8 Principles To Improve Your Digestion
Just as disease would quickly grow in our brick home if the rubbish was only occasionally emptied, so disease would quickly spread throughout the human body if the rubbish were not emptied daily. Proper digestion ensures daily motions.
Food transit time from entry to exit should be no longer than 24 hours. Ideally, it should be 16 hours. To encourage regular evacuation, follow these 8 principles that govern the colon:
1. Be Consistent
The human machinery runs according to cycles as does the planet. It responds well to regularity. Rise and retire at the same time every day. Eat and drink at the same time every day. This will encourage regularity in evacuation times. The colon loves consistency.
2. Promptly Answer Nature’s Call
Resisting this call leads to many colon problems. When the sigmoid section of the colon is full, the feeling to pass motions is felt. If this call is not heeded, the content falls back into the previous section of the colon. The body’s garbage disposal unit has not been allowed to empty and the contents begin to rot and ferment further. The blood supply to the colon is massive and this putrid condition is conveyed by the blood to every part of the living machinery.
3. Drink 2-3 Litres of Water Daily
One of the main functions of the colon is to take water out so that stools can be formed and passed out of the body. If the body does not receive two to three litres of water daily, it becomes dehydrated. In a state of dehydration, the body takes more fluid out of the colon than usual to compensate and so the stools become drier and harder, resulting in constipation.
4. Eat High-Fibre Foods
Fibre is vital to the colon to ensure that the many folds and bends in the colon are swept out. Refined foods turn into a clay-like substance that can easily get caught and wedged in these grooves. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains are all fibre-rich, with fruit and vegetables having the highest concentration for good digestion.
5. Relax
Don’t hurry the visit to the toilet. Relax: the emptying of the body’s major garbage disposal unit is an important part of the day.
6. Breathe with the Abdominal Muscles
The abdominal muscles were designed to aid in breathing. When these muscles are used, the diaphragm presses down on the stomach which in turn presses into the colon, thus both major organs are massaged via breathing. This massaging gently stimulates peristalsis, aiding digestion.
7. Chew, chew, chew
Food should be thoroughly masticated to enable the whole digestive tract to utilise the food properly. This produces a substance which is less abrasive and with an easier transit time through the colon.
8. Eat Cultured Foods
To function properly, the colon requires a correct balance of intestinal flora. Refined foods, especially sugar and antibiotics, destroy this balance. Cultured foods – sour dough bread, sauerkraut, yoghurt, miso and tofu are examples. They encourage the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon which is essential for a correct balance of intestinal flora, and consequently, proper digestion.
3 top tips for those with digestion issues
1. Place a castor oil poultice on the abdomen overnight, four nights a week. Dampen double thickness cloth with castor oil. Place over abdomen. Cover with plastic and hold in place with snug-fitting underpants or adhesive tape. This poultice can be used for a couple of weeks as the oil is not drawing, but penetrating to cleanse and decongest.
2. Once a day sit in a tub of water heated to 40°C for 5 minutes, then sit in a tub of cold water for 15-30 seconds. Immerse your feet in a tub of hot water (at 40°C) to complete the treatment.
3. Get an enema.
This article has been issued in public interest as part of a series on natural healing.
