Colon Cleanser Tablets

Juice Fasting

We all know there are plenty of diet/nutrition regimes out there to choose from. Juice fasting is one of them and is used as a detoxification diet (i.e. a short term diet.) This type of fast involves the consumption of only water, raw vegetable and fruit juices for a certain period of time. The reason behind this diet is for the beneficial antioxidants and vitamins contained in fresh juices. This diet is considered one of extreme detox as there is no solid food consumed for the duration.

There are many reasons people may choose a juice fast diet over another type. Juice fasts can be used for losing weight, religious reasons, or to assist in weaning oneself from possible unhealthy habits. These could include overeating, caffeine addiction or smoking – to name a few. Then there are fasters who are a little more serious about their routines with juice fasting. They use it as an alternative healing technique to many conventional treatments. It may be used as a healing method for pain management, arthritis, infections resistant to antibiotics and other ailments as well.

There are certain people for whom juice diets aren’t recommended. This group of people includes pregnant or nursing women, children, diabetics, or people with anemia. Anyone with an impaired immune system, low blood pressure, terminal illness or epilepsy should also stay clear. People with any chronic illness or condition should steer clear of a juice fast unless they doing so under strict medical supervision. Never try a juice fast before or after surgery.

When considering how long your juice fast is going to last, there is an easy rule of thumb to follow. Continue with the juice fast until you have two days without any symptoms of detoxification. If you wish, you can also stick to a juice fast three or four days a week while eating a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables the other days. Along with sipping your juice during the day, it is recommended you also consume approximately six glasses of water at room temperature.

Some ingredients which can be used in juice fasts are:

Vegetables: celery, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes.

Greens: parsley, beet greens, chard, kale, dandelion leaf and spinach.

Herbs: fennel, spearmint, yucca root, basil, ginger, peppermint, green onion, chili pepper.

Fruits: grapes, apples, citrus, Acai berry.

Extras: wheatgrass juice, spirulina, complete vitamin & mineral supplement, psyllium husks.

Just ensure you have lots of vegetable juices, not just fruits! You don’t want a sugar overload. Try to follow a 80/20 split between vegetables and fruit on a daily basis.

Some side effects of a juice fast need mentioning here. Some common but temporary side effects include headaches, hypoglycemia, acne, tiredness, bad breath and an increase in body odor. Others could include dizziness or fainting, low blood pressure, weight loss, hunger, heart palpitations, vomiting and kidney problems. If you experience any of these side effects or any situation worsens stop the juice fasting immediately and contact a medical professional if necessary.

During a juice fast the stomach shrinks to its original size, about the size of your fist. After only three days of simply ingesting raw organic and fresh juices and water, you will lose those cravings for solid foods.
Your mind might try to tell you differently; however, your body doesn’t need more at this time. While just drinking your food, your stomach is able to get some well-deserved rest, allowing your colon to shed old compacted material which could be waiting there to cause future disease.

This would be a great diet to follow when you start working on following the acid/alkaline balanced diet or even once a year or so just to cleanse the body.

Should I consider Colon Irrigation – Pros and Cons

Colon cleansing, irrigation, colon hydrotherapy… there are many names for the procedure. They all come down to the same thing. A fluid is introduced into the colon through the anus in order to flush out the large intestine. Advocates sometimes claim it’s among the most healthful procedures around. Critics disagree, some saying it’s positively harmful. What does research say?

The practice has been researched for decades and the general consensus is that colonics have few or none of the health benefits claimed. Whether it does actual harm depends, not surprisingly, on personal circumstances, including how the procedure is carried out.

In the usual setting, a person dons a loose fitting, hospital-style gown and lies on a table. A therapist then opens the anus with a disposable speculum and inserts a plastic tube. Fluid, sometimes purified water, other times water with salts or other compounds, is put gently up through the rectum and into the colon. The resulting mixture then drains out through the tube and is disposed of hygienically.

Even following best practices, though, there is little scientific evidence for the claims some advocates make. Colons very rarely become impacted with feces and normal digestive processes do a very good job of eliminating waste material. When that process breaks down it is the result of disease that is not caused by the impaction nor cured by a colon hydrotherapy.

The basic hypothesis on which the practice is based is equally faulty. Studies do not support the notion that ‘toxins’ are retained by or build up in the large intestine that can only be removed by colon hydrotherapy. The body has several natural mechanisms for preventing that, or curing it if it were to happen.

Of course, intestinal diseases do occur – ranging from Crohn’s disease to colorectal cancer. But the presence of these conditions disqualifies a person from being a candidate for irrigation anyway. No reputable therapist will knowingly give such a person a colonic.

Still, done properly, it is a very low risk procedure and many experience benefits. Those benefits may be chiefly psychological (a result of ‘feeling clean’) but they are no less real for all that. Extreme care is warranted, however. An improperly performed colonic can do harm even when it doesn’t actually rupture anything.

Clearly, the digestive system has evolved to work normally as a one-way process. Introducing water up through the anus can flush out some material, but it is material that would have come out anyway. It is also not a proper treatment for intestinal parasites, as some practitioners of alternative medicine claim.

Some individuals who undergo the procedure can experience abdominal discomfort, or even nausea, for several hours afterward. In rare cases, it’s possible to cause kidney damage if, for example, a laxative like sodium phosphate is used in the irrigating fluid.

Like any therapeutic procedure, it’s always advisable to check with your physician beforehand. Then, be guided by professional medical advice, not the claims of some Internet article… including this one.

All About Colitis

Colitis refers to any condition which results in an inflamed colon. There is Ischemic colitis, Crohn’s, even chemically induced colitis (often as a result of medications), and many more. Still, the word is frequently used as a shorthand phrase for ulcerative colitis, one of the more common types of inflammatory bowel disease, as the category is known.

There are both similarities and differences with Crohn’s disease, which it resembles. Crohn’s often exists in isolated spots within the intestine. Ulcerative colitis tends to occur in continuous sections. UC also affects the innermost lining of the large intestine. Crohn’s begins at another layer.

Symptoms of ulcerative colitis include rectal inflammation and sometimes bleeding (when it occurs in the last six inches of the large intestine). Pancolitis, by contrast, affects the entire length of the colon and produces bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. It may also include excessive and unusual weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats.

Colitis, particularly the ulcerative variety, can be a serious condition leading to even more serious complications. Toxic megacolon, for example, produces a paralyzed colon that prevents eliminating gas or having bowel movements. Waste material that isn’t removed can cause the colon to rupture, introducing toxins into the bloodstream and causing peritonitis, just to name two possibilities.

Such an event requires emergency surgery, but even less severe though still serious secondary effects are not uncommon. A perforated colon, severe dehydration, liver disease, or inflammation of the skin or joints are only a few of the possibilities. While it doesn’t cause colon cancer directly, IBD increases the odds somewhat, with the risk rising the longer the condition persists. Even so, only about 10 percent of IBD sufferers go on to contract colon cancer.

Like its ‘cousin’, Crohn’s, the disease produces ulcers in the colon, which account for many of the symptoms listed. Also like that other condition, the cause(s) of the disease are not well understood. Some studies suggest that a bacterium or virus is the culprit and that the disease occurs when the immune system overreacts to fighting it.

Like Crohn’s, heredity plays a large role in who is likely to acquire the disease. The risk is much higher for those with a close relative affected by the condition. Also like Crohn’s, in contrast to many diseases, it tends more often to occur among younger individuals, generally in their 30s.

There are several diagnostic procedures for determining whether any IBD is present. Blood tests check for anemia or signs of infection. A colonoscopy – a procedure that uses a lighted tube inserted into the colon through the rectum – allows a direct inspection of the surface. It also may be used to capture tissue samples that can be analyzed later. Those samples can, for example, be checked for granulomas, which occur in Crohn’s but not ulcerative colitis. X-ray diagnosis is also used, with the patient typically consuming or being flushed with a barium compound to make diseased areas visible.

Treatments range from drug therapy to surgery to removing ulcerated tissue – sometimes in spots, other times in entire sections. Anti-inflammatory drugs like Sulfasalazine or Mesalamine are effective for treatment of symptoms, though they often have undesirable side effects. Corticosteroids may be prescribed for short periods.

The Colonoscopy Procedure

A colonoscopy is a medical procedure that uses a long, thin tube with a tiny camera at the tip to visually examine the large intestine. It’s used as a diagnostic tool in the investigation of a wide variety of possible digestive system conditions, such as Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, and colorectal cancers.

The procedure actually begins several days or more before the actual exam. Because fecal matter and certain fluids can obscure the view inside the colon, physicians recommend several preparatory actions.

Limiting intake to a liquid diet – clear broth or juices, tea, coffee, water and more – for a few days is a must. In some cases laxatives and/or an enema are prescribed. Fasting is a common requirement for up to 24 hours prior to the actual colonoscopy. Diabetics and others with special medical conditions are given more particular instructions.

During the exam, which may be mildly uncomfortable but can be pain-free when done correctly, the physician inserts a tube about the size of a finger through the anus and into the rectum. As the tube is moved gently upward the tiny video camera allows for a real-time visual inspection. The images are transmitted to an external monitor where they can be viewed during the exam and recorded for more careful analysis later.

The examining doctor will be on the lookout for ulcers (lesions) that are a sign of Crohn’s or other inflammatory bowel disease. Common precursors to colorectal cancer, such as the distinctive mushroom-shaped polyps that form on the lining, are also sought.

The colonoscope also has tiny scissors at the end that permit taking a tissue sample (biopsy) or for clipping off polyps, if the physician deems it warranted. They are also sometimes outfitted with a tiny laser that allows cauterizing tissue.

The procedure generally takes 20 minutes to an hour, but there are lingering effects, chiefly due to the preparatory laxatives and the sedative given just beforehand. Patients commonly feel bloated or experience flatulence afterward. Rest and relaxation, sometimes with short walks to promote passing accumulated gas, are typically recommended.

Because there is a very small risk of rupture during the exam, in part because the tube may contact polyps, ulcers, or other unhealthy tissue, bleeding is possible. A tiny amount of blood in the stool during a bowel movement shortly after is not generally cause for concern. If fever occurs or if the bleeding persists or is ample it’s advisable to seek medical attention quickly.

A colonoscopy is a highly valuable diagnostic tool but it may, and often is, only one part of a suite of tests to investigate colon disorders. Your physician may recommend, in addition, a CT scan, a barium and X-ray regime, or other procedures. Discuss your options thoroughly beforehand.

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