Given our modern way of life and unhealthy food consumption, people often suffer from constipation, bloating, gas, and various others digestive problems.  In particular, their colon gets constipated with waste materials, harmful bacteria, and various build ups that may be found attached to the colon interior.

In the recent years, colon cleansing has emerged as a new popular trend among the healthy living supporters. There are many methods to do perform colon cleansing, including hydrotherapy (colonics), laxatives, and enemas, but in this post we will look into the least invasive method, which is how to do that naturally. Specifically, the natural method we will discuss here is using herbal supplements and eating healthy foods beneficial for your gut.

Herbal Supplements

Some herbs have the natural ability to act as laxatives. The fiber present in the herbs can stimulate the movements of the bowel, which then naturally helps expel any waste matter, bacteria, and toxins. While the effectiveness of herbal cleansing is not as good as in the case of colonic hydrotherapy, it can help with constipation and stimulate movement of  the bowel, which is a good enough natural way of detoxification. Plants that belong to this category are ginger, aloe vera, fenugreek, licorice, apple pectin and others.

For example, Aloe Vera is used to extract juice for colon cleanse purposes. Aloe Vera juice also helps with constipation and diarrhea. The cleansing effect is mild, so there are virtually no harmful effects.

Ginger is one of the most beneficial herbs for the digestive system in general and for the colon in particular. It is a potent colon cleanser, and, as an added benefit, it also may help prevent colon cancer. A recent study has concluded that as much as 2 gr. of ginger extract taken daily may reduce the inflammation of the colon and the diminish the risks of colorectal cancer.  Besides, ginger tea is a wonderful drink to help the entire digestive process in your body.

Fenugreek seeds have been shown to affect the microbiota in the intestines in a beneficial way, thus improving the immunological response of the body.

While you cannot really juice fenugreek seeds, you can add them while cooking and preparing food because they make a healthy and delicious seasoning.

Apple pectin contains natural soluble fiber from the apple. It can be taken in a form of supplement, or simply you can get it by eating a lot of apple skin. It is believed to prevent colon cancer, improve stomach health, and fight metabolic problems.

If you are looking for ready to use commercial solutions, there are 100 percent natural herbal colon detoxification products, like the Super Colon Cleanse. It is a fiber-containing cleaner that may help with colon detoxification, eliminating waste built up, internal cleansing and fighting against constipation. This particular product contains Alfalfa leaves, oat seeds, psyllium husk, rhubarb root, goldenseal, aloe vera leaves, Cascara Sagrada bark, gentian and probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus.

Vegetables

Veggies in general, and green vegetables in particular are also very helpful for the colon. For example, in this category one can count in cabbage, spinach, broccoli, kale, and similar vegetables. Why is that that they are helpful for colon cleansing? Because they are rich in natural fiber, and as an added benefit, they have a lot of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Most of these vegetables support the healthy bacteria in the gut by providing the necessary food (prebiotics).

Healthy Drinks for the Colon

Of course, you can prepare very delicious and healthy drinks based on the ingredients that have have mentioned above. For example, if you have a favorite smoothie or juice that you drink regularly, you just add some cabbage, apple skin, fenugreek, ginger or aloe vera to the list of ingredients. By doing that, you can bring extra benefit for the colon.

One exception is important here. If you add sugar to your morning juice or smoothie, you should consider skipping it. Also, stay away from fruits naturally rich in fructose and other sugars. An example here would be apple juice – while the apple pectin is very useful, the other parts of the apple are plentiful in sugar, so skip that parts altogether.

When it comes to juicing, there is another important aspect. Whenever you can prepare smoothies rather than juices. The smoothies contain a lot of fiber, skin, and pulp, whereas the juices don’t. In this case, for the colon, you would want as much fiber as possible.

Yogurt might be also added to the list of beneficial drinks for the digestive system due to its probiotic function. Still, there are other aspects of it that make it not so desirable, so it is better not to use it if you can. Other healthy drinks include ginger tea, or peppermint tea.

There are also specialized teas like, for example, Teami® Colon Cleanse Detox Tea. It can help you do a natural detox of the colon, where your body will be able to release toxins and improve the functioning of the immune system. This particular brand contains hawthorn berries, lotus leaves, psyllium, senna, vallerian, and rhubarb root.

The Bottom Line

If you have a proper diet, colon cleansing is probably not necessary. Because your diet will take care of that, naturally. Whatever you do, be careful. We are really not proponents of drastic measure and invasive procedures. Why would you interrupt the natural function of your digestive system, by introducing water under pressure in your colon? Probably by changing your nutritional habits, you can do that over a period of time anyways. If you absolute have to, don’t forget to consult your doctor and leave the actual procedure in the hand of professionals.