Colon cancer has become a genuine concern for many Americans today.  One of the main reasons we see such a huge boost in the popularity of things that propose to cleanse the colon and the digestive system and help “keep things moving” smoothly is that people are very afraid they are clogging up their colons and their intestines with foods that are not beneficial to these lines areas, and causing an eventual abnormal cell growth, especially if chronic constipation is a problem. 

At least that is how I view it.  I always think of a healthy colon and digestive system as one that is never clogged and always moving freely, never alternating between diarrhea and constipation as many with IBS experience, and unfortunately as much of the US population experiences because of a diet high in things that are colon unfriendly like cheese, meats (especially red meat), and refined wheat and starch products.  Herbal colon cleansers can help to wash this kind of stuff out and help to provide a regular cleansing of this vital area, but a healthy diet is the absolute best thing you can do to prevent issues in the first place.

Since colon cancer affects over a million a year and kills over 100,000 a year in the US alone, it’s no wonder researchers are looking for better ways to protect the colon from developing cancerous growth.  We know that unhealthy colons are more likely to develop polyps, which then can become cancerous later in life, depending on a number of factors including diet and lifestyle.  Researchers also know that because of the protective mucous lining of the colon that it is protected from the immune system, which is not such a good thing and may explain it’s susceptability to cancer growth, among other factors.

Researchers had discovered a specific protein in the human intestine, and used it to develop what they are tentatively calling a colon cancer vaccine.  They have so far only done the studies on mice, but the results are very encouraging that this may soon develop into a real vaccination against the life threatening disease.

The mice who were vaccinated were significantly healthier (colon wise) and lived longer than those that were not vaccinated and were infected with colon tumors (I’m a little confused as to how you “infect” a mouse with a tumor, but oh well).  Ugh, animal testing really is cruel, but I guess it’s the only way to further humanity’s search for medications and ways to prolong life and prevent and treat disease, unless we use human guinea pigs.  At any rate, it’s looking like we may have a big find if this translates well into human vaccination against colon cancer.

Remember that a good herbal colon cleansing once in a while can help keep your system free of harmful “gunk”.  Think of it as a fuel injector cleaner in a way (comparing it to a car, yes, I know!), it helps keep the way clear so toxins are free to exit the body and the excess waste can pass freely and not cause problems. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 am and is filed under Medical News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.