A colon cleansing diet consists of a combination of an intense diet and lots of water over the duration of several days. Another term for a colon cleanse diet is a cleansing fast because during the diet, you fast from regular foods, in particular, solid foods. Because the colon has to work harder to break down solids, colon cleansing focus on getting nutrition via liquids so the colon can work more on elimination than on processing. Some colon cleansing diets also encourage targeted exercises and some include special herbs to help stimulate and step up the function of the colon. It usually takes between 10 and 14 days to complete a colon cleanse diet plan, so you need to plan ahead in order to be best prepared fro events and other things that are likely to cause to you end the colon cleanse diet early. Not completing a colon cleanse diet is one of the worst things you can do because 1) you will not get the intended benefit, and 2) you will feel discouraged by the process and less likely to try again at a later time.
The best colon cleanse diet combines fasting with cleansing. What this means is that as you take in essential nutrients to continue feeding your body and plenty of liquids to flush out the system, you don't take in anything to add to the congestion in the digestive tract.
The first step in a colon cleanse diet is to cut out all the foods from your normal diet that makes the colon have to work harder to do what it is designed to do. This includes processed meats, processed oils, seafood, dairy products, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, flour products and any artificial flavoring or any other chemicals.
The purpose for cutting out all of these types of foods is twofold: 1) these tings require hard work on the part of the colon to process; and 2) they add weight to the colon that causes it to slow down. The point of a colon cleanse diet is to utilize the colon to work for complete elimination, not merely processing. Therefore, if you cut these foods out of your diet for a short period of time, the colon can step up and do its job to clean you out.
The second step in a colon cleanse diet is to replace all the above mentioned foods with foods that are especially high in fiber. Fiber acts as a scrub brush along the walls of the colon. It also absorbs the things that shouldn't be there and it carries them through the system and out of the body. The average diet is lacing enough fiber to do this. A colon cleanse diet should increase the amount of dietary fiber to 40 – 50 grams.
The third step in a colon cleanse diet is to increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods contain enzymes that promote digestion.
Many colon cleanse diets include an herbal supplement that will help boost the digestive system and ensure total elimination. Herbs such as Psyllium and Aloe are excellent for this purpose.
Colon cleanse diets vary in terms of specific combinations of foods and supplements, but they all aim for the same purpose: empty the colon of built-up toxins and old material that can cause disease.