Why Colon Cleansing A colon may be struggling and failing to function properly even if you feel fine and have no symptoms. Some toxic symptoms you would never associate with the colon, such as depression, headaches, or "brain fog". A toxic colon is a major factor in the development of chronic ill health. You cannot expect to be well if the main organ responsible for ridding the body of toxic waste is under-functioning. When the colon is irritated by diet, stress, drugs, chemicals and other substances, it tries to protect itself by producing more mucus. This additional mucus can bind with the sludge from refined foods, such as white flour and sugars and build up on the wall of the bowel, narrowing the passage. The layer of gluey, hardened feces can weigh several pounds and is a good place for harmful organisms to breed. Do not think because you have regular bowel movements, or even diarrhea, that you have escaped this problem. The stool can pass daily through a dirty colon and leave the accumulated residue on the walls behind. There is no need to get panicky about the amount of weighty garbage you might be carrying around with you. There is a great deal you can do about it. How These Toxins Can Affect You The most common affect is irritation and inflammation of the colon: general symptoms can be diarrhea, constipation, spastic colon, fatigue, headaches, dull eyes, poor skin, spots, aching muscles, joint pains, and depression. Toxins can affect the lymphatic system, and be circulated through the lymphatic system to all parts of the body. The lymphatic system is designed to nourish cells not fed by blood vessels and to kill off harmful organisms, and carry away the refuse. If the body has to pump excessive toxins around for any length of time..it can get overwhelmed, allowing a disease to take over. The layer of old feces can cause the muscles of the colon to lose tone. Doctors call this "lazy" or "sluggish colon". This can cause ballooning of the colon or formation of pouches called diverticula, leading to a condition known as diverticulosis. The food trapped in these pockets creates a breeding ground for bacteria. The result can be diverticulitis, an infection where there is often a fever and acute abdominal pain. Once infection takes hold medical help is needed. Besides direct problems of the colon any number of problems can come from Toxic build up. MOST diseases and illnesses are caused by a combination of two things. 1. Lack of what the body needs, as in real nutrition. Foods that are going to give your body the vitamins, minerals and live enzymes that it needs to produce strong healthy new cells. Whole foods that have not had chemicals, hormones or anti-biotics added to them. Foods that have not been processed or microwaved until the body can not even recognize the molecular structure. 2. Too much of what is bad for the body. This comes to us in so many ways it is too hard to cover them all here. Chemicals, pollution, and preservatives to name a few. These two things compromises the immune system. A compromised immune system can cause any number of illnesses and some symptoms that you may not associate with illnesses such as depression, fatigue, headaches, nervousness, insomnia, loss of concentration, lack of sexual responses, skin blemishes or rashes, sallow complexion, dark circles under the eyes, brittle hair and nails, body odor, and many others.