Of all the common ailments that we could discuss, I would imagine that colon care would be found somewhere near the bottom of the list. After all, constipation, gas, IBS, and "the trots" are not subjects normally associated with polite conversation. But...since colon cancer is one of the major causes of death in the developed world, it becomes imperative that we all learn and understand the importance of proper colon care.

Your colon is actually the lower end of your intestinal tract. The upper end (your small intestine) is where most of your body's digestion takes place. Food is broken down with a combination of bacteria, enzymes, and acid, and the beneficial nutrients are absorbed into your blood stream. Unused and undigested material is then passed on to your large intestine (colon), and, eventually passes out of your body.

In those of us that have both a healthy colon and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables (and very little red meat), the time it takes for this waste material to pass through your colon is about 30 hours. Unfortunately, in our processed fast food, no veggie, fat eating world, this time can easily increase to 48 hours, or longer. And, it's this delay that allows problems to start.

This "transit time" is the period that your colon uses to turn this undigested waste into the material that you actually drop into your toilet. And, no matter if it's 30 hours, 48 hours, or longer, your colon is programmed by Mother Nature to continue the process. When passage is delayed, the fecal pieces continue to become smaller and more difficult to expel. Left uncorrected, your colon can eventually become a cess pool of bacteria, toxins, and other poisons that your body should have already eliminated.

Some health professionals believe that these poisons can actually make their way back into your bloodstream and invade your vital organs, causing your body to work twice as hard to remove them all over again. This theory is hotly debated, and no clinical proof exists to show it to be true. True or not, however, proper colon care can remove this possibility all together.

One thing that is not theory is diverticular disease. This is the most common of all colon related illnesses, and is the result of small, hard, balls of fecal matter being formed in your colon. As a result, you have to really strain to expel them. Excessive muscle strain and intestinal pressure can result in sack-like herniations in your colon. These sacks can fill with fecal material and cause swelling, inflammation, and pain. Again, a proper colon care regimen will stop diverticulitis from ever forming.

At it's most basic level, effective colon care requires only two things...

• Increase your fiber consumption. Dietary fiber is the part of vegetables that your body can't break down. As it passes through the bowel, it absorbs water, which increases it's size and gives the bowel muscles something to grab onto. It also makes your stool more pliable and helps the entire elimination process to be more efficient.
• Drink More Water! Water helps (more than anything) to keep feces from sticking to the lining of your bowel. It also helps stimulate a hormone that aids in your bowel's muscular movement. A lack of water can contribute to inflammation, constipation, diverticulitis, and even colon cancer.

Health professionals suggest that, at a minimum, you drink one-half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. For instance, a 200 pound man should drink at least 100 ounces of water daily to stay healthy.

It would be best, of course, if you would give up your fast food, fat-laden diet and practice proper nutrition. But...if you're like most of us, that's not a part of the plan. You can, however, do simple colon care like we suggest here and dramatically decrease your chances of developing colon-related health problems.