Colon cleansing is not something which is like rocket science. In fact, its roots can be traced back 4000 years to the Egyptian civilization when colon was thought to be the cause of all ailments. The idea was pretty much in vogue even during Restoration England. There has been a renewed interest in colon cleansing in the recent years. This is because of the sharp increase in colon-recto cancers, especially in the US and other related ailments. Colon cleansing is supposedly performed to keep the colon completely free of any toxic substances. It is also ensured that the colon retains its proper shape and size and can function at its optimal levels.

Ilya Metchnikoff, won the Nobel Prize for medicine in the early years of the 20th century. A highly respected scientist of his day he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work with white blood cells and conclusion that they help in fighting infections inside our body. As he started to grow old a new topic entered his mind. how to prolong one's life. He found a community of people who lived in the mountains of Hungary to live to an extremely old age. He knew that these people had yogurt in their regular diet. Somehow he came to the conclusion that lactobacilli, the bacteria present in the yogurt actually fights against the harmful bacteria inside their intestine and thus helps them to live longer. In others who don't have yogurt regularly the harmful bacteria can thrive and produce toxins which shorten our lives.

John Harvey Kellogg's of the cornflakes fame in his treatments at the Sanitorium in Battle Creek, Michigan used the colon cleansing as an important instrument to cure the Roosevelts, Fords, Chryslers, Rockefellers and other distinguished people of the early 20th century.

However, science today nullifies such claims. What medicinal practitioners do accept is that an unhealthy colon can be a cause of certain ailments but in no way it is responsible for all ailments. They also argue that a clean colon cannot ensure that you will live long. The community Metchnikoff had based his theory on looked much older than they actually were. And they were not people who lived considerably longer than any other community on the face of the earth.