Let’s talk about our colons. I was inspired today to write about colon cleansing and the concept of “mucoid plaque” – a gunky, gooey, plastic-like, mucousy substance claimed to accumulate on the lining of our intestines which contributes to general toxicity and malaise. The whole mucoid plaque thing is fairly controversial. Coined by Richard Anderson, a naturopath and promoter of his own colon cleansing formula, there seems to be a conflict of interest. At least it looks a bit dodgy. Supposedly, mainstream medicine has never found evidence of this plaque during autopsies, etc. However, just because mainstream medicine says so, doesn’t mean it is gospel truth, either. I certainly wouldn’t dismiss the benefits of colon cleansing, or the possible existence of mucoid plaque, based solely on that.

I have been doing a parasite cleanse and detox now for a few weeks. It’s a program I have done before and includes a lot of liver and kidney supporting herbs, a psyllium-based fibre drink, and a senna laxative tea. This morning, I excreted what looked like the mucoid plaque I had read about and seen photos of. (see above) It was truly gross and unlike anything which I have ever excreted before. Green, plastic-looking, mucousy rope which definitely appeared to be sloughed intestinal lining. Am I truly detoxing? It sure looked good. I’m sure glad that’s out of me! But is this actually the real advertising gimmick? Who wants to think that stuff is in their bowel? My God, maybe there’s more? Maybe I need to do this for 2 or 3 months, and spend another $250? Ya follow me..?

My critical thinking mind is asking the question…. If I’ve never excreted something like this before, but I am now while taking the products used in the “cleanse”, could it not be the products themselves which are causing the “plaque” which it claims to be “cleansing”? I believe it is good to be skeptical and to ask these questions, and then go find the true answers. In my own experience, I have used psyllium husks on their own (without the supportive herbs, or senna tea) but never had any goo like this come out my bum.  However, according to http://www.cancer.org, colorectal cancer in the US is the SECOND leading cause of cancer-related death. I don’t like those statistics. Our diets suck, let’s face it. We don’t get enough fibre or eat enough fruits and veggies. The hormones, pesticides, artificial colors, fake sugars and a list of xenotoxins as long as your arm have compromised our food supply. If I can use some healthy supportive herbs, fiber and tea on the off chance it will reduce my colon cancer risk, doesn’t it seem worth it? At the very least, we should all be taking fibre supplements such as psyllium husks to eliminate regularly and copiously. The bowel is the primary means of waste and toxin excretion and to keep that pathway working as well as possible can only increase our health.

In sum, do you have “mucoid plaque”? Do you need to buy a fancy and expensive colon cleansing kit? Probably not… but it wouldn’t hurt and there’s always the amusement factor of “what’s in the toilet today?” to quell our boredom.  At the very least, increase your raw fruit and veggie consumption, healthy whole grains like my favorite, Ezekiel bread, and plenty of fresh water to move it all through. If we take care of our colons, they will take care of us. Let’s not be an additional colorectal cancer statistic.

To your health,

Lori