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The Digestive System / The Large Intestine
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submitted by Dr. Gary Farr - Contact the author here.
Last Updated September, 30, 2011
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Are You Concerned About the Health of Your Large Intestine?
If you would like a second opinion regarding your digestive complaints, you should do the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis lab test.
The Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) is the original non- invasive evaluation of gastrointestinal function that includes analyses of digestion, absorption, bacterial balance, and yeast. This profile is recommended for patients with diffuse and non-specific GI-related symptoms, such as indigestion, dysbiosis (imbalance of the normal bacteria with bacterial overgrowth), constipation, and diarrhea.
Symptoms of Large Intestine Dysfunction
1) If the bowel is overworked or malfunctioning, the body will try to find other areas of elimination, thus infections, skin problems, congestion, etc., can all be symptoms.
2) Diarrhea (frequent passage of watery bowel movements), constipation (difficult, infrequent defecation), increased cholesterol levels, cystitis, gallstones, appendicitis all can be due to toxic bowels.
3) {diverticulitis} Diverticuli (small herniations through the muscular wall of the colon) are symptoms of colon dysfunction. If they inflame it is called diverticulitis and symptoms can include pain, tenderness, diarrhea or constipation, fever.
4) Colitis or inflammation of the colon is marked by fever, weight loss, weakness, abdominal pain, diarrhea.
5) An imbalance in colon flora can manifest as a burning pain somewhere in the body, especially the feet.
6) Hemorrhoids are actually varicose veins in the rectal area. They can be marked by pain, itching, bleeding, and distention upon straining to defecate.
Causes of Large Intestine Dysfunction
The most common cause of large intestine malfunction deals with an open or closed ileocecal valve.
The main problems that can affect the valve is that it can become stuck open or it can become spastic. Symptoms that can occur with either condition include pain in the area of the valve (can be mistaken for right ovary pain), dizziness, low back pain, shoulder pain (mainly on the right side), nausea, faintness, paleness, sudden thirst, bad breath, ribbon like stools. Ileocecal valve syndrome will also aggravate dysmenorrhea and endometriosis and should be evaluated in these conditions.
2) People with valves "stuck open" usually suffer from loose bowels, get overly emotional, and exhibit vitamin C deficiencies (their vitamin C is exhausted detoxifying the backflow of fecal material).
3) People with spastic valves tend to be constipated.
4) In my practice when I have seen cases of diarrhea caused by this condition, closing the valve would stop the diarrhea immediately.
1) Any chronic irritation in the area of the cecum such as an irritated appendix (from too much spicy, greasy, or refined food, not enough exercise, water, or any other unhealthful practice that will clog the lymphatic system) can cause spasm of the valve.
2) Alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, chocolate, charbroiled meat, incomplete digestion (from not chewing well, eating too frequently, overeating, dysfunction of the stomach or small intestine, etc.) can cause dysfunction of the valve.
3) Any irritation in the small intestine, eating too frequently, strong emotional upset, overeating a food you’re allergic to, can cause the valve to become "stuck" open.
4) Eating refined sweets especially if you have blood sugar handling problems can make the valve get stuck open, and eating sweets after correcting valve problems can cause its recurrence.
5) Nerve pressure in the upper lumbar spine can cause ileocecal valve syndrome
6) Fecal contents with a pH under 6.8 tend to distend the colon by making it atonic causing the valve to become spastic. Conversely fecal contents too alkaline (pH over 7.0) will make the colon hypertonic and relax the valve.
7) Hyper or hypotonic psoas muscles can contribute to ileocecal valve syndrome.
1) Avoid spicy food, alcohol, caffeine, meat. Don’t eat in between meals. Don’t overeat.
2) Rubbing a reflex area on the front of the shoulder (where the biceps muscle goes through a groove in the humerus) for one minute every other day for two weeks will be helpful.
3) Go to a good chiropractor to check for nerve pressure as a possible cause.
4) If stuck open, press straight down through the body during five successive expirations, use 3-4 pounds pressure and let up on inspiration. If spastic, press down through and toward the left shoulder for five successive expirations.
5) After #4 go on the adrenal recovery diet for two weeks. If your valve was stuck open put a cold plastic bag of water over the valve for twenty minutes before bed daily for one week to help prevent recurrence.
6) An open ileocecal valve should not always be closed. If you ate an irritating substance, your body in its wisdom may have opened the valve to get the harmful substance through faster. Go over the dietary history of the past two days before deciding on treatment.
Additional Causes of Large Intestine Dysfunction
1) Slow transit time can cause colon dysfunction. Ideally, food that enters your body should pass through within 36 hours. If not gas, putrefaction and fermentation can set in. Causes of slow transit time can be lack of roughage in the diet, not drinking enough water, eating in between meals, eating too many refined foods.
2) A diet low in roughage and high in refined carbohydrates can also cause diverticuli (the feces are hardened and the extra strain to move them causes the outpocketing), constipation, and bacterial changes (due to the fermentation and putrefaction).
3) People on a high fiber diet have lactobacillus and streptococcus as their main intestinal flora. On a low fiber diet, E. coli proliferate (especially if your refined carbohydrate intake - white flour, white sugar, etc., is high) and can lead to {diverticulitis} diverticulitis, cystitis, appendicitis, gallbladder inflammation. Antibiotic taking can also change the bacterial flora for the worse.
4) In a colon with a slowed transit time, bacterial imbalance, and low roughage; bile acids upon reaching the colon can be converted into carcinogenic substances. Staying in contact with the colon walls for long periods of time, these substances can possibly be a cause of colon cancer. This bile acid breakdown product (lithocholate) also signals the liver to decrease bile acid production. Since cholesterol is used to synthesize bile acids, a decreased synthesis will raise cholesterol levels and also increase susceptibility to gallstones.
5) People in "primitive" societies on diets of unrefined foods exhibit very low incidences of colon problems.
6) Causes of colitis include hypoadrenia, a weak immune system, hypochlorhydria, decreased roughage, increased use of refined carbohydrates, stress, antibiotics, eating food you’re allergic to (see adrenal, thymus, and stomach articles for more information).
7) Besides an imbalance in intestinal flora, a high fat intake is correlated to a high incidence of colon cancer. This includes refined animal and vegetable fat. Meat fat when exposed to air can form malonaldehyde which is especially suspect of causing colon cancer. Spices, beer, high protein diets, and alcohol are also suspect in colon cancer.
8) Nerve pressure in the lumbar spine can cause colon dysfunction
9) Hemorrhoids can be caused by a congested liver, hypoadrenia, and a low roughage, high refined carbohydrate diet.
10) If your stomach or small intestine are malfunctioning or you don’t chew well, and partially undigested food reaches the colon, it will putrefy and could damage the colon as a result.
11) Diarrhea can be a sign of colon dysfunction. It can also be due to eating something you’re allergic to, a stuck open ileocecal valve, vitamin B deficiency, medication side effects. It could also be your body’s effort to flush through a harmful substance as quickly as possible.
12) Constipation can injure the colon or be a sign of a malfunctioning colon. Causes include a low roughage diet, allergy to milk, wearing restrictive clothing, not drinking enough water, lack of exercise, chronic use of laxatives exhausting bowel tone, spastic ileocecal valve, worrying, side effect of certain medications. Voluntarily inhibiting your external sphincter muscle too often, to prevent defecation, can cause constipation and retard the reflex, leading to an atonic colon. Establishing regularity is very important in preventing constipation. The thyroid, adrenals, liver and parathyroid should also be evaluated in cases of constipation as possible causes.
Other Indications of Colon Dysfunction
1) A weak tensor fascia lata or hamstrings on manual muscle testing may indicate a large intestine problem.
2) If your transit time is over 36 hours, you may have a colon problem (or it could be elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract). To check your transit time chew 10 charcoal tablets before a meal, record the time you ingested them. Watch your feces and record the time the last of the charcoal leaves (should appear black). The time between ingestion and the last bit leaving is your transit time. After you’ve been treating your colon for 1-2 months you may want to recheck and see if it has improved.
Prevention and Treatment of Large Intestine Dysfunction
The simplest way to treat and prevent large intestinal problems from progressing is to follow our eating plan. Outside of that here are other recommendations.
1) Eat a diet composed of mainly unrefined foods (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds), drink at least 6 glasses of water daily, and get lots of exercise. This will avoid most colon problems.
2) Avoid caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, greasy food, animal fat. Keep oil, margarine, and sugar to a minimum.
3) Stay off all dairy for one month and see if your condition improves.
4) Evaluate and treat if necessary your liver, thyroid, adrenals, stomach, small intestine. All can affect your colon. Take a free preliminary test to find out what organs need to be addressed.
5) Chew your food well, don’t eat in between meals, don’t drink with your meals.
6) The following herbs are reportedly healing and tonic to the colon; mullein, sumac berries, slippery elm, red raspberry leaves.
7) If you suspect nerve pressure is affecting your colon (especially if you suffer from low back pain) see a good chiropractor
8) One reflex area is extremely helpful in colon problems. The whole outside of the thigh (right and left) should be rubbed vigorously daily for two weeks. When you find particularly tender areas spend a little extra time on those.
9) In cases of colitis check for hypoadrenia, hypochlorhydria, and decreased thymus function. Eating garlic is reported to help as is a castor oil pack over the colon. Stay on the adrenal recovery diet for one month.
10) A heating pad over the bowel can often relieve pain there.
11) In cases of diarrhea, find the cause. To relieve symptoms a hot half bath is helpful as is an enema. Eating unrefined carob or chewing on a guava leaf can also relieve diarrhea.
12) Eating a high roughage, low refined carbohydrate diet, will do much for constipation. Other helpful remedies include:
- a) Massaging the colon - start at the cecum and go up the ascending colon, across the transverse, and down the descending colon. This can help loosen hardened fecal material.
- b) Drinking one pint of ocean water mixed with 2 pints of distilled water upon arising will cause a bowel movement.
- c) Drink enough water (6-8 glasses daily) and get lots of exercise.
- d) Evaluate your liver, thyroid, ileocecal valve, and parathyroid for possible involvement.
- e) Try a cold water bulb syringe enema to relieve constipation, retain water for 1 minute then expel, use this for a colon lacking tone. If the colon is spastic try a warm water bulb syringe enema.
- f) A warm or hot compress to the abdomen, or a hot sitz bath can be helpful in relieving constipation.
- g) Drinking aloe vera juice can help relieve constipation.
- h) Try to develop regularity in bowel habits and don’t inhibit the natural urge to defecate whenever possible.
13) Senna is a very strong laxative and its use should be discouraged. Cascara sagrada is reported to tone the bowels as well as act as a safe laxative and when withdrawn the bowels should continue to work fine due to its tonic effect.
Habitual use of stimulating laxatives tend to decrease bowel tone and create a laxative dependency. Their use should be avoided.
Many antidiarrhea drugs have possible dangerous side effects such as numbness of extremities, depression, headaches, vomiting, and increased heart rate. Again we should seek out the cause and try to restore the body to proper functioning naturally.
Colon Conditions
 Movie: This shows the inner wall of the colon with it's rich supply of blood vessels just as the rest of the digestive tract. Large veins can be seen as dark twisted lines, while the colonoscope is moved back and forth in order to examine the entire wall of the bowel. ( QuickTime 739k)
Movie: This video shows a large tumor, or growth, inside the colon. It is bleeding a bit, and is around about 3/4 of the entire inner wall. It had to be surgically removed. ( QuickTime 1087k)
Many other conditions involving the colon can be found at the Condition Center.
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