know your colon

Know your colon

The food we take in gets broken, digested and all the unwanted products get eliminated. This fantastic system is the digestive system.

In the digestive system we have mouth, food pipe, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. Colon is another name for the large intestine.

So important is the colon system to the body that is formed when the fetes are 3mnths old in the uterus...

The colon is 4 ft. 5 inches in length and 2.5 feet in width.

Ileocecal valve is a small opening at the end of the small intestine which controls the flow of contents from the small intestine to the large intestine. The large intestine begins from here and is divided into 6 parts, on the right side of the body it begins with a climb, so it is called the ascending colon, it then turns horizontal and becomes the transverse colon, from there it becomes the descending colon descending into the sigmoid colon, which is S- shaped hence it is called the sigmoid colon, the Rectum commences here and finally ends in the anus.

This forms the entire sewage system of the body. The food enters the ascending colon in liquid form and its transition to the semisolid form would occur in the transverse colon.

The colon is made of connective tissue, which is motile in the inside and hard outside. This undergoes a contractile movement called the peristalsis which kneads the food. The inner lining of the colon is also rich in micro flora which ferments the digested food. The impulse to defecate occurs when the digested food travels from the sigmoid to the rectum.

Interestingly the food may reach the large intestine in 2hrs after food ingestion but might take nearly 2 days to get expelled. Even if a third of the large intestine were to be excised it would have no impact either on the continence or the quality of the stool.

Since 61% of the nutrient absorption as already occurred here the water soluble nutrients are absorbed. Vitamin K is a major nutrient absorbed in the colon vitamin k is essential for the clotting of blood

The peristaltic movement also pushes the food forward, till it reaches the rectum which can be equated to the refuse storage plant, from where it is expelled out through the anus this expulsion is controlled by the anal-sphincter,

The function of the colon is essentially 3 fold.

• Accepting and store food not accepted by the small intestine.

• Absorbing water and minerals from the small intestine refuse. This absorption of water maintains the electrolyte balance of the body

• To eliminate the solid waste.



This process is assisted by the micro flora of the body. The intestinal micro flora exist in a delicate balance, this balance gets disturbed by irregular, habits and stress resulting constipation, gas and sometimes even Candida infection,

Ayurveda -- an introduction.

September 19-20-21 was a educational weekend at the science center. With the inauguration of Exhibition of Medicinal Plants By Vaidya Choodamani Raghuveer alias Pramod P. Bhide, from Ratnagiri, , Shri Vishwanath Joshi, Director Goa Science Centre, , Shri Arjun Halarnkar, Project Manager, International Centre Goa,
The exercise was to introduce the public to the concepts of Ayurveda and to reach out the people. We also looked at presenting Ayurveda as an career opportunity and give the glimpse of the college to the students. Of 11th and 12th standard.
The sessions commenced on 19th with the key note talk by sri Rajendra Kerkar an environmental educationist. Followed by a birds view of the growth of the Ayurvedic college at Shiroda, presented by Dr.Neelesh Korde.
On 20th was an open house the argumentative Indian made his presence felt, it was an interactive sessions between the various streams of medicine with Vaidya Bhide and Dr.Suraj Kanekar chairing the sessions
Dada vaidya, has the unique privilege of being the only Hindu vaidya who was honored by the Portuguese his statue wascarved at Portugal and place at Ponda for the gentleman in dhoti and non presumptuous herbs had cured the viceroy’s son who was declared incurable by the Portuguese doctors. This historic event was discussed in totality by and goans were made aware of their unique heritage by Dr.Prajal sakhardande and Vaidya Jayant Gosai from Sattara. This event also commemorated dada vaidya’s 150th birth anniversary .A book on Ayurveda and milestone's in it journey was released to commemorate the event.Raj vaidya the grandson on Dada vaidya graced the occasion

future was the focus of 21st we had an career option presentation by the college for 11th and 12th standard students.
Dr.Anura Bhale made the public aware of what was prakriti, what was dosha and what role it played on the people’s health. She also did prakriti pareekshan or examination of those who were interested and counseled them on balancing their food and exercise regime.
The session concluded with the Art of Living practitioners giving their input on Ayurveda and health.
The high lights of the three days, were the presence of the ethnic folk healer Ram Shanker Gavalikar who learnt the art of finding medicinal roots and herbs in the forest and using them for treatment from his mother and grandmother.
Dr.Archana Gaonkar had contributed 3 precious days from clinic to render free consultation for the participants.