Good Health Begins In Your Intestines -Roger Mason

We humans have almost 30 feet of intestines to digest our food- about 22 feet of small intestines and about 6 feet of colon (large intestine). Our intestines are generally in terrible shape for lots of reasons. It has been wisely said that, "good health begins in the intestines", and that really is true. If we cannot digest our food properly we will never be healthy or live very long. Americans suffer from endless intestinal problems from flatulence, bloating, hemorrhoids, gluten intolerance, and diarrhea to Crohn's Disease, divericulitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, and outright cancer. An entire field of medicine- gastroenterology- has been devoted to this.  
 
How can we have strong healthy intestines? Our DIET is responsible for most of our problems. We eat twice the calories we need, five times the fat we need (and the wrong kinds of fats), twice the protein we need, and 160 pounds of various sugars we don't need at all. Ironically though, we are deficient in many vitamins, minerals and other nutrients like fiber, sterols and lignans. Overfed and undernourished. We drink God-knows-how much coffee, regular tea, beer, wine, and liquor, soft drinks, and milk (see the articles on milk). Add to this the countless billions of dollars of toxic prescription drugs, as well as the countless billions of dollars of over-the-counter drugs.  
 
How could we possibly have a healthy intestinal system?  
 
What kinds of foods should we eat for good digestion? Whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, barley, corn, whole grain hot and cold cereals, whole wheat pasta, and whole grain breads are our primary food. Beans of all kinds are a wonderful low fat, high protein food full of nutrition. Most any green or yellow vegetable (except Nightshades such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants) are a good choice. Fruits in moderation are full of good fiber. Whole natural grains, beans, and vegetables should be the basis of your daily fare.  
 
You're never going to be healthy if you have a coffee habit or drink regular tea (with caffeine and tannins). An occasional cup of coffee is certainly reasonable. Drink herbal teas instead of Lipton or Earl Grey. Drink WATER with your meals; nothing beats a good glass of water. Have a beer occasionally if you're so inclined, or a glass of good wine, but once that becomes "several" drinks, it negatively affects your health. Distilled alcohol has been the bane of many civilizations and should be avoided.  
 
What can you do as far as supplements go? Take a good brand of acidophilus with 3 billion units or more. Buy it refrigerated and keep it refrigerated (or frozen). Take this faithfully for the rest of your life. Take one in the AM and one in the PM for a year if you know your intestines are weak. Take 750 mg of FOS (fructooligosaccharides) with your acidophilus. This is an indigestible sugar that feeds the good bacteria but starves the bad bacteria. There is a lot of good published science on FOS. Take a gram (2 X 500 mg) of the inexpensive amino acid L-glutamine in the AM, and another in the PM. Surgeons now use this after intestinal surgery because it is so effective. This also spikes (not raises) your human growth hormone when taken as suggested here. You can also find "Lactospore", which is a stable, spore form of acidophilus that doesn't need refrigeration. This is very good to take with regular, live acidophilus. Another supplement you can take is good old aloe vera. 20 grams of fresh gel (keep refrigerated) or two X 100 mg capsules of a 200:1 extract, but only for one year. After a year the effect wears off since it is "exogenous" (doesn't exist in the body or in regular food).  
 
What about enemas? Avoid them, as the colon is self cleaning and enemas wash out the good bacteria. Anyone who would even suggest a coffee enema is obviously demented. Enemas seem to be more of an anally oriented sexual fetish than a health practice. (That doesn't apply to everyone however.) Now that is going to set off a storm of angry letters to us! Keep your digestive system strong by eating better foods, eating less calories (two meals a day), take proven supplements, and fast one day a week on water. You can also do the TMG program for six months (read Rejuvenate Your Liver). As always, diet and