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A Gentle (but thorough) Colon Cleanse


Doing a complete colon cleanse is a really great way to improve your body’s overall health and wellness.  There are a LOT of benefits to detoxing and cleaning out the colon and intestinal tract. Some of the biggest benefits include:


* flushing out poisons and toxins that build up in the body

* increasing your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients that your body needs

* helping to balance the body’s acid and alkaline (pH) levels


A clean and healthy colon also enables you to have more energy, maintain a healthy body weight, and reduces your risk of colon cancer and so many other chronic health conditions.














































Cautions


While there are a great many benefits to be gained through detoxing the body, it is also important to be aware of the fact that your colon and intestines require a good balance of probiotics, enzymes, and intestinal flora. Excessive, extreme, or prolonged detoxing can throw off this delicate balance and lead to other health problems.


The program and suggestions laid out in this article are designed to give a very gentle, but thorough cleanse. It focuses on cleaning out toxins and poisons from the body while at the same time healing and supporting the digestive tract and replenishing the probiotics and enzymes needed for a healthy balance of intestinal flora.


For best results, read through the entire article and purchase the necessary products before beginning. This particular program is designed to take 20 days, and should be conducted under the supervision of a health care professional.



Using Diet to Support Your Colon


* Avoid Certain Foods

The best way to start cleaning out your colon is to eliminate all the foods that are a burden to your intestinal tract. This includes: coffee, white sugar, white flour, alcohol, and dairy products (with the exception of raw yogurt or kefir).


Also avoid meats that are hard for your body to digest (such as beef, chicken, and pork), and avoid greasy, oily foods.



* Eat Foods That Help Detoxify Your Colon

There are certain foods that are very good for your intestines and help your body digest foods and clean out toxins. These include cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.


Also, dark, green, leafy vegetables contain chlorophyll, which is really great for cleaning out toxins from the body. Add to your diet foods such as kale, spinach, collard greens, parsley, seaweed, etc.



* Eat Foods That are High in Fiber

Your colon and intestines need a good amount of fiber in order to process and digest foods efficiently. Make sure you get enough fiber in your diet by eating foods such as brown rice, barley, wheat, oatmeal, beans, uncooked or lightly steamed vegetables, artichokes, avocados, berries, etc.  



* Eat Fermented Foods

Foods that are fermented contain a lot of good bacteria (probiotics) and enzymes that your colon and intestines need for digesting foods. Consider adding to your diet fermented foods such as sauerkraut, pickles, apple cider vinegar, kefir, raw yogurt, etc.



* Eat Organic As Much As Possible

Many of the fruits and vegetables you buy in the store do not contain as much nutrition as they should and are so heavily treated with chemicals and pesticides that they can actually be very toxic to your body.


Even if you do not typically eat organic foods, it would be very beneficial to switch to eating only (or at least MOSTLY) organic produce during your 21 day colon cleanse. Since your focus is to clean out the toxins in your body, the last thing you want to do is introduce more toxins from eating chemically treated produce. Avoid toxins and get more nutrients by eating organic whenever you can!



Juices and Herbs to Clean and Heal Your Colon


* Apple Juice

Real (100%) Apple Juice is one of the best home remedies for colon cleansing. Drinking apple juice regularly encourages bowel movements, breaks down toxins, and improves the overall health of the colon and digestive tract.


Freshly squeezed apple juice is best, especially if you have your own juicer machine to process your own apple juice at home. But if that is not an option, you can use packaged organic apple juice instead.



* Citrus / Lemon

Citrus fruits, such as lemons, are very good for cleaning out your colon and intestines. A simple glass of lemon and water every day will do a lot to help flush out toxins and any build up of wastes.


Also consider adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to a glass of apple juice, or squeeze a little lemon on your salads, in your smoothies, or on other foods you eat throughout the day.  



* Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is known for its detoxification abilities and is considered to be a very effective colon cleanser. Aloe vera also has many properties that help to heal the digestive tract and relieve intestinal pain, constipation, and diarrhea.


You can buy aloe vera juice at most pharmacies. The taste is no very appealing, so it may be helpful for you to mix aloe vera with other fruits, juices, or smoothies, to make it more appealing. One great way to disguise its flavor is to buy frozen cranberry juice concentrate, but make up the juice concentrate with aloe vera juice instead of adding the water as instructed on the container.


Aim to drink 8 ounces of aloe vera juice every day during the colon cleansing process.


If you can’t stand the taste or consistency of the aloe vera juice you can take an Aloe Vera Supplement instead.



* Ginger and Garlic

Ginger and Garlic are two of the BEST herbs for supporting a healthy digestive tract, building up the immune system, and encouraging healthy blood and good blood circulation. There are so many benefits to taking ginger and garlic that I would consider them to be a critical part of any health program.


Drink lots of ginger tea. Take garlic supplements. And add ginger and garlic as spices to your foods and stir fries whenever possible.


(I would recommend the Kyolic Odorless Aged Garlic supplement)



* Prune Juice

Due to it’s laxative nature, prune juice can be very beneficial to add to a colon cleanse, but can also cause digestive issues if over-used. Consider drinking a glass of prune juice in the morning (before breakfast), or every OTHER morning, to enjoy its benefits without over doing it.  



Other Suggestions


* Drink LOTS of Water

One of the best things you can do for your body is to get plenty of water. Your body uses water to help flush out poisons and toxins, so one of the BEST ways you can support your colon and intestinal tract is to make sure that you are taking in AT LEAST EIGHT GLASSES OF WATER EVERY DAY!!



* Get Outdoors

If you are not in the habit of spending time outside or doing any form of exercise, it would be good to start incorporating that into your daily routine. Getting up and moving about can really help to get your blood circulating and your lymph system working to flush out toxins.


You don’t have to do any strenuous exercise to exert yourself, just a slow walk or stroll around the yard can do wonders for your health. There are also countless benefits to breathing in fresh air and being exposed to direct sunlight.


Make it a goal to spend time outside each day. Even if it’s just sitting on a chair in the lawn or taking a 5 minute stroll around the yard. Whatever you can manage, every little bit can do wonders for your health.



The 20 Day Colon Cleanse


A thorough colon cleanse typically takes 20 days of intentionally adjusting your diet and taking supplements that specifically focus on intestinal health.


Days 1-3

For the first three days, give your colon and digestive tract a rest by not eating any solid foods. You can drink as many fluids as you want (especially fluids such as apple juice, prune juice, and lemon water). You can also take any foods you want and put them through a blender to make a smoothie and eat the foods that way. But for three days try to avoid any solid foods.


Days 4-10

For the next week (7 days), you can eat solid foods again, but limit it to only foods that are easy to digest. Also focus on primarily eating the foods mentioned in this article . . . ones that are intentionally focused on cleansing and supporting your colon and intestines.


Make sure to drink lots of fluids (especially water, apple juice, prune juice, and lemon water)!


Days 11-20

For the last 10 days of the colon cleanse, continue with the strict diet, but also start incorporating probiotic and enzyme supplements


During this last stage I would suggest taking the following supplements:


1) Coconut Colon Detox


2) Ultimate Probiotic 12/12 Formula


3) Essential Enzymes