Castor oil has many benefits. It is used in its pure form, added to lotions and moisturizers, and even taken orally. Together with your doctor, we’ll figure out why it’s useful and how it works.
Castor oil is one of the most popular and valuable vegetable oils. The ancient Egyptians began using it as a laxative and to induce labor. Today, castor oil is included in many cosmetic products: from mascara and hair care products to scrubs. In addition, you can add it to your favorite cream or make a homemade mask from it. A nice bonus: this universal beauty product is sold in almost every pharmacy.
Can castor oil be taken internally?
Only castor oil capsules are taken internally. The protective shell of the capsule disintegrates in the duodenum, exposed to pancreatic enzymes. Thanks to this, the gastric mucosa is not irritated by contact with the contents.
The broken capsule shell releases the contents in the intestines, which provokes irritation of the villi and intestinal walls along its entire length. This leads to a reflex increase in peristalsis, due to which feces move more actively towards the anus, simultaneously softening the intestinal muscles.
Application options
The castor product is a fatty composition characterized by thickness and viscosity. Since it has a disgusting smell and taste, its use cannot be called a pleasant procedure. For this reason, castor oil is often mixed with other ingredients.
With lemon
Lemon juice helps dissolve the accumulation of toxic elements in the intestines, and thanks to castor oil they will leave the body naturally. In addition, the acid will help reduce discomfort - nausea and abdominal pain.
The most favorable time for consuming the composition is between 16:00 and 19:00. As a rule, the dosage is calculated on an individual basis. For this purpose, you must first weigh yourself; one drop of the product should correspond to one kilogram of body weight.
The procedure is carried out in several stages:
- In a water bath, the calculated amount of oil is heated to room temperature.
- Castor oil is combined with lemon juice in a 2:1 ratio, mixed, and then drunk in small portions. An alternative would be to use these two components separately: castor oil first, followed by lemon juice.
- To prevent severe nausea, it is recommended to eat a few slices of citrus fruits or some raisins.
During this type of cleansing, you should not consume any food or drink until you feel the need to defecate. This usually happens after two or three hours.
The duration of this course will be two months, and the drug must be taken once a week.
With cognac
Cleansing the intestines with cognac and castor oil is well suited for people who want to rid the body of parasites. This kind of event is best done before bedtime, since helminths become more active at night.
In this case, you must strictly follow the instructions:
- At 19:00 you need to have dinner with a small amount of boiled rice or a handful of raisins.
- At 21:00 you should brew one teaspoon of green tea in 100 ml of boiling water. The drink should be allowed to sit for five minutes, and then four teaspoons of sugar should be added to it.
- Drink the prepared sweet green tea at once.
- After a few minutes, take 50 ml of undiluted cognac.
- After twenty minutes, drink 50 ml of castor oil, previously brought to a temperature of 36-38 degrees.
- Walk for ten minutes and go to bed.
By morning, bowel cleansing begins, which is often accompanied by the urge to vomit and dizziness. Their reason is the rapid destruction of parasites.
It is recommended to repeat the procedure over the next five days. To speed up the cleansing process and reduce discomfort, you need to consume oatmeal broth and juices all this time.
With kefir and bran
The combination of castor oil with a fermented milk product is ideal for people suffering from constipation and dysbacteriosis. To normalize digestion, bran is added to the composition.
The cleansing procedure should follow the following scheme:
- One teaspoon of slightly heated oil is mixed with one tablespoon of low-fat kefir and bran in the same quantity, crushed to a powder.
- The resulting product is consumed on an empty stomach in the morning.
- To prevent nausea, the composition is washed down with water containing a small amount of lemon juice.
A recipe with kefir and bran helps restore normal intestinal microflora and eliminates constipation.
With linseed oil
An excellent result will be achieved by combining castor oil with linseed oil, the latter of which has a number of healing properties. This composition will help restore damaged tissue, has a softening effect and is anti-inflammatory.
The process consists of several stages:
- Both components are mixed thoroughly in the same quantity (one teaspoon each).
- The resulting mixture is combined with 200 ml of water at room temperature.
- Everything is carefully mixed and drunk on an empty stomach in one gulp.
Drinking such a drink in a short time will relieve the accumulation of feces and normalize carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
Where to apply castor oil
I use the product to treat calluses. The oil effectively softens the skin, so it can be applied to rough calluses to soften the rough areas of the foot. After applying the oil, your feet should be wrapped in warmth - for example, put on cotton socks.
The same effect is observed when used on the face. The oil makes the skin more elastic, reducing the intensity of wrinkle formation. When lubricating the space between eyelashes, the oil penetrates to the bulbs, where it acts as a growth activator. It wakes up sleeping bulbs. Long-term use of the oil at night can make eyelashes appear thicker.
Side effects
This composition should not be used too often, as a large amount of it reduces motor skills. As a result, the intestines will not be able to empty themselves.
In addition, there is a risk of developing enterocolitis, expressed in inflammation of the large and small intestines, so you should cleanse no more than once a month and strictly adhere to the recommended dosage. Castor oil should not be used only for weight loss, since weight loss in this case is due only to dehydration and completely emptying the intestines.
When does castor oil start to work?
When taken orally, the capsule substance is released in the duodenum. With different congestion of the gastrointestinal tract, and depending on the individual activity of the pancreas, destruction of the capsule may occur 15-30 minutes after administration. And the laxative effect is achieved much later - within 5-6 hours. This time is required for the oil to activate the intestinal muscles along its entire length. This means that until the oil itself reaches the end of the intestine, the laxative effect will not appear.
Cleansing before examination
The diagnostic examination, which is carried out through the rectal insertion of a special probe, is called colonoscopy. This procedure helps to assess the condition of the intestines and identify all existing pathologies.
Now there are several effective drugs that help quickly cleanse the intestines of feces on the eve of the examination. However, it is worth noting that these remedies are less productive in comparison with castor oil.
Cleansing is done by applying the oil internally in combination with an enema:
- On the day before the colonoscopy, take two tablespoons of castor oil, best done closer to 15:00. You can mix the oil with 100 g of kefir. The composition must be drunk in one gulp.
- After defecation, you need to give two enemas, the volume of each should be 1.5 liters.
- After a while, at approximately 20:00 in the evening, another enema is given, and an hour later the manipulation is repeated again.
- In the morning it is necessary to give two more enemas - at 8:00 and at 9:00, and conduct an examination on the same day.
This method of cleansing is the most effective.
Can children drink castor oil?
If a child has stool retention, the reason should be found out. Castor oil will be a safe solution to the problem if difficult bowel movements are associated with poor diet:
- low consumption of fiber (fruits and vegetables);
- insufficient amount of fluid to drink;
- abuse of flour products.
In all other cases associated with intestinal obstruction, impaired blood supply to the rectum, and abrasion of the villi due to celiac disease (gluten intolerance), a doctor’s consultation is needed and treatment is prescribed, which often becomes inevitable surgical intervention.
For rare episodes of difficult bowel movements caused by poor nutrition, the following dosage in children is acceptable:
- 4-5 years old – one capsule orally with meals;
- 6-7 years old – two capsules with meals;
- over 8 years old - two capsules with one meal and another capsule with the next.
If there is no expected effect within 24 hours, you should contact a gastroenterologist.
Instructions
Before cleansing, you should get your doctor's approval.
There are many different recipes using castor oil that help cleanse the gastrointestinal tract. In addition to using it in its pure form, you can combine it with a number of products.
Preparation
It is recommended to start preparing for the cleaning process a week in advance, at least three or four days in advance. For this purpose, it is advisable to choose weekends so that you can rest on the second day. This extra day is required because the method used will require significant physical effort and patience.
Preparation is carried out in several stages:
- All week you need to stick to light food; preference should be given to fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as juices squeezed from them. In addition, it is allowed to consume fermented milk products and cereals.
- For one or two days you should engage in therapeutic fasting.
- If possible, it is recommended to start drinking cedar and almond oil some time before cleaning. They should be consumed one teaspoon several times a day, without mixing with each other.
- On the eve of the cleansing process, you must weigh yourself and adhere to the dosage of the composition in a 1:1 ratio (grams of oil per kilograms of weight).
- On the day of the procedure, it is not recommended to eat at all; in case of urgent need, a small amount of oatmeal may be an exception.
- Before use, castor oil needs to be slightly warmed to reduce its viscosity. To do this, place the container with the composition in hot water.
Method of use
There are simple instructions for using the castor product.
You can start the procedure at any convenient time (morning or evening), but always on an empty stomach. If you drink the oil in the morning, then you can eat food no earlier than two hours later.
It is recommended to eat light food for two days. Due to the ability of castor oil to remove water from the body along with toxins, it is necessary to replenish it by increasing drinking.
If the composition is consumed in the evening, it will no longer be possible to eat afterwards.
All actions related to cleansing must be carried out for at least three days. It is not allowed to increase the dose of castor remedy on your own; this can lead to poisoning. This type of cleansing should not be carried out more than three times a month.
It is best to drink castor oil in one gulp, so there will be no nausea. Then you need to immediately wash it down with lemon juice. If you feel like vomiting, you should eat a small amount of raisins, chewing them well.
Dosage
There are two dosage options for castor:
- Designed for an adult, it is recommended to take 30 ml (approximately 2 tablespoons) of this composition within thirty minutes.
- It suggests that the amount of castor oil consumed should be in a ratio of 10:10 to weight (ten milliliters per ten kilograms of weight).
Most materials on this topic advise using the second option, but the first is considered more popular. This is explained by the absence of the need to consume more than 30 ml of castor oil per dose, because it has an unpleasant taste and smell that causes a gag reflex.
Usually, in order to cleanse the intestines, it is recommended to take the oil internally, however, in some cases it can be used for an enema. Castor oil is also used in combination with other ingredients to enhance the desired effect.
How to choose the right castor oil
Some people who are keen on traditional medicine advise using unrefined castor oil for cleansing. This is explained by the fact that the glycerin contained in the pharmacy analogue creates an obstacle to complete cleansing. However, practice shows that it is quite difficult to find unrefined oil in stores, and purchasing castor oil from suspicious sellers at a high cost is not the best option.
It is recommended to ask for this product at the pharmacy, thus eliminating the possibility of encountering a counterfeit, and the price of the product in this case will be quite insignificant.
For cleansing, you need to use only cold-pressed oil, that is, one that does not contain glycerin.
Today, manufacturers offer this composition in the form of capsules, thanks to which you can avoid unpleasant sensations due to its specific taste.
