Micke:
>I don't think there's anything unpaleo about intestinal cleaning, I've
>read pelicans give themselves colonics.

That pelicans would give themselves colonics I think is nonsense.  I
believe the original source of this piece of misinformation is from a book
written over 400 years ago and that it never has been verified by modern
science.

Micke:
>Lastly, autopsies were performed on 300 people only fifteen had claimed
that they >weren't constipated. As it turns out only fifteen were *not*
constipated (Tissue >Cleansing Through bowel Management by Bernard Jensen,
1981: 43) My point here is that >people really don't know that they are
constipated (which equals food is stuck to >their intestine).

Being constipated - having a sluggish digestion - does not necessarily mean
that the  walls of the intestines are encrusted with a layer of dark,
hardened mucoid plaque. It can just mean that the time of transit is not
optimal and that the digestive system rarely is getting a break.  When
going on a fiber cleanse I think what comes out initially is this backed-up
fecal matter.

John:
>I'm fairly convinced that the "mucous" you see is the actual Metamucil or
>whichever seed husk product you're taking.  But I'll tell you what.  I'm so
>bent on proving this one way or the other that I'm going to try it on
>myself.  Somebody tell me which brand of this stuff I can get with nothing
>added (no sugar, no nutraweet).  I will report my "findings" to the list.
>(Sorry, I don't have a scanner, though! <g>)

Unless you are willing to take this "mucous" substance to a lab and get it
tested, I think that you are wasting your time. I find it very suspect that
over the years none of the many proponents of colon cleansing have ever
obtained any (f)actual verifications of their claims.

Dave:
>I decided to test this idea of fasting.  I first started eating all of
>the things I liked since I wouldn't be eating for a while.  This included
Chinese
>food, pizza, steak etc.  Then I began a water fast that lasted 48 days.  I
went
>from 142 pounds to 98 pounds.  I am 66 inches tall.  During this fast I
had no
>bowel activity for 37 days.  Dr. Shelton specifically said no colonics or
enemas.
>The idea being that the body had its own wisdom and not to interfere.  On
the 37th
>day I was standing up and suddenly realized that I had better get to the
bathroom
>quickly.  What came out was black tar like pieces that were curved like
they had
>been lining my colon.   Also there was a lot of white mucus that came out.

This does not prove anything.  When intake of food is stopped, the
digestive bacteria are more concentrated (black) and without the bulk and
moisture of food, it naturally comes out like tar and curved in the shape
of the colon.  I bet if it was analyzed, it would not be old fecal matter
but a mix of digestive bacteria and natural die-off of proteins from the
body.  If you had taken a fiber supplement to aid the "cleansing process"
you would have seen more of the same - the only difference being the added
fiber. As for the white mucus it is a natural process for the body to rid
itself of old mucoid lining.  This takes place whether fasting or not - it
is just more noticeable when food intake is limited - especially when
studied vigorously and with great scrutiny by a famished brain obsessed
with justifying the trials of a lengthy period of food deprivation. ;-)

Dave:
>I have no idea what the inside of my colon looks like now but I doubt that
it still has >a hard black coating lining the inside.

You can go on fasting forever, I will bet that you will get the same result
every time with black & white stuff coming out.  If you do not maybe it is
time to worry. ;-)

Dave:
>Maybe one of these days I will decide to do another long water
>fast and see what comes out but somehow I don't see this as eminent.
Fasting can
>be healing but not really fun, eating is much more enjoyable. Bodies seem
to be
>very resilient, but DO NOT discount the effects that our diet of
civilization can
>do to it.

Fasting can be a powerful healing tool but is too often abused by misguided
food faddists. The fact that most proponents of fasting are strict
vegetarians speaks for itself.

Kirt:
>Oh, please. Bernard Jensen as a "reference"? This list had been immune from
>this sort of "proof". ;)

Jensen has for several decades been a tireless spokesperson for a natural,
whole foods diet but I agree that he is an embarrassment when it comes to
substantiating many of his specific claims or recommendations.  It is
interesting that most of the practitioners who are concerned with healing
the "leaky gut" in the small intestines, they do not believe in the
existence of old, encrusted fecal matter in the colon.

Best, Peter
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