Civilization and the Colon

By e.rhodes19
  • 1600 BCE

    Egyptian Pharmaceutical Papyrus

    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.

  • Louis XV's Physician's Discovery

    The physician of Louis XV warned that disease was caused by blood turning feculent by contamination of waste in the intestines.

  • Constipation

    Medical professionals at this time agreed that constipation was the "foremost disease of civilization".

  • Daily Evacuation

    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.

  • Modern Germ Theory of Disease

    The first application of this was the introduction of antisepsis into surgery by Joseph Lister. This further confirmed the germ theory of disease.

  • Intestinal Flora

    Bacteriologists realized that intestinal flora broke down protein residues in feces into several compounds that showed toxicity when injected into animals.

  • Autointoxication

    Medical scientists formulated the theory of autointoxication, which is the idea of the body poisoning itself with its own wastes.

  • Autointoxication Continued

    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.

  • Era of Autointoxication Ends

    Experimental studies coming out in 1910's casted doubt on autointoxication, and it slowly faded from professional acceptance after the 1920's.

  • Autointoxication Products

    Bowel Cleaners and anticonstipation food, drugs and devices were sweeping consumerism to try and cure autointoxication.

  • Retrospective Health

    Lane claimed that colon cancer was rare in pre-industrial people because their bowels moved more frequently due to their diet of whole grains.

  • Dietary Fiber

    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.