How to improve the health of your colon and bowel

Even if we live relatively healthy lives, modern lifestyles and diets (often lacking in dietary fiber) put a strain on the body and can cause our colon, intestines and bowel to become sluggish and accumulate toxins. If you suffer from any digestive problems including constipation, irritable bowel, diarrhea, bloating, gas or a suspected parasite problem, a bowel and colon cleanse will help to improve your symptoms. Colon cleansing has also been shown to provide increased energy, improve the condition of skin, reduce the frequency of illness and reduce aches and pains.

Rather than a one-off colon cleanse you may find more benefit from making colon cleansing a natural part of your day-to-day routine to stop the build up of toxins and improve digestive health. A colon cleanse should be completely natural and doesn’t need to involve time off work or expensive supplements to be effective. Concentrate on slow, lasting improvements rather than the short-term ‘fix’ promised by many colon cleansing products.

Start by making some small changes to your diet. It’s really important when colon cleansing to drink 8-10 glasses of filtered or bottled water everyday and cut out caffeine and soft drinks completely (if you are a heavy coffee drinker it maybe better to gradually reduce the number of cups you drink a day until you can stop without any problems).  Drink herbal teas (such as nettle, fennel and peppermint ) instead, not only do herbal tea hydrate the body they also provide ‘detox’ benefits as well.

It is also vital to increase the amount of dietary fiber in your diet. Dietary fiber comes from fruit, vegetables and wholegrains. There are essentially two types of fiber – insoluble fiber and soluble fiber and it is important to have both sorts in your diet. Essentially fiber helps the colon by absorbing toxins and impacted matter from the colon as well as providing bulk to help to colon remove waste material effectively and quickly. Research shows that up to 75% of North Americans have a diet lacking in fiber and this has been shown to be a major cause of colon problems.  Psyllium Husks can be taken to increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Psyllium Husks contain high levels of both soluble and insoluble fiber and are easily digested by the body.

Consume lots of healthy fresh fruit and vegetables and reduce the amount of white processed foods (such as bread, white pasta and white rice) you eat.

Ensure you get regular exercise as exercise encourages the organs to be active and kick starts the body to increase the rate at which toxins are expelled.

Start the day with a glass of warm water. Cold water first thing in the morning wakes your body up with a shock but warm water goes straight to the intestines and bowel and encourages a regular morning bowel movement.

If you have been experiencing digestive health problems for a while, have been unwell or have a poor diet you may want to consider taking a herbal supplement to aid the cleansing process.

If these small changes are made to your lifestyle not only will the health of your digestive system improve but you will have more energy, get fewer illnesses and become happier.