THE COLON

The colon the last part of the digestive system. The colon is approximately six feet long and moves waste from the small intestine to the rectum.

After you take a bite of that juicy hamburger, it travels down the esophagus to the stomach. The food is broken down and stored, after which it is slowly released into the small intestine. The function of the small intestine is to absorbs nutrients. After it takes what it wants, and the rest of the food is pushed on through to the colon, also known as the large intestine, for further processing.

The colon’s job is to absorb salt, water, and harmful materials form the now sludgy substance before passing it on through to the rectum.

You can tell how waste sits in your colon by how often you have a bowel movement. The often you go, the faster your colon processes the sludgy waste. By the time the sludge arrives in the colon, 90% of the water has been absorbed by the body. Most of the remaining liquid is removed by the colon before it arrives at the rectum.

As the sludge moves through the colon, mucus and bacteria are thrown into the mix, turning it into feces, which moves through the rectum and out through the anus.

The digestive system is one of the major systems of the body and its malfunctioning might lead to fatal consequences, especially if the colon, a digestive system organ where the last processes of digestion is being done, is not functioning well. This is because it is the site where absorption of the nutrients that we get from the food that we ingest happens, along with the elimination of the toxins that would be harmful to our body if they are not eliminated in a timely manner.

The colon is the one of the major organs of the body because, along with the kidneys, it is where toxic materials are eliminated by the body. They should, therefore, be taken cared of at all times to be able to prevent diseases of the colon to set in. People who are prone to colon diseases are the following:

1. Adults 50 years of age and above.
2. People who have a history of cancer in the family.
3. People who have a history of colon disorders.
4. People who live a sedentary lifestyle.
5. People who do not eat a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in fiber.
6. People who indulge in vices like alcohol and tobacco.

Here are some of the symptoms of colon disease that you should watch out for:

1. Blood (bright red or dark red) found in or on the stool
2. Sudden change in the bowel movement habit
3. Constipation
4. Diarrhea
5. A feeling that you haven’t eliminated all the stools that you need to eliminate
6. Acne
7. Obstruction of stools
8. Black and tarry stools
9. Change in the consistency and the quality of stools
10. Mucus-covered stools

Among the most common colonic diseases are the following:

1. Colon cancer
2. Colon Polyps
3. Crohn’s Disease
4. Ulcerative Colitis
5. Diverticular Disease of the Colon

Among all the colon diseases enumerated above, colon cancer is considered as the most life-threatening, being the 3^rd leading cause of deaths due to cancer in the United States. An early detection of this would be able to greatly help cure the patient, however, if the cancer is discovered at its later stages, there is a really big chance that it would lead to a fatality. To be able to prevent having colon cancer, you should go through colon cancer screening procedures every 10 years as recommended by the American Cancer Society (ACS).