Colon Cleansing: Instructions and The Best Tips

With an colon cleansing a disturbed intestinal flora can be brought back into balance. With these instructions, colon cleansing at home is successful.

What is a colon cleanse?

A good intestinal flora is essential for our health. If it is out of balance, complaints such as stomach ache or constipation can occur and our immune system also suffers. Colon cleansing can help to improve intestinal health and get such complaints under control. It is often carried out before an colon cleansing, for example as a start to therapeutic fasting. This involves foregoing solid food partially or completely for a short time.

How useful is a colon cleansing?

It is often claimed that colon cleansing helps the body to detoxify. However, this has not yet been scientifically proven and is not medically necessary. As long as the detoxification organs of the body – liver, intestines and kidneys – function normally, the body can manage the detox on its own. However, if the intestinal flora is already disturbed, colon cleansing can help prepare the body for an examination or treatment, such as a colonoscopy or surgery.

In addition, colon cleansing can have positive effects on intestinal health and various diseases: For example, it calms the intestinal mucosa and reduces inflammation. This can particularly benefit patients with chronic intestinal diseases.

A colon cleanse can help with these symptoms:

• Digestive problems such as constipation, flatulence, diarrhoea, general irritable bowel syndrome
• Weakened immune system
• Constant tiredness or weakness
• Migraine
• Neurodermatitis or other skin problems and impurities
• Sudden gain in weight
• Intestinal fungi and other recurrent fungal infections
• Food intolerances and allergies
• Chronic cystitis
• After treatment with antibiotics

How do you do a colon cleanse?

There are different variants with which a thorough colon cleansing can be carried out. Commonly used methods are the so-called enema, the use of laxatives or psyllium husks.

• Colon cleansing by enema: You can buy the necessary utensils for the enema in the pharmacy. The enema is then passed into the anus in the form of liquid to stimulate the activity of the intestines. However, it should be noted that the small intestine cannot be cleaned in this process. There is also the risk of injury during enema.
• Colon cleansing with laxatives: Taking laxatives such as Glauber’s salt or Epsom salts is considered more gentle compared to enema. The respective agent is dissolved in water and drunk.
• Colon cleansing with psyllium husks: An even milder method of colon cleansing is the variant using psyllium husks. These contain mucilage that swells up on contact with liquid. This increases the pressure on the intestinal wall and thus stimulates intestinal activity. For this colon cleansing it is important to drink a lot of liquid, especially water, at the same time. But herbal tea is also fine.

How long does a colon cleanse take?

Depending on which method is used to cleanse the intestines, the duration varies. With a laxative, the effect often occurs after one to three hours, with an enema, intestinal activity usually occurs immediately. Since psyllium husks are the gentlest way to thoroughly cleanse the intestines, they also take the longest to take effect: one to two days are not unusual.

Tips for colon cleansing

The following tips will help to ensure that colon cleansing goes smoothly:

• Look for the right time: As the colon cleansing can take several hours, you should keep this time free and make sure that you are not disturbed.
• Prepare yourself: It is best to use the day before the planned colon cleansing to prepare yourself and eat only light food, for example.
• Stay at home: The most pleasant way to cleanse your bowels is to do it at home. Especially if it is not possible to determine exactly when a bowel movement will take place, for example by taking psyllium husks, a toilet should always be within reach.
• Drink a lot: The best way to support your bowels is to drink a lot of water and also some herbal tea. Drink a little more than the 2.5 litres that are normally recommended, because bowel movements can be watery, so you lose more water than normal.
• Do not overstrain your body: After a successful colon cleansing, you should not directly overburden the bowel with fatty food again. Instead, it is best to eat light foods such as steamed vegetables or soups.

After the colon cleansing comes the bowel cleansing

Colon cleansing is often used as a start for an bowel rehabilitation or even a fasting cure. For the bowel reorganization one continues to set with the nutrition on Schonkost as well as on so-called Probiotika and does as completely as possible without sugar and fast food. Also luxury foods such as alcohol or cigarettes should not be consumed. Bowel rehabilitation helps your intestine to rebuild a healthy intestinal flora and more good bacteria.