Good Colon Health Starts with a Healthy Diet

This may come as a surprise, but your colon is one of the most important organs in your body. Although you may not think it is more vital than your heart or lungs, a colon in bad shape is not a good thing. Good colon health is essential to an all-around healthy body.

The colon is part of the last section of the digestive tract, which is 30 feet long and in charge of breaking down nutrients and absorbing them to provide the body with energy. The colon makes up the upper 4 to 6 feet of the large intestine and its mission is to absorb nutrients and eliminate waste. Therefore, maintaining good colon health is imperative to allow the body to function properly by keeping the nutrients in and the waste out.

A great way to maintain good colon health is to have a colon health diet. A colon health diet’s main ingredient is fiber. Fiber is best known for preventing and relieving constipation, but fiber is also beneficial because it can lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Whole grains are rich and high in fiber, as are foods like vegetables, fruits and nuts. Unfortunately, most of us partake in diets that are filled with carbohydrates, fats and proteins which are absorbed by the body. Fiber is basically roughage and flows through the body virtually unchanged until it reaches the colon. A good fiber diet can bring about good colon health.

Fiber promotes good colon health because it lowers the risk of digestive conditions as well as cholesterol levels; it also keeps your blood sugar levels in check and the healthy diet helps you lose weight. For ideal colon health, women under the age of 50 should have at least 25 grams of fiber a day; men of the same age should have 38 grams. For women over 50, they should consume 21 grams, while men should ingest 30.