Intestinal Health Foods

Cleansing the Colon:  Intestinal Health Foods

Few people realize how important the colon is to our overall health.  That is, until they hit 50 and the doctor orders the dreaded colonoscopy.  By that time, most of us have been eating the SAD (Standard American Diet) for decades, and our colons have been impacted by it.  A healthy colon is able to absorb nutrients and water and pass them into the blood stream, where our cells use them.  When we eat a low-fiber, high fat diet, like the SAD diet, fat and other harmful substances stick to the lining of the colon and keep it from absorbing nutrients as well.  In addition, the gut slows down so that food stays in the colon for a longer time, fermenting and making its own toxins.  Our diet also tends to deplete the natural helpful bacteria that help keep our colons healthy.

Intestinal health foods are foods that improve the health of the colon.  Intestinal health foods are high in fiber.  Fiber adds bulk to the food passing through the intestine.  If you are eating enough fiber for intestinal health you should have a healthy, bulky, soft bowel movement every day or two.  If you are constipated, you are not eating enough fiber.

Water is another one of the intestinal health foods.  Water is absorbed by the gut, and if you don’t drink enough of it, there won’t be enough water left in the gut for food to move through the digestive system.

Alcohol and refined sugar are not intestinal health foods.  They aid in fermentation of food products in the colon, which produces toxins.

Finally, certain foods that contain live bacterial cultures, such as yoghurt, are intestinal health foods.  They help restore the natural bacterial environment of your colon.

To summarize, intestinal health foods are those that help your colon to function efficiently.  They are high in fiber and water and low in fat, alcohol and refined sugars.  Foods with live bacterial cultures may also be helpful in restoring intestinal health.