Polyps Are Our Friend

Polyps in our colon are our friend. They are there to protect us. The conditions that bring them about are unnatural but they are natural and we can thank nature for them.

Our colon is supposed to be protected by the mucosal lining. When we have antibiotics they kill off this lining and we no longer have anything protecting the tender skin that makes up the colon wall. It is just skin that is no different than the skin on the palm of your hand. This allows the harsh stomach acids and passing food to make direct contact with it. This irritates the tissue and over time will cause damage.

To prevent or minimize this the body will create polyps which are nothing more than extra layers of skin to protect this tissue. A good analogy is if we are shoveling a hole. If we take our gloves off and keep digging we will eventually develop blisters. If we keep digging we will eventually develop calluses on our hands. A polyp is a callus. If we don’t get calluses in our colon what we get is colitis. If we don’t get the proper care (putting the gloves back on) which is replacing the mucosal lining we will get a colon full of calluses / polyps. At that point the polyps will no longer be our friend. We will loose the function of our bowel and if left unattended we will be a higher risk for colon cancer.

How do you prevent all of this? By putting our gloves back on and keeping them on.