Colonic Health - your colon is your sewerage system so keep it unblocked and clean

It was a Russian biologist, Ilya Ilich Metchnikoff (1845 – 1916) who, through his researches into immunity at the Pasteur Institute Paris, decided to focus his interest on the bacteria which infest the human intestine and particularly on the bacteria which cause fermentation and putrefaction in the colon.

He was convinced that excess waste and poisons in the intestines are damaging to health and he believed that the residues of food not digested properly, accumulate in the colon forming an alkaline environment in which colonies of putrefactive bacteria thrive.  Toxins released during fermentation and putrefaction pass through the intestinal walls and into the bloodstream, causing self-toxification of the body and increased susceptibility to disease.  This is particularly true when stool transit time is overly prolonged, as in the case of chronic constipation.

He was fascinated by the fact that rural Bulgarians, who eat large amounts of yogurt daily, maintained their health and vitality to an exceptionally old age.  He then initiated the wide use of yogurt as a health food, but more importantly, he was the first scientist to bring the somewhat delicate subject of colonic cleanliness to the attention of the public.  He made colonic health an acceptable subject of conversation.

Yogurt is simply milk which has been fermented by a species of bacteria called Lactobacillus bulgaricus.  These bacteria curdle milk converting milk sugar (lactose) to lactic acid.  Yogurt is made by adding the bacillus, or a spoonful of pre-made yogurt, to heated milk and letting it incubate at a temperature of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Excessively high temperatures kill the bacilli. Acidophilus milk, which is soured by the Acidophilus bacteria, is similar to yogurt, but has a less pleasant taste. That's the reason why acidophilus milk does not match the popularity of yogurt.

Nowadays we realise that there is no doubt that Metchnikoff was correct in relating health to acidity in the colon and he was way ahead of his time in preaching the benefits of yogurt, which indeed contains many health promoting properties.  Modern research indicates that cultured milks, especially acidophilus milk, are extremely valuable in the treatment of gastroenteritis, colitis, constipation and flatulence. Yogurt is extremely digestible too and can often be eaten by people who may be lactose intolerant. Yogurt also helps the intestines to synthesise vitamins K and B6.  Calcium is better absorbed from yogurt than from milk, because of its acidity. Some studies in Eastern Europe have found yogurt to have anti-tumour activity, and other research has shown that yogurt can lower cholesterol levels in spite of the fact that it contains cholesterol.