The average American becomes familiar with high-fat, high sodium, low nutrient food choices very early on in life. Fast food french fries are top on the list of toddlers favorite foods. Add to that the heavily marketed meals that include toys and colorful bags as well as restaurants that include playgrounds, you will quickly understand why fast food is such a hit with even the youngest consumers! Over the years, sodium, fat, and toxins will build up in the body and before long it will have resulted in several pounds of hardened fecal matter in the colon.

Fortunately, colon cleanses are promising to rid the body of this accumulated waste material and thus the colon cleanse regimen was born. Yet not surprisingly, many Americans are taking a fast food approach to this procedure as well. Rather than changing unhealthy eating patterns or perhaps even going on a diet, the communal sentiment involves the popping of a few laxatives or colon cleanse supplements in the hopes of taking care of the colon's needs. Quite obviously this approach will not offer you the full benefit, and instead may actually cause more harm than good.

To receive the full benefit of a colon cleanse, you will need to follow a seven-step regimen:

1. Purchase a colon-cleanse home kit that includes all the supplementation you need. Make sure that it will provide substances for a replenishing of the gut flora after the cleansing and that the ingredients are certified organic - if you choose a natural cleanse - or no harsh chemicals that will cause an imbalance of electrolytes if you choose to go the other route.

2. Read the instructions completely from start to finish.

3. Generally speaking, the cleansings are three, five or seven day procedures. During that time, you will need to alter your eating patterns. Commit to only eating and drinking that which is permitted.

4. If vegetables are permitted, purchase high quality, fresh, organic veggies and eat them raw whenever possible.

5. If the cleanse calls for broths and soups, prepare them at home following the recipes given. Failure to follow this instruction to the letter will result in your ending up with commercially mixed concoctions that provide your body with more sodium than it needs.

6. Drink a lot of water, but do not overdo it! Those who barely keep up with the recommended eight glasses a day should not suddenly guzzle the liquid by the gallon, since it will adversely affect the kidneys.

7. Last but not least, educate yourself about better food choices and how to keep waste materials from once again accumulating quickly in your colon after the colon cleanse is completed. It is this last step which will truly give you the complete benefit of the entire colon cleansing procedure. Thus, it is by far the second most important step of the entire cleansing regimen!