Thinking of doing a colon cleanse? You’re in the right place, because you’re going to learn about real benefits of colon cleansing with herbs.
Unlike some unnatural alternatives (like pharmaceutical laxatives or enemas) that prevent you from walking 5 feet from a toilet, an herbal colon cleanse is safe, gentle, and effective.
If you’re like the millions of Americans every year who struggle with occasional constipation, an herbal colon cleanse is a miracle.
There are many types of herbs you can use, but we favor two main, ancient herbs: Cascara Sagrada and Senna Leaf.
Each of these herbs helps you poop regularly and naturally, because they act on your normal intestinal processes.
The small intestine.Cascara Sagrada, for example, promotes peristalsis and stool evacuation.[1] It’s a powerful colon cleanse herb and is found in these herbal colon cleanses.
The other herb that shines in helping you poop regularly is Senna Leaf. This leaf has shown to act upon the large intestine by, once again, stimulating peristalsis.[2]The large intestine.
You see, both of your intestines have this integral function called peristalsis, which is a kind of “wave-like” movement that pushes contents to your colon. The right herbs, when used in a colon cleanse formula, help your bowels perform peristalsis better.
And when you choose Cascara or Senna, you can bet you’ll start pooping more regularly within no time at all.
2. Alleviates painful bowel movements.
There’s nothing more embarrassing than being scared to go to the restroom because you don’t want to feel pain.
That’s no way to live. Thankfully, one of the benefits of a colon cleanse is to help alleviate painful movements.
For example, one of our customers who has taken My Gentle Detox for almost 15 years (!) used to experience painful movements. Now she doesn’t.
I’ve been using this since 2006, and it’s the only thing I use to go to the bathroom with. Pain medications used to cause me difficulty with irregularity. It’s by far the best for me. I highly recommend it to anyone – Cheri M.
One of the ways colon cleanses can alleviate painful bowel movements is by softening your stool. Once again, we have the two star ingredients joining this benefit list, along with added Aloe Vera.
Aloe Vera, along with boasting so many other benefits, is an incredible ingredient for herbal colon cleanses. Actually, the Aloe Vera family is the most biologically active of the Aloe species, and when saddled up against other laxative agents, has shown improved constipation indicators (bowel movement frequency, stool consistency, etc.).[3]
While you definitely want to see your doctor if you’re suffering from real, chronic constipation, a natural, herbal colon cleanse is perfect for the rest of us who just need to alleviate some discomfort in the down-there region.
3. Reduces bowel-related bloating.
If you get bloated the same week every month on the dot, that might be menstruation. But if you experience bloating often, and you think it’s related to your digestion, then an herbal colon cleanse is a perfect fit.
First, if you’re bloated, you should first think about the foods you’ve been eating. They are generally the first culprit.
Consuming an excess in sodium, for example, is sure to be a bloater. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 2300mg a day,[4] but advises you shoot for 1500mg. Here is what’s scary: more than 70% of the sodium we consume is from our food, not from the salt shaker.
Other items that may bloat you include heavy starches (bread, potato, pasta) and artificial sweeteners (commonly found in soda pop and “flavor enhancers” for water).
While you definitely want reduce your intake of these two, colon cleansing can take your fight against bloating to the next level.
Linda Lee Ann, M.D. at Johns Hopkins Medicine cites “constipation” as one of the commonest causes of bloating.[5] As Lee says:
The longer your stool sits in your colon, the more time bacteria have to ferment what’s there. You’re going to get gassier, and you’re going to feel a lot more bloated.
The more effective your digestive system is at removing build-up, the less likely you’ll suffer from bloating.
And what’s a better way to improve your digestive system? Chemicals, or natural herbs?
4. Improves your digestion.
When your digestive system isn’t running at its top gear, your body suffers. In fact, if your digestive system were to shut down, the body couldn’t nourish itself or get rid of waste.
For digestive health, your best bet is to eat healthily, and “[eliminate] acidic things from the diet, such as tomatoes, onions, and red wine,” says Dr. Larry Good, a gastroenterologist associated with South Nassau Communities Hospital.[6]
Even drinking alcohol can disrupt your digestive system (but we’re level-headed, so we’re not going to tell you to ditch the wine).
After all, everything we consume is filtered through our digestive system: so if we neglect it over and over again, we can’t expect it to be 100% healthy.
That’s why one of the grandest health benefits of a natural colon cleanse is digestive health.
The herbs in this colon cleanse deal not only address your intestines, but also your liver, blood cholesterol, and skin!
There are other factors too that affect your digestive health, such as the foods you eat. Incorporating high-fiber foods is an excellent addition to your herbal colon cleanse.
Credit: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/22-high-fiber-foods
Here are some foods that are helpful for your digestion: dark, leafy greens (broccoli, kale, spinach); legumes (chickpeas, kidney/pinto/black beans); fruit (raspberries, apples, figs); and nuts (chia seeds, oats); and, of course, dark chocolate.
When you feed your body the natural ingredients it craves, you’ll find your digestive health improves tremendously.
5. Supports healthy weight loss.
Yes, that’s correct: Colon cleanses can help weight loss… but there’s a catch.
Weight loss from a colon cleanse is not sustained weight loss.
After immediately starting your herbal colon cleanse, you are likely to see experience a decrease in weight–but that’s because of the excess build-up you just removed from your body.
Certain colon cleansing herbs that act on the intestines, such as Cascara Sagrada, promote stool evacuation, which means you’ll be evacuating more than a little bit of waste.
For prolonged weight loss, however, you’ll want to focus on three cardinal factors:
A healthy diet, filled with fiber and supplemented with occasional colon cleansing.
Plenty of exercise–at least 4 times a week, and accompanied by drinking more water.
Consistency: the day-by-day pressing on toward your weight loss goal no matter the difficulties.
Click here to read about an herb that crushes your appetite.
6. Helps keep liver and other organs safe.
When it comes to natural colon cleansing, you’ll notice there are side-benefits that you never even expected. One of those is increased organ health.
Depending on the herbs you use, your colon cleanse can either be straight-to-the-point or a holistic solution for digestive health. We prefer the latter.
Dandelion and Fennel, for example, each come naturally with antioxidant benefits as well as the ability to fight constipation.
Dandelion, for one, is a potent diuretic,[7] which means it increases the amount of water and salt passed with urine. When added to a colon cleanse formula, you get a two-in-one “detoxing” benefit.
Dandelion, of course, is also a wonderful digestive stimulant, and has been used for gastrointestinal problems for ages.[8]Fennel, similarly, is a boon to colon cleansing.
The seed is not only very rich in fiber (but why not eat dark chocolate for fiber?), but also filled with “antioxidant, antitumor, chemopreventive, cytoprotective, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, and oestrogenic activities” (the “hepaprotective” meaning protecting the liver).[9,10]
It’s no doubt that if you’re going to do a colon cleanse, it should be one filled with herbs, leaves, and roots, so you get all the concomitant benefits of the ingredients!
Click here to try an all-natural colon cleanse made with the herbs from above.
Sources
It’s 2019, and nobody has time to stick to a 6-month-long regime just to experience bowel relief. If you’re like me, you want bowel relief and you want it now.
But before we begin, this 3-step colon cleanse is NOT hydrotherapy, which is the process of sticking a tube in your colon and flushing out contents with water. If you’re unsure what hydrotherapy is like in person, watch the video below.
Instead, I’m going to show you the simpler way to cleanse, a way that is:
In 1945, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board recommended 2.5 liters (84.5 ounces) of water a day, but this recommendation isn’t necessarily evidence-based. While the U.S. Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020 do not set a recommendation, it is still wise to shoot for ~8 ounces a day of water.
Water is vital for your colon: in fact, dehydration is one of the commonest causes of constipation, which means drinking adequate water should be at the top of your list for fighting occasional constipation.
Not sure how to drink more water? Here’s a couple tips:
Drink from larger water bottles, as your mind will still perceive it as “one bottle of water”–and you’ll drink more.
Choose your favorite water temperature–whether it’s hot or cold. If you enjoy the temperature, you’ll likely drink more of it.
Place the water near you, not in the kitchen or your backpack or purse. If it’s in view, it’s in you.
2. Replace the simple carbs with high-fiber foods.
Usually, this begins and ends with fiber. Individuals who consume high-fiber diets have lower levels of constipation.
You may think it’s hard to get fiber into your diet–but it’s actually really easy! Here’s a handy infographic about the top 5 fiber sources.
Not an image reader? These 5 simple-yet-delicious sources of fiber can be incorporated into your diet. They will help your digestive system prepare for that instant cleanse.
Chia Seeds: 34.4%
Popcorn: 14.5%
Almonds: 12.5%
Dark Chocolate: 10.9%
Oats: 10.6%
(Just be careful with the chocolate! 🍫)
3. Get yourself a natural supplement.
Maybe you’re into hydrotherapy, or enemas, or the other colon cleansing methods, but we like a method that’s all-natural, non-invasive, and repeatable.
The only way to do this is to daily ingest those herbs that help cleanse your colon.
And the good news is that it’s so easy.
When choosing a colon cleansing supplement, you want to hit those needs: the top issues you may be struggling with that you can’t quite seem to fix.
Natural colon cleansing supplements can help you if…
You feel heavy and bloated all the time.
You have a hard time going to the bathroom.
Your stools hurt (they are hard and make you push).
Your bowel movements are infrequent or irregular.
You’re looking for a quick cleanse, a body reset.
You’ve tried everything else and nothing has worked.
You believe in putting all-natural ingredients into your body.
Aging is something to be celebrated: each day we have is a gift–and it’s best spent with those we love.
While aging is beautiful, the side-effects of it aren’t always so adored. In particular, one of those we may dislike is the effect it has on our colon.
How your colon works.
Simply, whatever we feed our body gets processed, and as we age, it becomes significantly more difficult to feed our bodies the right stuff, every time.
Thankfully, our digestive system is like an oiled machine, and always follows through on processing what we eat.
[colon_cleanse_steps]
However, there’s one thing we have to remember: Our body changes as we age.
While those beautiful crow’s feet are there to stay, your bowel issues don’t have to.
Here are 5 ways your colon is affected as you age.
1. Our digestive system slows down.
Ira Hanan, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center, says that people in their 60-70s see a rise in constipation due to bowel changes.
This makes sense. Just as our muscles tend to weaken as we age, so do the muscles in our body that perform the contractions–the very ones that help us move processed food to the colon.
The real contraction our colon loves is called peristalsis, a wave-like movement that helps move food contents. (Thankfully, some herbal cleanse formulas help your peristaltic actions.)
2. Our medications may interfere.
Sometimes, we need medications; even if they’re not severe, they help our bodies function better as if we are not aging.
Ellen Stein, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, notes that older adults take a lot of medications, and some of those medications’ symptoms affect the digestive system.
Have you ever listened to a prescription advertisement at night? The side effects are longer than a grocery list, and they always include constipation on them.
If you can avoid medication, you’re one of the lucky ones.
3. We get less exercise.
Whether it’s a casual walk in around the neighborhood or the arduous errands we run, our exercise tends to wane.
But maybe even a brisk walk isn’t enough! According to the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research, adults over 50 are expected to keep their physical exercise on par with about everyone else.
A person who is older than 50 should take part in at least two and a half hours of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic activity each week.
But don’t worry: you can still alleviate your bowels without running a marathon a week.
4. We may have developed an age-related disease.
In an elderly individual, “disease” is unfortunately a familiar term.
It’s not uncommon to hear about the development of Diverticulosis, a disease that occurs in the large intestine (colon) in upwards of 50% of people over the age of 60.
Don’t sweat too much: if you have a handle on your diet, minor diseases like these are preventable.
For more information, here’s a video about Diverticulosis by the GI Society.
5. Our colon relies on other parts of our bodies.
As we age, we realize how one little health hiccup can affect our entire body. This is no different than with our digestive system.
In fact, our gut is so vital for our health that scientists have called this the brain-gut axis.
As Dr. Sanil Rege says,
Within the gut, there are approximately 1014 microorganisms, which is around 10 fold more cells than there are cells in the human body.
In other words: your gut plays a huge role in your overall health.
Looking for natural, gentle bowel relief? Click here to save 30% on our 2-in-1 colon cleanse combo.
Remember when the FDA didn’t care what companies put in pills… but then they started to care a whole lot, and every malicious company was either shut down or sued?
And this is why we have trust issues.
Are colon cleanse pills safe to take? Absolutely, as long as you trust the company selling them you to.
In this post you are going to learn…
What colon cleanse pills do
Why they are safe to take
Why toxins have nothing to do with colon cleansing
Capiche? Sweet. But before we begin…
What do colon cleanse pills do?
Here it’s important to understand the main types of colon cleansing. For brevity’s sake, I will summarize them into 3 categories:
Water-based, which use water to flush out your colon.
Diet-based, by eating types of foods (I’m including juicing).
Ingredient-based (capsules packed with natural ingredients).
Colon cleanse pills fall into the 3rd category, ingredient-based, because that’s the only time you’ll be taking a pill.
Generally, the ingredients within a colon cleanse pill are all-natural ingredients; while that’s true for our colon cleanse, it’s certainly not for all of them.
When judging the safety of a colon cleanse pill, you always need to dive deeply into the ingredients in each capsule, hoping that the company selling them is transparent about their ingredients.
When you ingest a capsule–usually a gelatin or vegetarian capsule–it gets broken down upon digestion, and the ingredients within the capsule are released and absorbed by your body.
Example of gelatin capsule.
Gelatin capsules, for example, dissolve within minutes upon entering the body, and are 100% safe to consume. Some capsules also feature secondary ingredients like Magnesium Stearate: all this does is help keep the ingredients from sticking to each other, and is also 100% safe to digest.
As long as the colon cleanse pills are safe to use, you will be safe to consume them. Just follow the directions on the label to ensure you are following the daily recommended dosage (usually one per day).
But here’s the catch…
For some absurd reason, every time someone asks the internet about the safety of colon cleansing pills, an infamous word is brought up…
Toxins. Oh, can’t this trend just die already?
Back in ancient history, the Egyptians believed in a theory of “auto-intoxication“: the belief that the colon’s contents would, while decompose, intoxicate the body. This, we know now, is a farce.
(Read more about the history of colon cleansing in our colon cleanse guide.)
If our body poisoned itself every time we ate (or had to go poop), we’d all be dead yesterday.
What’s more poisoning is the equating of colon cleansing and “toxin purging.”
If you, for example, browse the reviews for our colon cleanse products, none of them mention toxins.
I think it’s because they weren’t cleansing for that reason in the first place.
The verdict: natural pills are safe.
All that we ask is that you do your research. Don’t do something or add something to your body before seriously considering how safe it is for you.
You have one body, so treat it like it’s a temple.
Aloe Vera, along with boasting so many other benefits, is an incredible ingredient for herbal colon cleanses. Actually, the Aloe Vera family is the most biologically active of the Aloe species, and when saddled up against other laxative agents, has shown improved constipation indicators (bowel movement frequency, stool consistency, etc.).[3]
While you definitely want to see your doctor if you’re suffering from real, chronic constipation, a natural, herbal colon cleanse is perfect for the rest of us who just need to alleviate some discomfort in the down-there region.
Consuming an excess in sodium, for example, is sure to be a bloater. The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of 2300mg a day,[4] but advises you shoot for 1500mg. Here is what’s scary: more than 70% of the sodium we consume is from our food, not from the salt shaker.
Other items that may bloat you include heavy starches (bread, potato, pasta) and artificial sweeteners (commonly found in soda pop and “flavor enhancers” for water).
While you definitely want reduce your intake of these two, colon cleansing can take your fight against bloating to the next level.
Linda Lee Ann, M.D. at Johns Hopkins Medicine cites “constipation” as one of the commonest causes of bloating.[5] As Lee says:
After immediately starting your herbal colon cleanse, you are likely to see experience a decrease in weight–but that’s because of the excess build-up you just removed from your body.
Certain colon cleansing herbs that act on the intestines, such as Cascara Sagrada, promote stool evacuation, which means you’ll be evacuating more than a little bit of waste.
For prolonged weight loss, however, you’ll want to focus on three cardinal factors:
Dandelion, for one, is a potent diuretic,[7] which means it increases the amount of water and salt passed with urine. When added to a colon cleanse formula, you get a two-in-one “detoxing” benefit.
Dandelion, of course, is also a wonderful digestive stimulant, and has been used for gastrointestinal problems for ages.[8]
Fennel, similarly, is a boon to colon cleansing.
The seed is not only very rich in fiber (but why not eat dark chocolate for fiber?), but also filled with “antioxidant, antitumor, chemopreventive, cytoprotective, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, and oestrogenic activities” (the “hepaprotective” meaning protecting the liver).[9,10]
It’s no doubt that if you’re going to do a colon cleanse, it should be one filled with herbs, leaves, and roots, so you get all the concomitant benefits of the ingredients!
Click here to try an all-natural colon cleanse made with the herbs from above.
