Friday, October 10, 2008

Colon Cleansing Diet: What’s Real and What’s Hype

Finding a colon cleansing diet can seem like searching for the fountain of youth or looking for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow – a long journey that only leaves you tired and hungry. There are many recommendations for an effective colon cleansing diet. Some are just plain hype and others actually work.

Fiber – The Cornerstone

A genuine and effective colon cleansing diet is not comprised of a series of quick fixes stringed together to make for one rapid, drastic change. Rather, it is the altering of one’s lifestyle and eating habits that will lend the greatest benefits. If a colon needs to be cleansed, then it is certainly lacking or deficient in one key component – fiber.

Fiber is the cornerstone of a healthy colon cleansing diet. Fiber is responsible for keeping things moving in the colon. It’s a natural bulking agent that helps transport discarded matter form the colon during a bowel movement. You can think of it as your internal traffic control system – it helps food enter smoothly and make an even smoother exit.

To jump start a colon cleansing diet, you can buy a natural colon cleanse product that contains psyllium seed husks or simply buy the husks separately. As a natural bulking agent, psyllium swells inside the digestive system and forms into a jellylike mass that binds to recently digested food as well as compacted fecal matter stuck to the colon walls. Ingesting this high fiber substance with plenty of water on a daily basis will cause your body to gradually eliminate toxic, petrified fecal matter from your digestive system while increasing your daily fiber intake.

Once you are satisfied with the results achieved by ingesting psyllium husks, you can maintain your colon cleansing diet by simply adding more fiber to your regular diet. A diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes will also be high in fiber. A high fiber diet will keep your colon functioning optimally and prevent the accumulation of fecal matter.

Since fiber is water soluble you’ll want to be sure you drink plenty of water so the fiber has plenty of help flushing your digestive system. Regular exercise will also stimulate your colon to eliminate waste on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be strenuous exercise, light walking do.

So, there you have it. No fountain of youth; no pot of gold - just simple facts. Avoid the hype-filled quick fixes. Some of them may work, but you’ll be tired and hungry in the end without a blueprint for lasting change. An effective colon cleansing diet is simple when approached with common sense and allowed to bring gradual long-term results.

No comments: