by Kim-Louise Easterbrook
Thirteen years ago my dear, 72-year-old grandma was waiting for her second colon operation. I told her about the benefits of clearing a congested colon. She was open to experimenting. A month later she rang me up all excited after she finished a cleansing. She had passed a surgical sponge left over from her last colon operation and was heading down to her doctor to show him. “That’s the last time he ever touches my colon!” she exclaimed. The possibility of preventing thousands of colon operations just by addressing the internal pollution going on inside sparked my interest in the study of alternative therapies.
First, I too, followed my grandma’s footsteps! My lifestyle for the past 27 years showed up in my stool. I passed black stools for almost a week. I lived on junk food back then, smoked and drank pop and coffee. Of course all the accumulated medication I had been given for the last year of my knee surgery, was still hidden in my colon. Years of undigested, unnatural substances can cement themselves along the colon walls and form a glue-like substance (hardened fecal matter), narrowing the passage way of the bowel.
Even though the bowels may move regularly every day, there is still some form of constipare, which in Latin means “pressed together.” Diagnosed with chronic constipation all those years, diverticulitis, spastic bowel syndrome, stress, you name it, I was a really serious case of “autointoxication,” a process whereby my body was literally poisoning itself by maintaining a cesspool of decaying matter in the colon.
Every time a normal bowel movement passed between and rubbed up against the hardened fecal matter, toxins were released back into my blood stream causing headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue and depression. I was also diagnosed with a sluggish lymphatic and circulatory system. These two circulating body fluids could no longer carry away the toxins from all my body cells. Imagine if the sewer system backed up in the city. That’s what was happening inside my body!
The Thief of Nutrients
The initial stages of auto-intoxication of the colon stem from:
- Poor diet–foods that are dead, cooked, processed, microwaved and lack proper enzymes to assist in proper digestion and assimilation.
- Over-consumption puts a great amount of stress on our digestive system. The stomach bloats as the digestive system goes into turmoil. Foods are not properly broken down and tend to lodge in the lower intestines. Vital nutrients are not absorbed.
- Lack of water is a huge problem! As water makes up 75 percent of the human body, cleansing the inside of the body as well as the outside, water is instrumental in flushing out wastes and toxins. When the body does not receive enough water, toxins stagnate, hindering all digestive and eliminative processes.
- Stress hinders the proper digestion, absorption and elimination of foods by throwing the digestive system out of balance. Nutrients are not absorbed if you’re under extreme stress.
- Antibiotics strip the colon of necessary intestinal flora. They put the digestive and eliminative systems out of balance and create problems in the entire intestinal tract.
- Lack of exercise weakens lymphatic and circulatory stimulation–the body’s natural cleansing systems.
- Eating late at night means the body cannot rest. It’s busy digesting and processing your food.
Clear All Obstructions
Bowel management and colon cleansing are of utmost importance. When the bowel is dirty the blood is dirty. An obstructed colon will absorb the mucoid material in the lymph through its walls. As the colon’s walls become more obstructed with hardened fecal matter, its ability to detoxify the lymph decreases and the accumulation of mucoid matter begins to back up into the lymphatic system. Congestion results.
A toxic lymph is usually present during acute sickness: the appetite is lost and the body goes into fasting mode. Many herbal practitioners use bayberry bark or lobelia, both lymph purifiers.
The first step in cleansing the lymphatic system is to cleanse the colon. The second step is skin brushing, which helps stimulate the expulsion of fresh mucoid material and corrects inflammations of the lymph nodes. Many experts also believe that lack of exercise is another reason for improper lymphatic drainage. Purchasing a mini trampoline and bouncing up and down increases the circulation flow and allows the lymphs to do their cleansing. Many people experience a bowel movement after bounding.
Supplement cooked food with enzymes and eat as much live raw food as possible. Eat smaller meals throughout day. If you’re sick, try natural antibiotics like colostrum and goldenseal. Take deep breaths, relax, and drink at least eight glasses of water a day or more. Stretch regularly!
My grandma, bless her soul, passed away in an old-age home with severe auto-intoxication and a tangled colon. Her last words were, “I miss my garden-fresh vegetables. They keep feeding me medication for my constipation and it constipates me even more. I wish I could do that colon cleanse again, can you sneak it in?” I did sneak a bottle of natural cascara to her and she hid it and smiled. That was the last I saw of her.
One day I came by the desk to get some of her stuff and the nurse said, “I found this bottle in her coat one night when she was sleeping, so I put it behind the desk so that she couldn’t have access to it. We have to watch our seniors you know.”
I replied, “That’s too bad because she wasn’t trying to end her life. Those capsules were to help cleanse her colon from the constipation. Those capsules could have possibly saved her life.”
About the Author
Kimberly Easterbrook is a natural health products consultant, wellness coach and longevity research writer.