To maintain good health, your body must effectively eliminate food and bodily waste!

Your colon — together with your lungs, skin and kidneys — are designed to accomplish this essential task by eliminating toxins in the intestines, blood and lymph systems.

The colon (large intestine, rectum, and anus) is the end portion of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract which extends from the mouth to the anus. It is a muscular tube approximately 5 to 5 ½ feet in length and has an average diameter of approximately 2 ½ inches.

The colon starts on the lower right side of the abdomen, where the small intestine empty the contents of digestion (chyme) into the first portion of the colon (cecum). The ascending colon goes up from the cecum to the level of the liver; it then bends sharply to the left and crosses the abdomen as the transverse colon.

At the level of the spleen the descending colon goes down the left side of the abdomen to the pelvis, where it becomes the sigmoid region. The sigmoid colon empties into the rectum, from which waste material is ultimately eliminated from your body.

The contents of digestion (chyme) are moved along by muscular movements called peristalsis ... which is initiated by the nerve supply to the colon.

The main functions of the colon are absorption of water and minerals, and the formation and elimination of feces... The colon contains nearly 60 varieties of microflora or bacteria to aid digestion, promote vital nutrient production, to maintain pH (acid-base) balance, and to prevent proliferation of harmful bacteria.

These bacteria provide important functions such as the synthesis of folic acid and valuable nutrients from foods, including vitamins 'K' and portions of the 'B' complex. Bacillus coli and acidophillus comprise the majority of healthy bacteria in the colon along with other disease producing bacteria in lesser numbers.

The process of digestion... from ingestion of food to defecation, normally takes between 12 to 24 hours assuming that the colon is fully functional and non-toxic. Irregular or infrequent bowel movements can allow toxic residues, from the by-products of undigested foods, to remain in the colon.

A person with a healthy colon will have 2 to 3 bowel movements per day, shortly after each meal taken. Elimination should be complete and easy. The stool should be light brown in color, long and large diameter. There should be no offensive odor and it should break apart with toilet flushing.

This describes the normal function of a healthy colon... But in this society, it is very rare to find people who can describe their eliminations in this manner!