That is praise indeed my friend.

In answer to your question the colon basically shuts down during a water-only fast. We should also bear in mind that fasting is a physiological rest and known in early Hygiene as "the rest cure". It is only the organs of elimination (aided by the heart) that work overtime, and the more toxemic a person may be then the harder they work. No or little toxemia means that these organs also take a vacation and in to full healing mode.

With no food going in and little if any food going out, digestion is suspended and where all of its energy (masses of it) goes headlong into cleansing and healing.
Many worry about the probability of autointoxication from the colon/bowels from feces still residing there during the fast, but this is a fallacy born of experience from the early Hygienic professionals.

In my own experience I had congested bowels before my first long fast, and during it my skin cleared, my tongue was almost clean and my breath was sweet, and with the resumption of eating natural foods my bowels emptied completely.

Chrisb1.