. Instead you should eat foods including fish, beans, whole grain foods, fresh organic fruits and vegetables in their natural state, yogurt, and ginger. And continue to take a probiotic supplement to aid in digestion. Some people also schedule a regular colon cleanse to help maintain a healthy colon.

Colon cleansing is not for everyone, though. If you are already diagnosed with a colon problem or disease, you should consider any type of colon cleanse carefully. Persons suffering with diverticulitis to Crohn's disease can benefit from a colon-friendly diet, but should not usually undertake colonic hydrotherapy, unless recommended by your health-care professional.

When you start a colon-friendly diet after a colon cleanse, give your stomach and digestive tract the opportunity to adjust. You may actually experience more gas for the first week or so, but your system will adjust and you will have healthy, regular bowel movements without the excess gas.

Colon cleansing will make you feel better, especially if you continue to keep your colon clean with a fibrous, probiotic diet. And if you lapse back into old, bad food habits and start dragging through your day again, a colon cleanse will jump-start you back to good colon health.