Spring Cleaning for the Body: Part 1

Fasts and cleanses are all the rage these days as people want to take more responsibility for keeping their bodies healthy. We no longer want to just rely on the medical profession to keep our health in check and this is a great change. I've always found it strange how some folks seem to take better care of a car they will own for only a few years, instead of tenderly treating their bodies well so they'll last a lifetime.

Nutritionists often get asked about the difference between a fast and a cleanse and how they can restore their health. Many inquirers have heard stories of how the intestines can get filled up with crusty old bits of rotten food - even coins and marbles swallowed in childhood! I take a calm approach to these questions and say "this scenario is unlikely". If your digestion is average, if you do not have critical health problems, and you are young to middle-aged, your intestines likely look a lot like a more familiar part of your body: your mouth. The intestines are not a mysterious cavern, they're a warm wet place filled with epithelial cells whose job are to digest small particles of broken down food. Just like the inside of your mouth.

I had the (mis?)fortune to see the inside of my colon with my own eyes a few years back when I was having unexplained digestive difficulties. I had taken a magnesium drink to clear out the colon before the medical exam and I was looking forward to being knocked unconscious so I wouldn't have to feel, see or hear any part of the experience. However, the doctor allowed me to witness the proceedings which was actually a thrill. It was oddly like watching a roller-coaster ride film through the inside of my large intestine, but the wonderful part was seeing all the bright pink healthy tissue inside this flexible and hard-working tube. Even though normally one's colon would be filled with the last stages of undigested food which millions of tiny microflora (healthy bacteria) would be breaking down, there is simply nowhere for crusty bits of "food" to hide. The moist smooth walls would let it pass on out to the bowels.

So let's return to a more familiar picture: imagine the inside of your mouth, minus the teeth. If you ate three times a day but never cleaned your mouth at all, would crusty bits of food, or a coin have any place to lodge themselves? Even if a coin got stuck in your throat, eventually digestive juices and the act of eating and swallowing would pass it further down the tube. Healthy intestines have no pouches or hiding spots and the act of peristalsis (two types of muscles that squeeze and push food along the digestive pathway) keep things moving. Of course it's another matter if you have polyps, bowel constriction or some other severe problem, in which case you should look to solving the root of the problem before attempting any type of diet change.

The point is, our bodies do a great job of functioning properly, even when we fill them with a lot of things that they weren't designed to turn into fuel, such as candy or deep fried foods. However, if you're interested in doing a fast or a cleanse to kick-start a change to your diet for the better, then you should be applauded for your efforts.

Next week we'll talk about easy ways to follow a dietary cleanse that will involve fewer changes than you might expect.