A key component of the gastrointestinal (GI) system (the largest system in the body)  is the colon (large intestine, rectum, and anus). The length of the gastrointestinal tract is between twenty-eight and thirty feet, with a surface area of nearly six thousand square feet. The proper functioning of the colon is essential to overall health. When the colon is unable to function efficiently, an accumulation of toxins can build up in the lymph, bloodstream, and intestines. Its proper function is dependent on:

• A whole foods diet: Especially recommended are such high-fiber foods as grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruit.
•  A balance of favorable bacteria: A healthy GI tract contains nearly sixty varieties of bacteria or microflora which aid digestion, promote the manufacturing of vital nutrients, help to maintain proper pH (acid-base) balance, and keep harmful bacteria in check.
• Healthy colonic mucosa: The mucosa, or surface cell layer lining the intestines, allows for the passage of nutrients into the bloodstream, secretes hormones and lubricants, and prevents the absorption of toxins.
• Proper muscle tone: About fifteen contractive movements occur in the colon per minute. Known as peristalsis, this action moves food through the intestinal tract and helps to maximize absorption of valuable liquid and nutrients, while eliminating the stool.
•  Timely evacuation of waste: Regular bowel movement and elimination prevents the buildup of toxic substances that result from putrefaction and excessive fermentation. Joseph Vargas, Ph.D., founder and Director of the Wholistic Health Center in Houston, Texas, states, that bowel movements should be thorough and frequent, two or three daily, to prevent toxic residues and by-products from forming or remaining in the body.

  Dr. Collins states, that when the colon becomes burdened with an accumulation of waste material-impacted feces, bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and dead cellular material-the result is termed 'bowel toxemia'. This condition causes inflammation and swelling of the bowel surface, and can lead to a multitude of other health problems. Normal absorption of nutrients, secretory functions, and normal muscular function of the colon are disrupted. Irregular and inefficient bowel movement is the result, further stopping recovery and promoting other problems.

  Bowel toxemia and improper digestion can cause a buildup of pathological bacteria, viruses, and fermented and putrefactive gases in the intestines, that become dangerous to the body and can lead to other illnesses.

 "Leaky gut syndrome" is a medical condition, caused by absorbtion of  toxic matter and undigested food, collected in the intestines as a result of bowel toxemia, from the bowels into the bloodstream,

  The undigested food molecules act as antigens, foreign substances that provoke an immune reaction. Many of these antigens are similar in structure to normal body components, and the antibodies produced to fight them can destroy healthy tissues. Recent studies suggest this immune reaction contributes to, or may cause, rheumatoid arthritis and other degenerative diseases.

  Bacteria and their toxic by-products can also be absorbed from the bowels into the bloodstream. A deficiency of secretory IgA, an antibody in the colon that binds food and bacterial antigens, can cause an influx of antigens from the bowels into the bloodstream. According to Patrick Donovan, N.D., these antigens can cause autoimmune diseases such as thyroid disease, myasthenia gravis (a disease characterized by great muscular weakness), and some forms of meningitis.

  Toxins that enter the bloodstream from the colon also burden the liver, circulatory system, lymphatic system, and excretory organs such as the lungs and kidneys. Because the liver plays such a vital role in clearing the blood of toxins, any worsening of liver function may intensify the damage already done by bowel toxemia. Dr. Vargas says, that  foreign chemicals in the body, whether produced from ingestion or chemical interaction, chemical breakdown, or putrefaction of foodstuff in the fermentive processes, can change RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). RNA and DNA contain the blueprint for cellular manufacturing and, if tampered with, abnormal cell reproduction can occur. Many scientists believe this provokes cancer and other autoimmune diseases. All these factors make a properly functioning colon imperative to the maintenance of good health.

  As a treatment for disease, colon therapy was recorded in the earliest known medical documents. Eighty years ago, John Harvey Kellogg, M.D., of Battle Creek, Michigan, used colon therapy to avoid surgery in all but twenty of forty thousand of his patients suffered from gastrointestinal disease.

  The popularity of colon therapy reached its culmination in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, colonic irrigation machines were a common sight in hospitals and physicians' offices. Although interest diminution with the advent of pharmaceutical and surgical treatments, colon therapy is once more gaining in popularity and is now commonly used by alternative health practitioners.