In the diagram of the colon, please locate the cecum, the appendix and the ileocecal valve. The left side of the diagram corresponds to the right side of the body.

 

The cecum is a small pouch where the colon begins, in the lower right section of the abdomen. Wastes from the small intestine flow into the cecum through the ileocecal valve (theoretically a one-way valve.) The appendix is a narrow tube attached to the cecum, with a channel opening into the cecum.

 

When this channel becomes blocked with hardened faecal matter, the appendix becomes infected and inflamed – a condition called “appendicitis”. Immediate surgery is the only way to prevent a fatality.

 

To understand why this blockage occurs, we need to see how the colon functions. Wastes enter the cecum in a liquid state and gradually solidify as they move towards the rectum. This change from liquid to solid means that water is continuously being extracted. The colon can be compared to a “giant dryer.”

 

The cecum should only contain liquids and should be squeezed empty each day. Otherwise, the continual drying process can quickly harden and trap the wastes, blocking the appendix. This happens frequently in westernized countries because, in the sitting position, it is physically impossible to compress the cecum.

 

The modern commode forces one to hold his breath and push downwards. But the exit from the cecum is upwards into the ascending colon. Pushing in the wrong direction creates pressure without movement. Wastes are often forced into the appendix, where they can harden, causing the appendix to suffocate and die.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­By contrast, in the squatting posture, the right thigh squeezes the cecum from its base. Its contents are pushed up into the ascending colon, where peristalsis carries them away. There is no need to hold one’s breath or push downwards, since the posture generates the pressure automatically.

The force is all directed upwards, so the ileocecal valve is not compromised and the appendix remains clean. These organs were not “poorly designed” – as is currently taught in medical schools. Like the rest of the colon, they were designed with squatting in mind.

 

 

Appendicitis was unknown before sitting toilets were introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1886, Reginald Heber Fitz, a Harvard Professor of Pathological Anatomy, became the first doctor to recognize and name the disease.

 

It was not until the turn of the century that the British medical establishment finally accepted the novel appendectomy procedure. In 1901, the Price of Wales, Albert Edward, underwent an emergency appendectomy, just two weeks before his scheduled coronation as King Edward VII. His successful recovery convinced the surgeons of Great Britain to use this procedure on the growing numbers of victims of this “mysterious” new disease.

 

Currently seven percent of the U.S. population will contract appendicitis at some point in their lifetime (according to www.emedicine.com). The figure would be even higher, except that 40,000 “incidental appendectomies” are performed each year (according to Harper’s Index, Feb, 2002.) “Incidental” means there was nothing wrong with the appendix, but the surgeon happened to be operating on another organ nearby – in most cases performing a hysterectomy.

 

Appendicitis is the most common reason for a child to need emergency abdominal surgery. Young people between the ages of 11 and 20 are most often affected (according to www.KidsHealth.org).

 

Modern medicine recognizes that appendicitis is primarily a disease of the Western World. They attribute this to the greater amount of fibre in the diet of the Third World. Here is an example from the journal, Annals of Emergency Medicine:

 

Societies with high fibre intake (e.g., Asia, India and Africa) have less than one tenth the incidence of appendicitis compared with locations where fibre intake is lower (e.g., Europe, North America). African immigrants who adopt American diets have a correspondingly increased risk of appendicitis.

 

However, the fibre theory has never been substantiated, as evidenced by this quote from www.KidsHealth.org:

 

 

Regardless of the amount of fibre in the diet, the cecum cannot be fully evacuated in the sitting posture. Many residents of the Third World, not wanting to appear “backward”, feel obliged to adopt Western toilets. This trend is causing health problems that were previously unknown among squatting populations.

 

Appendicitis is one example, as reported by www.webhealthcentre.com, a health care portal based in India: