The Best Colon Cleansers

By Val Silver

The best colon cleansers come from nature and work with the body's elimination system. A diet that facilitates colon cleansing provides all you need for healthy intestinal cleansing with food, herbs, water, friendly probiotics, and the elements from the earth itself.

Optimally, you want to have at least one substantial bowel movement a day. To avoid discomfort and the health worry of toxins reabsorbing into the bloodstream, experts suggest that the accumulated waste in your colon needs to be eliminated at least once a day.

Only when your intestinal balance and environment is off because of poor eating habits, medications, chemicals, lack of water, parasites or other stress on the system does waste build up. Then you need to concern yourself with how to cleanse your colon in order to get things moving.

How to Cleanse Your Colon Naturally

The colon, also called the large intestine, is part of the digestive system. After food is processed in the stomach and small intestine, the remaining particles and liquid move into the colon where the water is absorbed. Bacteria in the colon get to work processing whatever material is left before the waste moves into the rectum and out of the body.

The goal of using special teas, pills, colon cleansing products, and colonics is to flush out the contents of the colon. This could be helpful if you suffer from constipation or digestive troubles, but is probably not necessary if you have regular, healthy bowel movements. If you choose to aid natural elimination, go gently. Aggressive cleansing could cause side effects, such as nausea, mineral imbalance, dehydration, or cramps.

Research indicates that colon health depends more on what you put into your body than what you flush out.

Eat a Colon Cleansing Diet

The best colon cleansers are foods that provide fiber, bulk, nutrients, and minerals, such as magnesium that provide what your body needs for proper digestion and elimination. A healthy diet naturally favors colon health because you ingest many of nature's best colon cleansers every day.

To promote regular, healthy colon cleansing, follow these tips:

Chew your food thoroughly to break it down and let digestive enzymes mix in. Drinking too much when you eat dilutes enzymes. Take little sips if needed.

Eat your greens - Raw and cooked greens are rich in detoxifying chlorophyll and fiber. Enjoy kale, escarole, dandelion greens, chard, romaine lettuce and others for needed roughage. A good green drink or a generous serving of fiber-rich greens can really clean you out. Include bitter greens, such as arugula, kale, or dandelion leaves in your diet to facilitate the release of bile. Bile acids aid digestion of nutrients and elimination of waste. If you don't like to eat bitter greens, you might benefit from the age-old folk remedy of taking a dropperful of herbal bitters before your meal. Have a drink on hand to wash it down.

Eat plenty of fiber - Fiber is one of nature's best colon cleansers. It bulks up the stool so it can be removed fully and easily, taking waste and toxins with it. People who eat a fiber-rich diet carry an average of one day's food and waste in the bowels. Those who lack fiber store eight meals worth.

Generous daily servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, ground flax and psyllium bulk up your stools, absorb toxins, and move waste out of your body.

Foods that cleanse your colon include fruits and vegetables. Leave the edible skin on to get most of the fiber. Nutritionists suggest that you aim for 25-35 grams of roughage a day. As a bonus, fiber keeps you feeling full longer and is an important weight loss ally.

In addition, the following suggestions facilitate healthy colon cleansing:

Limit white flour products, sugar and pasteurized dairy. These 'foods' interfere with healthy colon cleansing and create conditions conducive to mucus and parasites.

Eliminate gluten-containing grains for several days. These include oats, barley, wheat and rye. If you feel better, you may want to avoid these foods permanently. Otherwise, eat them in limited quantities. Gluten is gummy and may line the intestinal wall. This make nutrient absorption more difficult, provides a safe haven for parasites, and narrows the intestinal passage.

Drink plenty of water - Fluids promote colon cleansing naturally. Fiber absorbs fluids and can be constipating without enough water. Water helps flush out toxins.

Avoid caffeine and sugary drinks on your colon cleansing diet. Instead, try dandelion tea. Dandelion is slightly bitter, which prompts your liver to release bile. This is good for digestion and releasing toxins.

Include probiotics -Enjoy non-sugary yogurt, kefir and fermented foods regularly. Or take a high quality supplement. Consume lots of probiotics during and after using antibiotics to replace your killed- off good bacteria.

Enjoy regular moderate exercise. Exercise benefits body and mind. Take walks or do other forms of exercise to get your bowels moving and your blood flowing.

Clay and Herbal Colon Cleansers

Are you are concerned about worms and other parasites?

Include pumpkin seeds, raw garlic, cloves, and bitter greens in your daily colon cleansing diet. Bitters cause the release of bile, which isn't liked by 'critters'. A few doses of black walnut hull, cascara sagrada or wormwood herb will send them packing. Always consult your health care provider before taking strong purgatives, especially if you are on medication.

Eat clay. Pure calcium bentonite clay is one of nature's best colon cleansers. It was used with foods by indigenous peoples.

Clay can't be digested. It absorbs water in the bowel and expands to many times its size. As it expands, it stimulates muscular contractions that moves waste out of the body. As it leaves the body, it attracts and takes unwanted intestinal occupants with it.

Because it has a negative ionic charge, bentonite attracts positive ions. That means it binds to toxins, heavy metals, bacteria and viruses. Bentonite is commonly combined with ground flax seeds or psyllium husks.

For a natural colon detox, try this recipe:

Combine one tablespoon of water or juice at least 30 minutes before breakfast and at bedtime. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. You can take this mixture indefinitely. Plan to continue for at least six weeks for best results.

If you take medications, you'll need to wait at least one hour before eating clay. Note: bentonite clay and fiber absorb medication if taken within a few hours of each other. Consult your doctor before taking bentonite clay and fiber supplements if you are on medication. You may be advised to use a suitable gentle laxative if you are constipated instead.

To keep your elimination system in great shape, these best colon cleansers part of your daily life. The main idea of incorporating foods that cleanse the colon and other best colon cleansers into your lifestyle is to support your body's natural colon cleansing ability as nature intended.

An occasional gentle cleanse using herbs, detoxifiers, or colonics may be helpful when you feel feel bloated, gassy, or you are worried about parasites, worms, toxins, mucoid plaque, constipation, and impacted waste. Otherwise, the best way to cleanse your colon is to have a healthy diet and lifestyle and let your natural detoxification system do its job.