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Why are more and more people interested in how to do a colon cleanse? My opinion on this is simple; I think that there are an increasing number of people who are aware that to live a long and healthy life (without lots of medical bills), there needs to be an understanding of preventative actions a person can take to enhance health.

Can you imagine an engine that can keep working for about 80 years without being maintained by a mechanic? For your body, you are the mechanic and so you need to make sure that you are aware of how the body works and know which parts to give special attention if they are causing problems.

Unfortunately (keeping the engine analogy going) in most industrialised nations we are feeding the 'engine' with low grade fuel, which is making it run inefficiently.

When we eat, food is passed through the stomach, after being immersed in hydrochloric acid, then into the upper intestines and finally on to the lower intestines (the colon) once the majority of the nutrients have been taken out of the food.

The colon is then responsible for evacuating the waste, absorbing excess water.

The normal transit time from the mouth to bowel movement should be about 12 ' 18 hours. However, in most western countries the usual transit time is estimated to be about 65 ' 100 hours.

Why is this a problem?

The main problem is that we are exposed to the toxic waste that is left over from the foods we have eaten for far longer than we should be.

The amounts of toxins that are in the food supply have increased dramatically over the last twenty years, and the average person, unless they drink distilled water and eat only organic vegetables and meat products will be faced with a multitude of toxins.

The longer these toxins are in the colon, the more chance there is of them 'poisoning' the body and making the colon sick. Which will further slow down the transit time of waste.

As a defence mechanism mucus is secreted in the colon, which can allow waste material to be glued to the sides of the colon, further increasing the risk of toxin leak.

There are various signs of a sick colon, including diarrhea, constipation, aches and pains in the lower back, skin problems, poor immune system, headaches, gas, allergies, bad breath and repeated vaginal infections.

So, what is to be done about it?

Essentially, there are two things you need from a healthy colon, you need it to be clean and functioning correctly. Clean means that there is no putrefied faecal matter glued to the colon, and functioning means that the transit times are appropriate, usually less than 24 hours.

A good step is to change diet to remove processed foods, foods that are high in fat, and foods that are low in fiber.

Replace these foods with organic vegetables and fruit to ensure the diet has sufficient fiber/ roughage.

There are a number of bulking agents and stimulants that can be taken to bring back some of the health of the colon, including psyllium or guar.

The key to understanding how to do a colon cleanse is to understand the severity of the problems you may have. Sign up for our Free Newsletter below for more information.