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Case Study: Blessed Herbs Colon Cleanse, Part Five

Day One (Main Cleanse)

 During Sara’s first day of the main cleanse, she drank a full sixty ounces of water.  Rock on, girl!  Along with one cup of coffee, Sara enjoyed a total of forty-eight ounces of apple juice and thirty-two ounces of white grape juice.  Following the directions, Sara took five Toxin Absorbers and abstained from eating solids throughout the day.  She said that she is “starving.  So incredibly hungry I can’t even believe it.  I don’t understand the people in the online testimonials who said they weren’t hungry at all.  Maybe tomorrow will be better?  This seems inhuman.” 

 But you did it!  That’s what’s important.  If you can keep following the cleanse directions and grin through the pain, I know it will be worth it!

 Understandably, Sara skipped the exercising today.  If I was on a diet of juice, juice, and more juice, I’d have a hard time climbing on that treadmill, too.  Sara reported that she experienced three bowel movements, all of which were softer than even yesterday’s soft poop.  Also, she experienced some minor cramping.  Let’s hope that that doesn’t keep up. 

 Check back tomorrow to see how Sara’s second day of the main cleanse went.

 

 

 

Case Study: Blessed Herbs Colon Cleanse, Part Four

Day Three (Pre-Cleanse)

 

During Sara’s third and final pre-cleanse day, she consumed thirty ounces of water, which I’m loving.  If this hydration keeps up, she’s sure to have a very successful colon cleanse.  She also drank four cups of coffee as well as sixteen ounces of acai juice and ate one egg, ¼ cup of grits with delicious Colby jack cheese, one cup of chicken soup, five ounces of chicken, and five mini donuts.  While I have to admit that I’m thrilled about the acai berry juice, I’m giving you a big tsk-tsk about those donuts.  You know better, Sara!

 

She kept up the exercise trend with half an hour of high-intensity intervals on the elliptical machine.  Sara reported that she experienced three bowel movements, one of which was softer than normal.  She also went on to say, “It feels really weird talking about my bowel movements.”  I know how you feel, Sara…but you have to admit that it’s kind of liberating, isn’t it?  

 

When asked how she felt, she responded, “Better today than the previous two days. Today I feel energetic, positive, and not as bogged down or bloated.”  Woohoo!  I am so glad that our case study participant is starting to see the benefits of exercise.  And I’d bet that once the main cleanse gets underway, she’s going to feel even better. 

 

Check back tomorrow to see how Sara’s first day of the main cleanse went.

 

 

Case Study: Blessed Herbs Colon Cleanse, Part Three

 

Day Two (Pre-Cleanse)

 

During Sara’s second pre-cleanse day, she drank forty ounces of water, which is fantastic!  Hopefully she’ll keep it up and keep her body hydrated throughout this experience.  She also drank three cups of coffee and ate 1 ½ blueberry pancakes san syrup; scrambled eggs; half of a whole wheat pita with ham, mozzarella, spinach, and hummus; one cup of chicken soup; a cherry slush from Sonic, and some more Halloween candy.  As if she could hear the lashing coming, Sara quickly added, “I’m making my husband bring [the candy] to school for his students.”  Good girl!  If you can’t walk by that candy without dipping a hand in, get it out of your sight. 

 

Sara reported that she experienced two “normal” bowel movements and enjoyed 35 minutes of high-intensity intervals on the treadmill.  When asked how she felt, she responded, “See Day One.”  Aw, Sara!  I would have thought that that exercise would have kept your energy up and made you feel better.  Hopefully the third day of the pre-cleanse will bring higher energy levels.

 

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Case Study: Blessed Herbs Colon Cleanse, Part Two

 

Day One (Pre-Cleanse)

 

During Sara’s first pre-cleanse day, she drank three glasses of water.  She also drank two cups of coffee and ate 1 ½ scrambled eggs; a Zone bar; half of a whole wheat pita with ham, mozzarella, spinach, and hummus; one cup of chicken soup; Halloween candy; and a sugar cookie.  Come on, Sara.  I have to give you some grief for your diet on this day.  I understand how temptations can be, but you’ve got to cut out the candy and sweets to get the best out of this cleanse!

 

Sara reported that she experienced one “normal” bowel movement and didn’t exercise during the first day.  When asked how she felt, she responded, “Funky.  Kind of depressed and sluggish.  Fat.”

 

Sounds like you need a hug, Sara.  Keep your chin up and cut out the sweets!  And add a little exercise into the mix—I promise that it will give you more energy than you can imagine.

 

Case Study: Blessed Herbs Colon Cleanse, Part One

Sara, a thirty-year-old woman, is our latest colon cleansing case study volunteer.  Sara reports that she stands at 5’4” and weighs…well, she didn’t tell us what she weighs because, according to her, “my husband doesn’t even know [my weight].”  From one woman to another, no worries, honey.  I’m not all that crazy about disclosing my weight either.

 

Sara decided upon the Blessed Herbs product, “an eight-day cleanse including three days of pre-cleansing, five days of juice fasting, and one post-cleanse day.”  Looks like you’re in for a load of fun with this cleanse, Sara.  “Blessed Herbs is the cleanse I chose because it’s made with mostly organic ingredients,” Sara explains.  “When UPS delivered it, I tore in eagerly and was happy to find the Users Guide and Dosage Calendar, both of which were full of answers to every conceivable question, and even some questions I had not conceived of.”  Kudos to Blessed Herbs for including such involved and in depth directions and information.

 

Our participant reports that her “current eating habits are not the best.  I have recently gained about ten pounds, if that tells you anything.”  Uh oh.  Looks like someone’s been dipping into fast food or junk food.  Trust me—it’s easy to fall back into those habits.  When I’m looking for a quick lunch, I tend to find my car leading me to the nearest greasy burger joint…and all that fat just gathers around my hips and gut.  Fun, fun, fun.

 

When asked why she decided to try out a colon cleanse, Sara responded, “Despite my currently unfortunate eating habits, I’m actually a bit of a health nut:  I want organic everything, I take my fish oil, I exercise regularly.  So, the idea of ‘mucoid plaque’ in my colon horrifies me!  I want it out.”  No need to explain further—unless you want to?  “I do have to admit that a large part of my motivation to cleanse was superficial at first.  I was after the weight loss, I admit it.  I gained a LOT of weight when I was pregnant (76 pounds three years ago), and I’ve lost 79 pounds.  A month ago I had lost 89 pounds, but let’s not talk about that.  So I’ve lost all the baby weight.  Now I’m trying to lose my last 20 pounds, 20 pounds that I have had for what feels like 20 years, 20 pounds that seem to be very happy right where they are.  So I figured, I’ll take whatever help I can get.  If five or ten of those 20 pounds are from my colon and not my fat cells, I’m totally fine with that.”

 

Sounds good to me!  Check back in tomorrow to see how Sara’s first day of the Blessed Herb cleanse went.

 

Reducing the Risk of Colorectal Cancer in IBD Patients

So you know that I’ve talked about both colorectal cancer and irritable bowel disorder (IBD), and you may remember that I’ve even mentioned how IBD patients have a higher risk for colorectal cancer than people without IBD.

 There’s hope on the horizon for those of you affected by IBD.

According to an article on Doctor’s Guide online, “patients with IBD receiving thiopurines have a 3-fold decrease in the risk of developing colorectal advanced neoplasias.”  This is fancy talk for:  IBD patients taking thiopurines have a decrease risk of getting colorectal cancer.

This conclusion is due to a study that took place in  France between May of 2004 and May of 2005.

This is great news, and I’m excited to hear that there’s one more way that those dealing with IBD can decrease their individual risk of becoming diagnosed with colorectal cancer.  However, I can’t help but wonder why we’re just now hearing about this.  Couldn’t the results of this study been helping people across the world for the past three or four years?

Acai Berry’s Antioxidant Properties

There have been many studies made regarding the various beneficial properties that acai berry has on the human body.  One of its best features has to do with its antioxidant properties.

 One analysis in particular reported that acai has intermediate antioxidant capabilities among a variety of fruit pulps that were tested.  There were eleven fruit pulps tested in total, and acai proved to have the fifth-highest antioxidant potency.  Acai’s antioxidant potency was shown to be approximately equivalent to that of cranberry or black cherry, and it was high than the potencies of orange and apple juice.

 This is enough to convince most of us, but there are some very skeptical people out there who need more proof.

 Other studies have shown that the body’s blood antioxidant capacity increases within a short two hours of consuming acai juice.  That fact, more than any other, is mind-blowing to me.  The fact that acai berry has such an immediate affect on my body’s antioxidant capabilities persuade me to buy in to all of the acai berry hype.

But what’s the big deal about antioxidants, anyway?

Antioxidants attack things call free radicals.  Free radicals come from many different sources including cigarette smoke, pesticides, pollution, and more.  These free radicals attack your body’s cells and can cause severe damage.  Damage caused by free radicals has been associated with arthritis, cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.

By eating and drinking substances that have antioxidant properties, you are helping your body to fight back against free radicals.

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Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis

As I mentioned in an earlier post, ulcerative colitis is a serious disease that can affect the entire colon.  Following are the most common symptoms of this condition:

 

• Rectal bleeding.  You may also experience bloody diarrhea and mucus.  In addition, you may have rectal pain.
• Rectal urgency or diarrhea.  Some ulcerative colitis patients have diarrhea 10-20 times per day.  You may find that the urge to poop wakes you up in the night, too.  This is my personal least favorite symptom.  Talk about having a sore bum!
• Constipation.  We’re going from one extreme to another here, aren’t we?  This symptom is much less common that diarrhea.
• Abdominal pain and/or cramping.  Even physically touching your abdomen may be painful.
• Fever.
• Loss of appetite.
• Anemia.  Some patients develop anemia due to low iron levels caused by intestinal inflammation or bloody stools.
• Weight loss.  Chronic symptoms such as diarrhea can cause weight loss.  While I’m all about losing a few pounds, chronic diarrhea just doesn’t seem the best way to do it.

 

And these are just the most common symptoms that occur with this ghastly disease. 

Ulcerative Colitis: Signs to Watch Out For

If you have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, there are several things that you need to constantly be on the look out for.  If any of the following symptoms appear, immediately call a physician:

• Passing out, lightheadedness, or rapid heart rate
• Fever over 101F and/or shaking chills
• Consistently bloody stools
• Severe pain in the abdomen
• Severe dehydration
• Pus draining from the anal region/swelling and pain in the anal region
• Not passing any gas or stools
• Repeated vomiting

None of the above sounds very fun, but if you have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, it may mean that you disease has gotten much worse.  Be sure to keep in touch with how your body is feeling and don’t ignore it!

Ulcerative Colitis: What You Should Know

Ulcerative colitis doesn’t sound like much fun, and that’s just the way that the words sound.  Once you start researching the condition itself, it becomes more evident that this is not a disease one would wish for.

But what is ulcerative colitis?

Ulcerative colitis is a condition that causes ulcers/sores and inflammation in the lining of the colon, or large intestine.  Most of the time, the disease affects the lower section and rectum, but it does have the capability to affect the entire colon.  The more of your colon that’s affected by ulcerative colitis, the worse the symptoms you’ll experience.

Doctors and specialists don’t know exactly what causes this condition.  It’s possible that the condition is caused by the immune system overreacting to healthy bacteria in the digestive tract.  While stress can make ulcerative colitis worse, it is not the cause of the condition, as some used to think.  Studies have shown that you’re more likely to get the disease if others in your family have it.

Do you know anyone who has been affected by ulcerative colitis?  Share your thoughts here.