Colex Colon and Bowel support is a digestive and bowel support food supplement. Colex - A natural food supplement to support a healthy bowel function.
Our gut is considered to be our second brain. The ingestion of fast foods, stressful and busy lifestyles, dehydration and constipation often mean our intestines do not get the attention they deserve! New improved Colex is formulated to help our insides to get us glowing on the outside, in the most gentle way possible. Take a look at how this fabulous formulation can help!
Check List
Digestive Support, including peppermint and ginger
Now contains pre–biotic Inulin
Now contains probiotic - Bifidobacterium
Vegetarian and Vegan
The background of Naturopathic bowel support:
Since early medicine many of the world’s leading naturopaths have been aware of the importance of a full body and colon elimination. Many of the ancient civilisations used to advocate a day of self-denial or fasting. This gave the body an opportunity to reduce the digestive and toxic load on the bowel and therefore on many of the other important body organs.
As many of us are no doubt aware from the high profile media coverage about the EU regulation of herbal supplements in the UK, there are many new stringent herbal regulations that have come into effect over recent months in connection to medicinal herbal products, their claims and overall availability in the UK health food supplement market. This change in EU regulations has given us the welcome opportunity to reformulate our industry renowned Colon Support Formula, into a new, improved, exciting blend of culinary ingredients that have been noted to support a healthly digestive and bowel function.
The new Colex Formula delivers an inspired range of well known natural digestive and bowel support ingredients as listed below.
Colex (per capsule)
Bentonite Clay Powder 300mg
Inulin (Chicorium intybus root) 115mg Providing:100mg Actual Inulin
Peppermint (Mentha piperita leaf) 30mg
Garlic (Allium sativum clove) 15mg
Clove (Eugenia carophyllus fruit) 15mg
Pectin (Citrus sp.peel) 30mg
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare seed) 15mg
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia bark) 15mg
Cardamom (Elettaria cardomomum seed) 15mg
Turmeric (Curcuma longa root) 15mg
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum leaf) 15mg
Burdock (Arctium lappa root) 15mg
Papaya Extract (Carica papaya fruit) 3Omg
Ginger (Zingiber officinalis root) 15mg
Bifidobacterium bifidum & Bifidobacterium lactis Typically 6mg
Providing: 1.25 Billion (1.25 x l09) CFU
BENTONITE CLAY
Bentonite clay, also known as montmorillonite, has been used for many centuries for supporting bowel health. It is high in alkaline minerals such as potassium and calcium, but also possesses a negative ionic charge. This means that when it is hydrated, it is capable of adsorbing and absorbing substances. It is thought that the negative ions adsorb positively charged ions on the surface of toxins and microscopic pathogens, rather like a magnet. It may then able to expel these from the body. Amazingly, it does not adsorb the negatively charged nutrients. It can also absorb substances that have been chemically changed, in this case, acting more like a sponge. It is thought to not only support the colon, but also indirectly providing support for liver detoxification. It also helps with promoting good digestion and the correct environment for the proliferation of beneficial bowel flora. It is important that the body is well hydrated when using larger amounts of Bentonite clay.
INULIN
Inulin, or fructo-oligosaccharide, is a polysaccharide that acts as a soluble fibre, a more gentle substance to help support healthy bowels. It has the added benefit that it acts as a prebiotic, promoting a good environment for beneficial bowel flora, as well as helping the absorption of both ingested calcium and magnesium. As a soluble fibre, it helps support blood sugar levels and blood triglycerides (blood fats) levels. Recent research has shown that it is supportive to the body to optimise the environment for the beneficial gut flora.
PEPPERMINT
Peppermint has long been used as a support for the digestive system and has been the subject of many clinical trials. Menthol (also known as mint camphor) is the active compound of this aromatic plant. It is the menthol that creates the ‘cooling’ sensation, by stimulating the nerve endings that can sense cold. Its action on the smooth muscle of the gut is that it is thought to gate the calcium channels of the muscle cell membranes, which causes the muscles to relax.
GARLIC
The bowel floras in our gut are involved in our body’s immune defence, our ability to synthesise essential B vitamins, vitamin K and allow proper absorption of food. Sometimes, the environment in our gut can be less than favourable for these critical functions to occur at optimal levels. The compound Allicin in garlic is thought to help to support the bowel flora populations.
CLOVE
Extracts of clove are obtained from the Syzygium aromaticum (Eugenia caryophyllus). An active form of compound, Eugenol, is thought to support the proper bowel flora environment. When the environment in the body is not favourable, research has shown that clove oil can help the body support healthy conditions in the gut.
PECTIN
Our new formula contains pectin from citrus peel, but pectin can be found in other fruits too. The old saying ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away’ may be due to the fact that these fruits contain pectin, a soluble fibre that helps maintain healthy bowel eliminations without the potentially aggravating symptoms of insoluble fibre. Considerable research on pectin has found that it supports our natural detoxification processes, with particular emphasis on supporting our elimination processes of heavy metals. It was even used extensively after Chernobyl. For this reason, it may also be supportive of the nervous and immune systems, as well as generally supportive for the cardiovascular system.
FENNEL
This wonderful, soothing plant has often been included in infant drinks to help support their digestion, due to its calming qualities. In addition, it has more far reaching functions in that it also helps support lung, reproductive and renal function.
CINNAMON
This fragrant spice is often used in for culinary purposes, but it has been found in research to have an antioxidant function. It seems that it activates the Nrf2 gene that encode for various antioxidant enzymes, particularly targeted for the epithelial cells of the colon, indicating that it may be particularly supportive in combating oxidative stress and free radical damage in the gut.
CARDAMOM
As well as being known in Ayurvedic medicine for its properties to help digestion, it is also known for its ability to balance the three Doshas: Pitta, Vata and Kapha. It has long been thought that cardamom may also help sweeten the breath and it is little wonder that it is used so much in Asian Cuisine. In addition, cardamom has been described as supporting transit time, amongst other digestive benefits.
TURMERIC
This phytonutrient is rapidly gaining a reputation as a superfood, possessing one of the highest ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) values, making it one of the leading antioxidants. Its active component, curcurmin, not only acts as an antioxidant, it also supports the anti-inflammatory pathways and cellular protection mechanisms. Turmeric is a relative of the ginger family, the Zingiberaceae and was historically known as Indian Saffron in mediaeval Europe. This amazing spice is favoured in Ayurvedic medicine, as a supportive nutrient in the gut. Liver support is also strengthened as it is involved with the antioxidant enzyme, glutathione-S-transferase.
PARSLEY
The sprig on your meal that is often put to one side may possess more nutrients than you imagine! It is often thought to support blood cleansing, but it is also known to contain a chemical known as apigenin, which helps to increase the activity of the detoxification enzymes. Another flavonoid in parsley, luteolin, has been shown to have a high antioxidant activity and parsley extracts have been used in animal studies to increase antioxidant capacity in the blood.
BURDOCK
This lesser known herb is involved in helping the eliminative process of the gut but it also plays a crucial role in supporting the organs of the body that are involved with detoxification and elimination, such as the kidneys, liver and colon.
PAPAYA
When Christopher Columbus first tasted the papaya, he called it the ‘Fruit of the Angels’, and no wonder with its rich succulent taste and buttery texture. It lives up to its name as it is not only high in vitamin C, it also contains the digestive enzyme papain, which supports the digestion of proteins in the body. Its high antioxidant and fibre content means that it has a major role to play in supporting our natural free radical defence systems, particularly with the epithelial cells of the colon.
GINGER
This familiar spicy-sweet rhizome has been revered for hundreds of years by the Chinese and Indian civilisations and was one of the spices used during the plague. . It is often used as a preserve or as a flavouring, even in confectionary, but it is the pungent ingredients, gingerol and shogaol that are the active compounds. Its warming properties are well known to support digestion, by helping in the process of acid regulation and also through the promotion of bile production (Prakash U N S, Srinivastan K, 2011).
BIFIDOBACTERIA
This is a population of probiotics which is found mainly in the large intestine. They are often the first to populate the sterile intestines of the newborn and count for approximately 80% of the microbiota of the gut in the newborn but around 25% in an adult. It is capable of producing acids that may help maintain a healthy immune function and plays a key role in supporting our digestive tract transit time.