As America has become more health-conscious in the last decade, lots of us have started to experiment with "alternative" health practices. One practice which has gained a huge following very recently is colon cleansing, also known as colon detox. Though still considered "alternative" or "new-age" by some, colon cleansing has been popular in some cultures for thousands of years.

The benefits of colon cleansing are both short term and long-term. In the short term, your immediate health will improve, along with long-term preventative care. After a cleansing, you'll feel lighter and healthier due to the cleansing ridding your body of unneeded waste products that impacted on your bowels, which can lead to illness.

Colon cleanse benefits are many, and are best appreciated in the long term. If you care properly for your colon from a young age, the incidence of threats such as colon cancer or other illnesses as you grow older is greatly reduced. Enemas used to be a common doctor's prescription for treating minor sicknesses and discomforts in the early 20th century, and oftentimes it was successful. Colon cleansing could very well be the solution to an over-medicated America in the 21st century.

Cleansing the colon can be beneficial emotionally as well as physically. Possibly you'll find yourself feeling better all over, the chronic aches and pains washed away. Another colon cleanse benefit, the result of having a clean, healthy body, is that you may find yourself feeling cheerier and more positive about life than you did before.

There are two kinds of bacteria present in our colon. There is the detrimental kind that are washed away by a colon cleanse. There is also a beneficial kind of bacteria that helps break down food and regulate our intestines. While popular belief is that a colon cleanse will kill any good bacteria in our system, the opposite is true. A colon cleanse can benefit our bodies by clearing the environment this bacteria works in.

You may have heard of movie stars or ordinary people using colon cleanses to slim down prior to a big event. This is a dangerous and unwise way to use colon cleansing. If used too often, the colon can become damaged or dependent on artificial means of evacuation.

The benefits of colon cleansing have been known by people around the world for a very long time. For some people, colon health is a taboo subject that they would prefer not to discuss. However, it's important to keep your digestive tract healthy, just as you keep all of your other body systems healthy.