We’ve all seen Dr Gillian McKeith on TV telling us that you are what you eat and she gets her patients to kick start their new lives with a colonic but do you actually know anyone who has had Colonic Hydrotherapy?
Confusingly, it has several names and may be variously known as a colonic, colon lavage, colon irrigation or a high colonic. What is important to note though is that this is so much more than an enema. You may have seen those on TV as well with people squatting on the loo over a plastic strainer. Not so with colonics which are estimated to be 40 times more effective than enemas.
Which bit is your colon? It’s the last part of your digestive tract and is about 5 feet long and about 2½ inches in diameter. The last section becomes the rectum and then you have the anus.
So if you are going to the loo every day, do you still need a colonic? Possibly you do, as the colon can hold hardened faecal matter from many years ago long before you started taking care of yourself. This compacted matter narrows the passageway of the bowel in a similar way that limescale narrows central heating pipes. Bearing in mind the colon should have bacteria living there which synthesize valuable nutrients such as vitamins K and some of the vitamin B complex, this simply doesn’t happen when the bowel is clogged up.
Many experts believe that the average person has 5 to 20 pounds of accumulated waste matter in their colon. Whilst it should not be used as a weight loss procedure, it is interesting to note that many people who complete a series of colon hydrotherapy sessions, often report significant weight losses.
Most people have no idea what actually happens when you have a colonic so hear is a potted guide;
After a case history has been taken, you go into your own changing room which has a toilet and shower just for you. Change into a hospital gown and then come on out and lie on the couch on your left hand side. A digital rectal check is needed and takes a few seconds and then the disposable speculum is inserted which is lubricated and about the size of your thumb. You are sure to have passed bigger jobbies than that and it only goes in a couple of inches and stays there.
Then the water is allowed in which has been filtered and warmed. It’s a strange feeling but not unpleasant at all having warm water sloshing around in your guts. The colonic treatment itself exercises and tones the bowel which helps with the evacuation of waste both during and after treatment. The toxic load on the body is reduced.
It’s amazing what a colonic can shift. Obviously poo but especially that poo which has been in the colon for some time, dead cellular tissue, accumulated mucous, parasites, worms, as well bacteria that give of noxious gas. All of this material is quite toxic (poisonous). These poisons can re-enter and circulate in the blood stream making us feel ill, tired or weak.
Secondly, impacted materials impair the colon’s ability to assimilate minerals and bacteria- produced vitamins. Finally, a build-up of material on the colon wall can inhibit muscular action causing sluggish bowel movements, constipation, and the result of these disorders. Common signs include; headaches, backaches, constipation, fatigue, bad breath, body odour, irritability, confusion, skin problems, abdominal gas, bloating, diarrhoea, sciatic pain, and so forth.
As you can see, intestinal toxicity is part and parcel of many peoples everyday experience. Bear in mind that toxicity is not limited to just the colon. Toxic material is found throughout the body, particularly in fat tissue, joints, arteries, muscles, liver, etc. Colonics effectively eliminate large quantities of toxic waste, affecting the condition of the entire body.
After the colonic has finished, go back to the changing room and sit on the loo for a fewmoments and then shower if you want to and get changed.
A short chat afterwards gives you specific follow up advice and you may be given some probiotics to help the bowel establish a beneficial blend of bacteria more quickly and then you can carry on with daily routine. For some, the colonic may trigger several subsequent bowel movements for the next few hours, but there won’t be any uncontrollable urgency or discomfort. It’s also possible you may feel light-headed or chilled for a while following a colonic.
5 things you didn’t know about colonics
- the earliest records of colonics go back to 1500BC in an Egyptian medical papyrus
- early colonics used a hollow reed strategically placed whilst standing in a river
- there are more bacteria present in the colon than there are cells that make up our own body
- when he was embalmed, Henry VIII’s bowel weighed over 15 stone
- after a colonic the liver starts to detox as well
In the UK;
- an estimated 20,000 new cases of colon and rectal cancer will be diagnosed each year
- many million’s of pounds will be spent on laxatives annually
- based on the statistics, colon health care in the UK has been woefully neglected
- colon cancer is believed to be the second leading cancer killer second only to lung cancer in men and breast cancer in women 20% of the UK population suffer from IBS symptoms at some time during their lives, and 5% are chronic sufferers
4 good reasons to have a colonic
- toxic material is broken down so it can no longer harm your body or inhibit assimilation and elimination. Even debris built up over a long period is gently, but surely removed in the process of a series of treatments. Once impacted material is removed, your colon can begin again to co-operate as it was intended to. In this very real sense a colonic is a rejuvenation treatment.
- it exercises the Colon Muscles: The build up of toxic debris weakens the colon and impairs its functioning. The gentle filling and emptying of the colon improves peristaltic (muscular contraction) activity by which the colon naturally moves material.
- it Reshapes the Colon: When problem conditions exist in the colon, they tend to alter its shape which in turn causes more problems. The gentle action of the water, coupled with the massage techniques of the colon therapist helps to eliminate bulging pockets of waste and narrowed, spastic constrictions finally enabling the colon to resume its natural state.
- it Stimulates Reflex Points: Every system and organ of the body is connected to the colon by reflex points. A colonic stimulates these points, thereby affecting the corresponding body parts in a beneficial way.
Copyright Mike Harmon from Skinbuddy™ 2007
copyright Skinbuddy™/Mike Harmon 2006
