Your Colon and Your Health, Part 1

Dr. Omar Arabia II, a Filipino doctor who specializes in Alternative Medicine and Integrative Oncology, shares his thoughts on the importance of keeping our colon clean:

"For many people, talking about the colon (large intestine) may be embarrassing, and your first inclination might be to avoid the topic altogether. But colon care and cleansing are critical to healing and keeping the body healthy.

"When we say that it's essential to have a clean colon, we mean one free of toxins, waste materials and unhealthy microorganisms that accumulate on the walls, preventing the food you eat from being properly absorbed by your body. Most people have seven to 10 pounds of old fecal matter in their colons, even if they have a bowel movement everyday. When this accumulation is removed by various colon cleansing procedures, the body is free to absorb the essential vitamins and minerals of the food one eats, and healing begins.

"Disease originates in the colon. When waste cannot be properly eliminated, it accumulates in the colon and backs up into the rest of the digestive tract, then the liver and kidneys. This causes unpleasant symptoms elsewhere in the body such as constipation, headaches, weight gain, skin problems, muscle and joint pain and other more serious illnesses.

"The digestive system (which includes the colon) is similar to the root system of a tree. A tree takes its nourishment and water through its root system, feeding it along the branches and out to the leaves. We take ours through the digestive tract where the nutrients from food are carried into the blood stream, then passed along to the various organs and absorbed into the cells of our body. In either system, if there is a blockage, or if poor-quality nutrients are taken in and distributed, the entire tree--or body--is thrown out of balance, and its very life is in danger."

What the Colon Does. The colon is not merely a long tube used for waste elimination. It absorbs water, electrolytes, and the final products of digestion. But if the walls are blocked, those nutrients never reach their destination, and toxins are absorbed into the body. Gray hair comes from improper mineral absorption. If adults had colon as pure and clean as an infant's, their hair would have rich, beautiful color!

The accumulation of waste on the walls of the colon provides the perfect breeding ground for parasites, yeast, and viruses. Many of us harbor viruses that only emerge when our immunity is low, and then we get the flu or cold symptoms. The accumulation of toxins physically impairs elimination of feces and also can prevent friendly bacteria from colonizing and doing their work. It can become just like an oil spill: the environment is so polluted that even healthy animals and birds cannot survive.