Colon Hydrotherapy
and its Clinical Applications
Colon irrigation may help greatly in enhancing the ability to absorb
many vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.
by Donald J. Mantell, M.D.
Professional Member AANC
Constipation
The expression constipation is derived from the Latin word "constipatus" which translated means to press or crowd together, to pack, to cram. Consequently, to be constipated means that the packed accumulation of faeces in the bowel makes its evacuation difficult. However, a state of constipation can also exist when movements of the bowel may seem to be normal . . . in spite of an accumulation of faeces somewhere along the passageways of the colon.
Many health authorities believe that constipation is the number one affliction underlying nearly every ailment . . . This means that constipation would be the most prevalent ailment affecting the civilized world . . . It is vital to stress that constipation affects the health of the colon, upon which the health of the body in its entirety depends.
Constipation contributes toward the lowering of body resistance predisposing it to many acute illnesses and the creation of a great many degenerative and chronic processes. Almost every human ailment has been attributed to a malfunctioning colon (i.e., one that cannot perform its normal, regular and efficient functioning).
Intestinal constipation causes cellular constipation . . . It also increases the workload of the other excretory organs - kidneys, skin, liver, lungs and lymph . . .
The functioning of these organs becomes depleted and overworked. The cellular metabolism becomes sluggish, repair and growth are delayed, and the ability to eliminate waste materials is lowered. The cells -- instead of being alive and active -- become dead and inactive. This process results in a decline in tissue and organ functional ability.
There are two crimes against nature which civilization indulges in as a daily routine, which may be direct causes of constipation. One is the consumption of devitalized and refined foods which fail to nourish the organs responsible for the evacuation of waste matter. The other which is most prevalent, particularly among young people, but no less so among the older and more mature . . . is neglecting to stop everything we are doing when the urge to evacuate the bowels should drive us headlong into the bathroom. Bowel movements every two or three days are considered normal and acceptable.
It is my professional opinion -- as also the opinion of many holistic health care professionals -- we should have a bowel movement for every meal that we eat, each and everyday. For example, if we eat three meals per day, we should have three bowel movements per day.
If we are having less than two bowel movements per day, food residues are lying in the colon for more than twelve hours. Consequently, the faecal material in the colon becomes putrefied and fermented. Any nutritional elements present in the faecal matter would pass into the bloodstream as polluted products. What would otherwise be nutritional becomes in fact, the beginning of toxaemia. Toxaemia is a condition in which the blood contains poisonous products which are produced by the growth of pathogenic or disease-producing bacteria. Pimples for example are usually the first indication that toxaemia has found its way into the body.
A number of years ago fifty-seven of the leading physicians of Britain met in London and discussed before the Royal Society of Medicine this problem of autointoxication caused by a toxic colon. Autointoxication is defined as "the poisoning of the body, or some part of the body, by toxic matter generated therein." The following twenty-two (22) poisons were identified as originating in a toxic colon.