Illustration 6: Inflamed and Burst AppendixThe whole digestive and eliminative process—from the ingestion of food to the bowel movement—
should ideally take approximately 20-24 hours, depending on the types of food eaten and also on the time
of day when the food was consumed. (See the following chapters for details.) However, in the majority of
the population, the passage of food through the large intestine alone takes 25 hours or more. This
condition is called constipation. I have had numerous patients who reported having a bowel movement
only once every 2-5 days. In extreme cases, there was only 1 movement per week or 10 days. On the other
hand, many people have bowel movements 3-4 times per day, and in some extreme cases, there may be up
to 16 loose evacuations; these individuals cannot keep food in the body longer than 3 to 12 hours. Since
most of the ingested food is not digested properly, it decomposes through the help of destructive bacteria.
This is so irritating to the intestinal wall, that the body discharges it as fast and as often as possible.
Consequently, waste eliminations are far too excessive and frequent.
Having regular bowel movements once or twice a day by itself does not necessarily indicate good
digestion either. It's the quality of the eliminated waste that counts. The following are descriptions of the
main problems that arise from poor digestion and inadequate elimination.
Internal Pollution.
Most intestinal problems occur because of eating harmful foods. The following foods or cooking
processes have strongly irritating effects on the protective mucus lining present throughout the alimentary
canal, from the mouth to the anus: devitalized, processed, radiated, refined, deep-frying, microwave-
cooked and canned foods. Highly acid-forming foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, refined
sugar, table salt, chocolate, candy, commercial fruit juices, coffee, alcohol, carbonated beverages and oral
hallucinogenic and pharmaceutical drugs also irritate the intestinal lining. Since the body has no real
interest in or capacity to digest and utilize something that is potentially harmful to the blood and cells,
many of these products undergo biochemical transformations, known as fermentation and putrefaction.
The colon alone can be home to over 700 different species of bacteria that normally help with proper