The digestive system runs from the mouth through to the rectum. In many ways it is the focal point of the body. It is our earthy centre. Whatever we eat, we must have the ability to absorb and make use of it. Most illnesses, from chronic disease such as cancer to many modern allergies, arise out of gastrointestinal debility arising from the stomach which can then affect the bowel.
Working out which foods suit you and can be processed efficiently by your body is a key factor in the upkeep of your digestive system and balanced health.
As a general rule, you should avoid common food intolerance's, vary and rotate foods and increase fibre intake via whole grains, vegetables and fruit.
It may be necessary to take probiotics like Biotin and acidophilus occasionally. Pineapple, papaya and cider vinegar will help digestion and slippery elm inner bark will soothe and protect if this is needed. Always remember to chew your food well, as this liquidizing effect in the mouth will enormously help any stomach insufficiencies.
Many people are finding that wheat (and often dairy) produce excessive amounts of mucus in the gut which hampers digestion and in turn creates dysfunction, pain, allergies and general sickness.
Eat a diversity of food types, according to your individual needs. The most important thing to remember is that all foods must be completely digested in order to successfully move through the colon.
Consume plenty of water.
Seek advice of a nutritionalist or herbal practitioner / naturopath trained in this area if you have problems.
Anything that helps the process of digestion will be useful. Start with sound sleep and exercise accompanied by cleansing programmes where necessary, especially of the colon and liver. Eating with other people in a happy convivial atmosphere is always beneficial, so try to avoid emotional upsets at the table.
Try keeping a footstool in the toilet. This is because we are really designed to squat when having a bowel movement - a position not encouraged by the design of most modern western toilets. Using a footstool (we use a child's plastic stander from Mothercare) will help align your body into a more natural position.
As with all bodily functions, the spinal column provides nerve supply and the lower vertebrae, if misaligned, will cause problems in the bowel. Therefore, consider a visit to an osteopath or chiropractor in order to make sure that your vertebrae aren't hindering the correct flow of impulses and fluids.
Massage will help, especially along the whole length of the intestine, where it will encourage and increase its vitality. You should also practice deep breathing exercises. Yoga will also be of great benefit, as some of the postures deal directly with internal massage.
The colon digests foods that have not been digested in the small intestine. These and fully digested matter from the stomach need to pass through as quickly and efficiently as possible. The digested or undigested food passes from the small intestine via the ileum into the large intestine via a kind of flapping door called the ileocaecal valve. Often this valve doesn't open and close properly - rather like a non-operative 'kissing gate' - due to the colon being sluggish. Consequently, a toxic and decaying build-up of old food can accumulate in this area, making it, potentially, a prime site for general disease, parasitic infestations and, ultimately, digestive diseases including cancer.
This matter then has to travel uphill through the ascending colon. It is never easy to work against gravity, so a strong and healthy peristaltic action is needed.
The appendix plays a vital role in this process by secreting fluid which helps lubricate the faecal matter, reducing the possibility of it becoming sluggish or 'stuck'. In this lubricating substance are antibacterial, anti-viral and fungal fighters, which are vital for the colon.
The appendix has an important role in the immune system. The ascending colon is a common site for problems and cancers, along with more common diverticuli and herniations (pockets). Partially undigested food arriving from the small intestine, low-quality food, deficient bowel flora and Candida can all contribute to problems.
A lack of exercise, poor general circulation, tension, smoking, drugs and other factors, such as a diseased or imbalanced liver, can all create colon problems, especially in this area.
Next, there is a corner to navigate the hepatic flexure. This can often be another problematic area. As matter passes through the bend it leaves residues, in much the same way as rivers leave silt as they meander through valleys. The debris left here can build up and create bulging and distortion. The faecal matter then continues its journey across to the transverse colon. The transverse colon can sag when elasticity has been lost, particularly when overburdened with faecal matter; through a prolapsed womb, or simply old age. The colon then goes downhill via a bend called the splenic flexure. Like the hepatic flexure this corner can be badly managed, resulting in faecal matter building up creating an area where dumping and ballooning occurs. Once around the splenic flexure, the journey is downhill through the descending colon. Potentially, things should get easier at this point. Finally, it is on into the rectum. Without sounding relentlessly pessimistic, however, problems can and do arise here too!
This process can become a strain if the incoming foods are deficient in fibre, are over-processed or lack any built-in digestive properties and nutrients. Then the colon will not be able to process the materials it needs in order to function properly. As one of the major eliminative channels it is vitally important that it functions freely; something that will mirror good health in the entire body. Imagine old toxic, fouled faeces, poisoning your bloodstream, lymph system, brain, liver and more. The liver may eventually become exhausted and congested, the stomach may become disabled, resulting in over or under function and the pancreas can inflame due to its inability to produce enough digestive enzymes. In short, the internal task force will generally be in trouble in a myriad of ways with resultant symptoms and diseases - all caused by general bowel toxicity and autointoxication.
An overwhelming number of people have colons that are overloaded and misshapen with old faecal matter. This can cause sagging and ballooning, distortions and constrictions where disease will lurk along with old glue-like partially digested food which can often become stagnant making it an ideal breeding ground for disease. Every year nearly 31,000 people in Britain (according to 1995 statistics) are diagnosed with colon cancer, and 20,000 will die. It is the third most common cancer, and could easily upgrade to second if our eating trends and accompanying lack of exercise continue. When combined with other colon diseases, it is already the second largest cause of death in Britain. When the colon starts to become clearer and cleaner, the symptoms of the disease begin to slowly ebb away, layer by layer. Remember, if you do not cleanse the colon, your other organs and systems will not be able to cleanse their wastes either.
Check with close relatives, especially older members of your family, for bowel problems. This way you will be able to see if your own tendencies might be hereditary. As always, prevention is the key.
Dr. Bernard Jensen is a well-known herbalist in America and has written many books on the bowel. They are worth searching out, not least for the photographs he uses of autopsies showing the variety of distorted colon shapes found in the deceased. These distortions occurred due to old faecal matter piling up by the pound, creating pockets, narrowings, balloonings and so forth.
In these balloons, old faecal matter slowly becomes part of the bowel wall itself, hardening and impacting, layer upon layer; encouraging virus, bacteria and fungi to take hold and thrive with opportunistic parasites also setting up home -all will drain the entire body of health and vigour. The ensuing strain on the colon walls also causes thinning and, where the wall has become too thin, fluid bowel matter can slowly seep into the rest of the body. It is not only toxins that can cause bowel problems. Positive microbes in the colon can become dangerously pathogenic if they escape from their regular environment. There are infinite numbers of colonic microbes including Escherichia coli, streptococcus faecalis, clostridium, welchii and enterobacter aerogenes. Inside the colon they help synthesize vitamin K and folic acid. Outside it they create disease.
Many common viruses and bacteria lurk in bowel pockets of both men and women. Candida is commonly found in the bowel pockets of women in particular and candida can often stubbornly proliferate due to the presence of parasites. Whenever ballooning occurs, narrowing before or after the affected area results, making it difficult for faecal matter to pass through. Very often it doesn't, and the faecal matter gets dumped into the existing balloon or pockets after attempts to negotiate the stricture have failed. What little faecal matter does get through is often very watery and thin and this is the form in which diarrhoea sometimes presents itself, especially if it comes after years of constipation.
One needs a bowel movement for sure once a day and even two to three times a day, dependent on the daily food intake, You should have at least one, preferably two, and definitely three if you're a food fan. In fact you should be eliminating four-fifths of your food intake over an eleven to nineteen hour period of time.
Every 8 hours there is a peristaltic urge triggered by the gall bladder. If a bowel movement is achieved upon waking at 7am, then the next one should be at approximately 3pm. Many people find that having a meal triggers a bowel movement. This is because the filling of the stomach triggers the emptying of the colon. This idea to many people seems horrendous and ridiculous - they feel they don't want to give away that much! Nor do most of us check the amount of time that food takes to pass through.
Try swallowing some sunflower seeds - the white seeds show up well against the other colours and are a useful way to measure the amount of time food takes to pass through your system.
Either a lack of, or an overactive peristalsis can cause problems. Candida and other bowel flora imbalance can severely hamper peristalsis, much as liver and gall bladder dysfunction does.
You need to look at your bowel movements if you are to begin a self-help programme. The ideal bowel movement should preferably float in the toilet bowl, though very few bowel movements do! Sinking suggests compaction, due to the faecal matter have spent too long in the bowel or having become congested with mucus but don't become concerned if this happens, better out than in, however it lands. Bowel movements should come out of the rectum effortlessly and break up slowly. The colour should normally be a mid brown. However, green/browns will suggest you've eaten many green things recently, darker reds indicate, perhaps, that you've eaten beetroot and so on. But white and yellow movements could signify liver and gallbladder problems. Look and think. They shouldn't be pungent, and there should be no wind, pain or foaming.
