The Colon, also called the large intestine or bowel, is situated in the abdomen and forms the last part of the digestive tract. It is an extremely important organ some 5 feet in length and 2.5 inches in diameter, which handles our food waste and much of our other bodily wastes. A normal colon is populated by billions of friendly bacteria which assist in detoxifying waste, synthesising certain vitamins and helping in guard against infection. The delicate balance of this internal ecosystem is easily disturbed by a number of factors including stress, pollution, electromagnetic influences, processed food, drugs, smoking and other toxic substances.
Correct functioning of the colon is a necessity for health, for as many experienced doctors have recorded in the past, including James A Wiltsie M.D. "As long as we continue to assume that the colon will take care of itself, just that long we will remain in complete ignorance of perhaps the most important source of ill health in the whole body". It has also been said that colon malfunction can lead to 80% of all diseased states.
The average healthy transit time from eating to defecation should be less than 24 hours with a bowel movement at least once a day, if not following each full meal. With disease, poor digestion, candida (yeast overgrowth), irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation and diarrhoea are usually accompanied by auto- intoxication, literally, 'self-poisoning' (the reabsorption of soluble wastes into the bloodstream) which places a heavy burden upon the other eliminatice organs of the body such as the kidneys, lungs and skin.
Chronic constipation can also lead to further direct complications such as diverticulitis, haemorrhoids, fissures, colitis and even bowel cancer as well as chronic toxic conditions in the rest of the body such as acne and eczema. The cardio-vascular system, the nervous system and the liver are especially prone to this 'self-poisoning', and can lead to feeling heavy, dull and slow.