Colon Cleansing: Benefits and How To Do a 3-Day Cleanse

Colon Cleansing: Benefits and How To Do a 3-Day Cleanse

Your colon is the home of billions of bacteria, including beneficial bacteria. They are essential for proper nutrient absorption, fighting off dangerous bacteria, reducing inflammation, and lowering your risk of pain and disease.

Having a well-functioning and healthy colon is incredibly important for your overall health and well-being. Having a compromised gut microbiome may lead to inflammation, pain, and disease. This is why regular colon cleansing is essential to support your microbiome, detoxify your body, lower inflammation, and support your body.

In this article, you will learn about the importance of good bowel movements and the benefits of colon cleansing. I will teach you how to do a 3-day colon cleanse and how to reset your microbiome after colon cleansing.

Importance of Good Bowel Movements 

Having good bowel movements is one of the most important elements of your overall health. They move out all waste from all your previous meals within 24 hours. When your body is healthy, good bowel movements happen 1 to 4 times a day ideally early in the morning or shortly after your meals. 

Normal stool is the result of a healthy digestive system that breaks down and absorbs your food then gets rid of all toxins and waste. Normal stool is brown, soft, smooth, and snake-like. To determine if your poop is healthy, you may look at Briston Scale as shown below (1, 2).

Abnormal stools may be different in color, shape, texture, and regularity. Constipation is a common digestion complaint due to a lack of fiber in your diet, stress, certain medication, colorectal cancer, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and other health conditions. Diarrhea is another common digestive issue that may happen due to infections, bile acid malabsorption, IBS, and other health issues (3, 4, 5, 6).

Healthy bowel movements help to:

• Reduce microbial load on your body
• Eliminate destructive endotoxins
• Reduce inflammation throughout your body
• Help to calm your brain and nervous system
• Enhance energy and mental clarity
• Improves skin health and natural glow. 
• Reduces chronic pain levels.

Benefits of Colon Cleansing 

Colon cleansing has a multitude of health benefits, including reducing toxicity, resetting your microbiome, reducing inflammation, boosting your energy, improving fat burning, cleansing your skin, and improving your skin. Let’s discuss these benefits one by one.

Reduces Toxicity

When you are eating a diet high in refined sugar, refined oil, processed food, junk food, food that you are sensitive to, or non-organic food, you are overwhelming your body and digestive system. Chronic stress and exposure to environmental toxins, such as air pollution, conventional cleaning and body products, and other chemicals also lead to toxicity in your body. This may lead to a toxic buildup and may make old stool stick to your colon walls.

Colon cleansing helps to wash away this old stool and to get rid of waste buildup in your colon. It allows your body to release toxins allowing space and energy for repair and healing. By reducing toxicity, colon cleansing may reduce inflammation, chronic health complaints, fatigue, and the risk of disease.

Resets the Microbiome

Your gut is connected to all areas of your body and health. If your gut health is compromised, your entire body becomes compromised too, and may experience an increased risk of inflammation, pain, and disease. This is why it’s extremely important to take care of your gut flora.

An unhealthy diet, high stress, antibiotic use, environmental toxicity, and other toxic buildup in your body can compromise your gut flora balance. If there are too many bad bacteria and not enough good bacteria in your body, you may be setting yourself up for health issues.

Colon cleansing reduces toxicity, removes bad bacteria, and allows an opportunity for resetting your microbiome in order to repair your health. Later in this article, you will learn how to properly reset and balance your microbiome after a 3-day colon cleanse.

Reduces Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of most modern-day chronic pain and disease. It’s usually the result of unhealthy dietary and lifestyle choice, toxicity, chronic stress, and environmental toxins.

A backed-up colon, unbalanced gut flora, compromised digestion, and toxicity is a feeding ground for inflammation. A high amount of toxicity and inflammation also weakens and overwhelms your immune system, and it won’t be able to defend you from toxins, pathogens, and other foreign invaders anymore.

Colon cleansing reduces toxicity, waste, bad bacteria, and other pathogens in your body. Colon cleansing supports your body with liquid foods, such as green juices and bone broth that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that give your immune system an amazing boost.

Colon cleansing supplementation further supports the detoxifying process. Colon cleansing results in lower inflammation and a stronger immune system.

Improves Energy Levels and Fat Burning

The goal of colon cleansing is to reduce and release toxin build-up from your body. By releasing toxins from your body, you are allowing your body to rejuvenate. Instead of being bogged down by waste and toxins, your body frees up some energy to focus on other functions. Colon cleansing may boost your energy levels during the day and may lead to a more restful sleep at night.

When your diet consists of too many toxic, inflammatory foods, your colon becomes backed up and compromised. Slow-moving foods and toxins produce excess mucous that stick to your intestinal wall. However, during a colon cleanse, your body is able to get rid of decaying fecal matter and toxins built up in your colon, detoxify your system, kick-start your metabolism, and lose weight as a result.

By improving your digestion and microbiome, you are also boosting your body’s fat-burning abilities. Adding bone broth to your colon cleanse is another helpful idea to reduce your cravings, lower your insulin levels, and stimulate fat burning.

Clean Skin and Improved Complexion

Having a compromised gut flora may lead to unhealthy skin, including acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and other skin complaints. To clean your skin and improve your complexion, colon cleansing and improving your microbiome is incredibly important.

By reducing toxicity in your body, you are cleansing and healing your body from the inside out. By nourishing your body with lots of green and other foods rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals during and after your colon cleanse, you are hydrating your skin, nourishing your cells, and repairing any damage from toxicity.

How To Do a 3-Day Colon Cleanse

To cleanse your colon and improve your digestion and overall health, I recommend a 3-day colon cleanse. A 3-days colon cleanse is simple. It only involves a 3-day liquid diet and some colon cleansing supplements, and if you are up for it, a colonic or enemas.

3-Day Liquid Diet 

For successful colon cleansing, I recommend that you give your digestive system a break with a 3-day liquid diet. During these days, you will be focusing on green juices, healing bone broth, and protein shakes. 

Along with colon cleansing, a liquid diet may boost your energy, improve your digestion, strengthen your immune system, oxygenate your body, improve your skin, and protect you from chronic disease. You may learn about the benefits of a green juice cleanse in this article and how to make the best green juice here (7, 8, 9).

Along with green juices, protein shakes, and bone broth are fantastic ways to add more nutrients and protein to your 3-day liquid diet. Protein shakes may boost your metabolism, muscle growth, and weight loss.

As I explained in this article, bone broth helps to repair your gut, detoxify your body, repair and strengthen your bones, joints, and muscles, improve your skin and hair, boost your immune system, aid weight loss, and boost your metabolism. This is why I recommend adding some Gut Healing Protein shakes and Bone Broth Protein to your 3-day liquid diet (10, 11, 12). 

Use Bowel Mover or Oxy Powder

For your 3-day colon cleanse, I recommend that use Bowel Mover or Oxy Powder for cleansing support. They are both powerful and natural colon cleansing supplements that support your health.

Bowel Mover is an herbal cleanser that supports your digestion, aids detoxification, and reduces constipation in a gentle and non-dependency forming supplement. Take 1 to 2 capsules a day for optimal results.

Oxy-Powder is a magnesium and oxygen-based colon cleanser. It improves bowel motility, prevents and relieves constipation, improves your microbiome balance, and removes toxins from your colon.

For best results, take it 2 hours away from any food or supplements. Average servings may vary between 4 and 10 supplements to produce 3 to 5 bowel movements a day for successful colon cleansing.

Consider Doing Colon Hydrotherapy or an Enema

If you are serious about colon cleansing, you might want to consider doing a colonic or enema. While they are not necessary, they may be helpful.

Colonics are sometimes referred to as colon irrigation or colon hydrotherapy. They are performed outside of your home at colon hydrotherapist offices or natural or holistic health centers. During a colonic, your colon hydrotherapists use a high quantity of water to flush your colon.

Once you are at the office, you lay flat on the table as your therapist inserts a lubricated speculum into your colon that is attached to two tubes that control the release of the water. During the process, the therapist may massage your abdomen to help to process. Usually, you are able to view what’s coming out of you if you are interested (13).

Coffee Enemas to Clear the Colon

Compared to colonics, enemas are done at your home in private. They are inexpensive compared to a more costly visit to your colon hydrotherapist. You can buy kits at any drug store or online.  Here is a great stainless steel kit that I recommend.

Enemas also work by cleansing your colons with water. In some cases, coffee, wheatgrass, herbs, or apple cider vinegar is added for extra cleansing. While colonics target your entire intestine, enemas target your descending colon only.  Here is a helpful article on how to do a coffee enema.  

If you choose to get a colonic or try an enema yourself, it is important that you take probiotics to support your healthy gut flora. Colonics clean your colon from waste, toxins, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. However, they also clean out good bacteria in the process.

Taking high-quality probiotics and eating a nutrient-dense, gut-supporting diet is important to achieve long-term results. Continue reading for further tips on how to reset your microbiome after a colon cleanse.

Resetting the Microbiome After the Colon Cleanse

Doing a colon cleanse is beneficial for cleansing your body, resetting your system, reducing toxicity, lowering inflammation, and kick-starting your healing. However, it is not enough for long-term results.

To achieve long-term health, repair your ailments, and support a healthy gut, it is crucial to reset your microbiome after a colon cleanse and support your digestion and overall health. Follow my top tips on how to reset your microbiome after a colon cleanse.

Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Eating an anti-inflammatory diet is an absolute key to a balanced microbiome, healthy gut, reduced inflammation, and overall health. First, eliminate refined sugars, refined oils, gluten, pasteurized dairy, soy, corn, unhealthy fats, processed food, junk food, artificial ingredients, and toxins from your diet. 

Instead, focus on nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods, including leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, herbs and spices, low-glycemic index fruits, healthy fats, such as avocados, organic ghee, and coconut oil, clean protein, such as organic grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry, wild-caught fish, wild game, and free-range eggs, fermented food, and nuts and seeds for fiber. For more information on a microbiome-balancing, anti-inflammatory diet, read this article.

Remove Any Food Sensitivities

Food sensitivities are one of the main yet often unknown underlying reasons behind gut flora imbalance, inflammation, chronic pain, and fatigue. Common culprits include gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, and sugar, however, you may sensitive to other, less common foods.

Foods that you are sensitive to usually lead to a delayed reaction a few days later and when consumed regularly may lead to chronic unexplained symptoms, such as headaches, migraines, digestion complaints, bloating, joint pains, fatigue, and skin problems (14, 15).

To support your microbiome, it is important that you remove any food sensitivities from your life. At home, you may try an elimination diet, biofeedback muscle response or pulse testing. You may also get a blood test to get to the bottom of your food sensitivities. I recommend the Cyrex Array 10-90X as the most thorough and accurate means of testing for food sensitivities. To learn more about food sensitivities and food sensitivity testing, I recommend this article.

Hydrate Your Body Well

Proper hydration is extremely important for detoxification, colon cleansing, microbiome balance, and overall health. It is essential for keeping your inflammation levels low and to stay energized throughout the day.

I recommend that you start your day with 8 to 24 ounces of clean water first thing in the morning to induce gut motility and healthy bowel activity. Continue drinking throughout the day, at least 8 to 10 glasses in total. Along with your water intake, add hydrating vegetables and fruits, green juices, green smoothies, bone broth, healing soups, and herbal tea to your diet.

Use Probiotics 

Your microbiome and gut bacteria activity changes every day. Your goal is to achieve a healthy balance so the good bacteria in your gut are able to fight off pathogens and invaders, keep inflammation levels low, and keep your body healthy (16).

I recommend that you consume lots of fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, coconut water kefir, coconut yogurt, and kombucha. I also recommend that you take a high-quality daily probiotic supplement to support your microbiome balance.

Consider Using Digestive Enzymes and HCL If Needed

To further support your microbiome and gut health, you may want to consider using digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid (HLC). They may help to improve your nutrient absorption and digestion while reducing digestion discomfort.

Super DZyme supports the healthy digestion of macronutrients, enhances nutrient absorption, supports the breakdown of polysaccharides, and helps the breakdown of lactose. The HCL in Acid Prozyme is essential for creating an acidic environment in the stomach to digest protein and ionize minerals. It helps healthy stomach acid production, reduces microbial overgrowth, aids nutrient absorption, and reduces digestion discomfort.

Have 1 to 4 Well-Formed Bowel Movements Each Day

To reset your microbiome and ensure a healthy gut, it is important that you have 1 to 4 well-formed bowel movements each day, ideally early in the morning or soon after your meals.

Along with my other microbiome-resetting tips, eating magnesium-rich foods, taking magnesium, reducing stress, and reducing environmental toxicity in your life may also be beneficial. For more helpful tips on how to have healthy bowel movements each day, read this article.

Final Thoughts on Colon Cleansing

Your colon is the home of billions of bacteria. The beneficial bacteria in your gut are responsible for proper nutrient absorption, fighting off dangerous bacteria, reducing inflammation, and lowering your risk of pain and disease.

Having a well-function colon and a balanced microbiome is incredibly important for your overall health and well-being. Doing a 3-day colon cleanse and following my tips on resetting your microbiome can help you to detoxify your body, lower inflammation, and support your body.

If you want to work with a functional health coach, I recommend this article with tips on how to find a great coach. On our website, we offer long-distance functional health coaching programs. For further support with your health goals, just reach out—our fantastic coaches are here to support your journey.

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