The Best Colon Cleanse Recipe

Many holistic health practitioners believe illness and disease begin with a toxic colon. Use this colon cleanse recipe to help clean out and detox the colon and intestinal tract. Whether we're fasting or not, it's important to ensure our colons are functioning properly.

Just as we attempt to stimulate the emliminative processes of the skin and the lungs through dry skin brushing and breathing exercises, we can also enhance bowel activity and health by performing a colon cleanse. The liver in particular plays a major role in bodily detox, and it uses the colon as its "dumping ground".

One of the plagues of our modern society is sluggish, under-active colons. Thanks to over-processed, denatured foods, over eating slow-to-digest meats, and not getting enough fiber, many of us have bowels that aren't working at their peak of performance. But even if we eat a diet of carefully chosen healthful and natural foods, we still benefit from an occasional colon cleanse.

Fasting in general, enhances colon activity. The break from food allows for a resting period of the whole intestinal tract, offering a time for these organs to "catch up" and self-heal. Before, during, or after a fast, depending on what type of fast you're doing, are good times to cleanse the colon. Many use enemas or colonics for this purpose with good results, although it isn't necessary if these aren't practical for you.

In our normal eating patterns, when waste matter doesn't move along quickly through the colon, it dehydrates and hardens, becoming a thick and sticky mass. This old, undigested and putrified matter becomes more and more difficult for the body to eliminate, and can harbor unwanted bacteria, toxins and parasites. It can also hinder the flow of normal digestive fluids from the liver and pancreas.

Rehydration and removal of this waste matter is paramount to healthy colon function and to optimum physical health. Two of the best products for cleaning out the colon are psyllium and bentonite clay.

Psyllium Husks

Psyllium husks have a unique characteristic in that when mixed with water, they swell up, creating a slippery, gelatin-like substance. This "gelatin" holds a great deal of water in the bowels, helping to soften the feces. Its slipperiness then acts as a lubricant for easier elimination. The extra bulk created by the psyllium will stimulate better peristalsis, the movement of the muscles in the walls of the intestines that "pushes" the matter along.

Psyllium husks are an all-natural product, being the outer hull of the seeds of the Plantago plant. While they have been used for hundreds of years in Europe for treating bowel problems, the West has only recently caught on. Now, many over the counter laxatives contain forms of psyllium.

For our purposes in detoxing, we want to use the highest quality, preferably organic, psyllium. Drinking plenty of water along with the psyllium is a must, otherwise it can be dehydrating to the rest of the body as it absorbs and holds water in the intestines.

Bentonite Clay

Bentonite is a natural earthen clay that is highly absorbent. It is not assimilated by the body but acts to absorb and bind to toxins in the intestinal tract, and then pass on out with the feces. Clays are frequently used externally for the same purpose of drawing out impurities in the use of facial masks and other skin treatments.

Bentonite clay is available in both dry and liquid form, and either form will work for colon cleansing. Plenty of water should be consumed with bentonite to avoid any dehydrating effects.

Colon Cleanse Recipe

You can vary quantities to some degree to suit your personal preferences, but the general recipe is as follows:

You'll want to drink 2 or 3 glasses every day, but begin slowly by drinking only one glass the first day, allowing your system to adjust to the greater bulk. Take in between meals, at least 2 hours apart from any supplements or medications. Most drink it morning and evening, with the optional third glass in the afternoon. Drinking a glass an hour before a meal may make you feel fuller and eat less.

This cleanse can interfere with normal nutrient absorption, so only follow for up to two weeks at a time. Stopping use also helps assure your body maintains it's natural eliminative functions, so be sure to start including plenty of fiber-rich foods in your diet, about 25 grams per day.

While especially suitable during a fast, this colon cleanse can be performed at other times as well. Use any time your system feels sluggish, you feel heavy or bloated, or you are even slightly constipated. Use it also during any kind of cleansing diet.

Fasting Colon Cleanse

There are two ways of utilizing this colon cleanse recipe during fasting:

• If you are performing a fast that is free of bulk and fiber, such as juice or water fasting, don't use this colon cleansing routine during your fast. It's far better to allow the intestinal resting period to go undisturbed.
  
  Instead, use the colon cleasing recipe both before and after your fast. The pysllium and bentonite ingested before your fast, will remain in the colon during your fast, absorbing toxins and fecal matter, and will make for a much easier first bowel movement after the fast. For several days after the fast, use it 2-3 times per day to continue cleansing and eliminating what the fast has "loosened".
• If you are performing a fast which includes bulk and fiber, like a fruit or rice fast, you can add this colon cleansing to your daily routine during the fast. Start the colon cleansing 2-3 days prior to the fast and continue it for 2-3 days afterward.
  
  Or, if you prefer to allow for a greater resting period for your GI tract during your fast, follow the guidelines for water and juice fasts above.

Using this colon cleanse recipe will clean your whole intestinal tract and improve its proper functioning, adding to your overall health and vitality. You'll be amazed at how easy and complete-feeling your bowel movements become during this colon cleanse.

For more information on other colon cleansing options, see the page entitled Colon Cleansing During Fasting.

Return to top