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The oldest book in existence is an Egyptian Pharmaceutical Papyrus. It offers a basic explanation of disease caused by material released from waste in the intestines.
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The physician of Louis XV warned that disease was caused by blood turning feculent by contamination of waste in the intestines.
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Medical professionals at this time agreed that constipation was the "foremost disease of civilization".
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A popular American health manual warned that daily evacuation of the bowels is very important to stay healthy. Without it, they claimed, that the entire system will become corrupted.
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The first application of this was the introduction of antisepsis into surgery by Joseph Lister. This further confirmed the germ theory of disease.
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Bacteriologists realized that intestinal flora broke down protein residues in feces into several compounds that showed toxicity when injected into animals.
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Medical scientists formulated the theory of autointoxication, which is the idea of the body poisoning itself with its own wastes.
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Autointoxication continued to be regarded by the medical profession as the most "insidious disease" because in its idea it was the cause of all diseases.
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Experimental studies coming out in 1910's casted doubt on autointoxication, and it slowly faded from professional acceptance after the 1920's.
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Bowel Cleaners and anticonstipation food, drugs and devices were sweeping consumerism to try and cure autointoxication.
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Lane claimed that colon cancer was rare in pre-industrial people because their bowels moved more frequently due to their diet of whole grains.
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Denis Burkitt, an English surgeon, looked at Sir Robert McCarrison's reports and concluded that if Westerners consumed more dietary fiber it would ward off colon cancer and other ailments.