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Completely Clean? I don’t think so.
The most commonly asked question I get when interviewing new clients is “how many treatments” and immediately afterwards “so one doesn’t clean you out?”
The answer to this question is in fact quite a complex one and all depend of what you are trying to achieve by receiving colonic treatments in the first place.
Let’s take it back a step and remind ourselves of the purpose of Colonic Hydrotherapy.
- To decrease an overload of toxicity
The process of colonic hydrotherapy removes both excess waste and toxic gases as well as softening stools so that they are more easily moved. While the removal of wastes and toxins is beneficial, the real long term benefit comes with the next point, which is getting the colon to do this by itself.
- To re-educate the large intestine
This is done using the body’s natural reflexes by gentle expanding the colon and putting slight pressure on the walls of the colon, once it reaches a certain point the colon will contract in an attempt to expel the water. The genius of the colon is that once it contracts in one area, the other areas will follow suite and start to push the waste towards the anus.
It has the added benefit of reshaping and exercising the colon and certainly after a couple of treatments, the colon becomes stronger and the peristalsis is more noticeable to both client and therapist.
If cleaning the colon was our only purpose when doing a colonic, then no we would probably not be able to clean you out in one go, but realize that if this is your only criteria, then perhaps you are missing the real magic of colon therapy, and that is that our ultimate aim is to get the colon to clean itself.
Unless you are fasting and not putting anything new into your system for at least 12 hours before you treatment, you will probably fill up quite quickly, but if we can clear the “backlog” and stimulate your colon to keep working, you will most likely have a good chance of getting things back on track.
Misconceptions
Yesterday I was interviewed by Iva Blummethal on ChaiFm 101.9 radio in Johannesburg about Colon Hydrotherapy – what an awesome experience thanks to all that arranged it.
It brought to mind some of the common misconceptions regarding colonics and so I thought I would write about those today.
1. That by doing a colonic, we are trying to “wash the colon out”.
While we do use water to perform a colonic, the use of the water is mainly to provide stimulation – but the water does provide a useful medium to carry the waste away. The pressure that the water exerts on the colon, causes the colon to contract and this allows the waste to be expelled – although it may seem like we are trying to wash the colon, this could not be further from the truth. Clients often get concerned when the colon does not allow a lot of water in, but in reality it does not matter how far it goes into the colon, only that the colon is contracting and expelling the waste.
2. The difference between a colonic and an enema
Colonic differ vastly from their distant cousin, the enema, in that an enema really will only clean out the lower third of the colon. Whereas with a colonic it is possible to cleanse the entire colon from caecum to rectum.
3. The term “Colon Irrigation” is probably not a good one.
Colon Irrigation was the original term used to describe professional colonics, however it has left a legacy which is not entirely becoming to colonics. I feel that the term implies somehow to the general public that there is huge pressure and a hose pipe involved – this is definitely not the case. The majority of colonics are performed under very gentle pressure, nothing more than 2 psi. There is no hosepipe, rather we use a specially designed instrument called a speculum which channels the water in and out of the colon. There is also not vacuum suction involved, the water simply flows out at the same rate of pressure that the water is being put in is under.
4. Colon therapy is not considered a medical procedure
Colonics are not considered a medical procedure, because they are generally not performed under the guidance of a medical professional. Colon therapists are not trained to made any form of diagnosis, but rather to train and educate their clientele as to imbalances and dietary factors in their conditions. Some therapist act merely as “colon hygienists” in that they only perform colonics and offer no further advice or training, but most therapists have a background in nutrition and or other natural therapies and therefore offer nutritional counseling as part of their service.
In South Africa, colon therapy is not claimable from medical aids (medical insurance). Many people are confused by this, but in reality because there is no allopathic connection to the therapy and therefore claiming the costs from a medical aid is not possible.
The Dangers of Consuming “Diet” Cooldrinks
I have long believed that “diet” drink containing chemical sweetners like aspartame are dangerous – but only because of their chemcial components and their ability to cause metabolic changes and their potential carcinogenic properties.
The truth is, is that if you are trying to lose weight consuming these beverages is a clear way to stop your progress. In simple terms when consuming an artifically sweetened drink the taste buds signal the brain that there is a lot of calories coming in, the body will in turn release a large amount of insulin to deal with the incoming calories. I wonder if this explains the huge increase in diabetes and insulin resistance?
It is also clear that once the body realises that the calories are not forthcoming, that the metabolic process is slowed causing you to store more calories because of the high amount of insulin available in the blood.
Good reading http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183902.htm
B
The Difference between Colema Boards and Professional Colonics . . .
I get asked this question with regularity and so I thought I would just put it out there as to what the big differences are.
Professional colonics differ quite a lot from colemas. Of course firstly they are done by a therapist – this has various benefits. A therapist who is experienced in doing colonics will know exactly how to get you to release optimally as well as what to do if something should go wrong. The major difference is the way in which the waste is expelled. With a professional colonic, the waste is channelled out through a speculum and tube, with a colema the waste is forced out around the rectal tube which is inserted into the rectum. The most obvious difference is that with a professional colonic, there is no mess or smell – with a colema there is significant mess and smell. The other difference is that because the waste is being forced out around the rectal tube (open system), there is significant strain on the rectal area and therefore can encourage the formation of haemorrhoids, also because there is not a “clear channel” for the waste to be expelled colemas can be significantly more crampy and uncomfortable than a professional colonic, because of this the user tends to cut the session short. In terms of length of treatment, a colema’s bucket generally holds a certain amount of water and when the water is finished, the treatment would be over, a professional colonic length is determined by how much waste is still being released. On the 7 day cleanse, you would need to perform 2 colemas a day to achieve a similar result. Of course there is also the hygiene issue, in my opinion a colema board could never be clean enough to reuse! Unless you are changing the rectal tube and tubing every time for new ones, these items become a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty bacteria.
Insulin and Colon Health
Insulin Resistance is a common term these days, many of us know of someone or have ourselves been diagnosed with this condition.
Is it reversable? Well I guess that the answer to that question depends on who you are asking. The medical community would say that there is no proven cause of Insulin Restistance and therefore no rememdy. Members of the natural health and nutrition persuasion would beg to differ and do believe that with correct diet, insulin resistance can be reversed.
What we do know, is that insulin resistance develops over a period of time, with the pancreas releasing too much insulin and the cells eventually becoming immune to it’s effects. Over a long period of time and untreated, insulin resistance can lead to diabetes (type 2).
A recent study http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jun/24/low-calorie-diet-hope-cure-diabetes, cited by the guardian in the UK, showed that out of a study of 11 participants, when put on an extreme “fasting” type diet, slashing their calorie intake by 600 calories a day, 7 of the 11′s insulin levels were normal at the end of the diet and one of which was still normal 18 months later.
It makes a lot of sense to me really, I have seen in my own practice, when we do the 7 day Cleanse with clients, that the abdominal “waistband” whether they were diagnosed IR or not, just disappears. Doesn’t it make sense that if you give the cells that are insulin resistant a break from all the insulin, that they would return to normal?
It is also quite bizarre to me that there has never been a direct medical study of the link between constipation and IR. Over the years, I have learned to spot insulin resistance in the colour of a person’s stools. From being told that a client is IR, I learned to recognise IR in others, and 9 of 10 times I am right. Funny thing is though, when you clear the colon and the bowel starts to function again, the IR seems to disappear too.
Undoubtedly there is a link between IR and constipation, whether one is the cause of another of not. Colonics seems to really assist with it – and fasting as has now been clinically proven, may very well be the answer to the Diabetes (2) question.
Back to Normal
I am pleased to announce that things on the plumbing side have settled and that we are once again up and running as normal!
Teething issues
It has been a most difficult week for me. We moved quite happily into our new premises over the last week and were settling in just fine when our new plumbing began giving us a whole myriad of issues. Water too hot and then too cold, then nothing at all.
So since Tuesday, we have been effectively out of action. It is taking a great toll on me personally and of course making me question every decision that I made in regard to this move!
Anyway, I guess that tomorrow will be another day and I will have to just take it one day at a time until we are up and running again.
Have a great day all – and spare us a thought over this difficult period.
Moving on . . .
So Nicole, Louise and I packed up our colon centre in Parktown North this week and are busy unpacking everything in Northcliff.
It is exciting, having more rooms to work in and a beautiful environment to be in, but a little stressful too!
Dealing with our plumber has been interesting to say the least and up until yesterday, he had still not finished, leaving us with nowhere to work for the moment.
I am sure all of you will love our new facilities and of course we will still offer the same awesome service that we always have.
Look forward to seeing you all there!
