A colonic is a method of washing out the large bowel with water. Also known as colonic irrigation or colon hydrotherapy, it is somewhat like a high powered enema. This colonic therapy is used for a purported colonic dysbacteriosis…or a bacterial imbalance or in cases of constipation. It is not as effective as claimed to be.
Colonic curiosity is interesting as far as I’m concerned. I get calls all the time in my office from people looking for colonic irrigation or colonic hydrotherapy. I tell them where to go if they insist, but I always ask why they would like to go for this colon therapy.
There are usually two answers that I hear about their need for a colonic. The first is that it was recommended by a friend or another doctor who didn’t really know what to do about Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The other answer is that they had seen some information on the web or read a book about all the terrible creatures living inside them and the fecal matter that hangs on the walls of the intestines that can’t possibly get out any other way than colonic irrigation. They have determined that this must be the cause of their health problems.
What is a Colonic?
A colonic is the washing out of the entire large intestine with a running source of water. Sort of an enema on steroids. The device that’s used has a Plexiglas window in the tube so you can see what is coming out of you. The theory behind colonic therapy is the washing will remove fecal matter that is stuck on the sides of the bowel, toxins and parasites and thereby improve your health. The hydrotherapist puts probiotics in the water (acidophilus and bifidus) to help re-establish your beneficial bacterial levels and anti-parasitic herbs to eliminate the parasites. The practitioner will usually try to sell you on return visits for a period of time. They will also claim that they can see yeast being removed as they look at the content moving through the window during the colonic irrigation.
The truth is that colonics are unnecessary except in cases of impaction or constipation that doesn’t respond to treatment. I can’t remember the last time I had to make that referral. The large intestine is a self cleaning organ system. That’s why we poop everyday. If you don’t have proper gastrointestinal function, that’s why you’re seeking help from a program like mine. Colonics are unnecessary if you follow the protocol that I describe in my free report because we will return proper function and get rid of your symptoms with this program.
What a Colonic Doesn’t Do
The information that the patient has heard about their bowel and it’s function is incorrect. There is rarely any fecal material hanging on the inside of your large intestine, unable to get out, putrefying and releasing toxins into your body. In cases of constipation, fecal material will release toxins that can be reabsorbed into your system, but it’s from fecal material sitting there during an abnormally long transit time, not from it hanging there attached and impossible to remove from the wall of the colon.
Parasites occur in about 30% of the stool samples sent to labs across the country. This is from a population of patients that are suspected of this problem by a trained physician who has ordered the parasite test. I see only one person with parasites out of every 100 lab tests we send out each year. The herbs put in the water of the colonic that washes out your colon are unnecessary. And this claim that the therapist can “see” yeast moving past the Plexiglas window….yeast cannot be “seen” during a colonic. Yeast is a microscopic organism that can only be identified by lab work.
This is also a dangerous thought process here. If your main problem is constipation and the colonic relieves the uncomfortable full feeling and you continue to use them every time you get uncomfortable, your bowel will lose the ability to function on its own. You can become as reliant on colonic irrigation as you can on laxatives. Whether using colonic hydrotherapy or laxatives, the muscles attached to the bowel will not be required to push fecal material out of you because you’re artificially flushing the material out. Your bowels will never become balanced and learn to work properly on their own. It then puts you in a vicious cycle of complaining about your constipation and doing something repeatedly that never allows your bowels to work on their own. Believe me, you don’t have gastrointestinal problems because you haven’t done enough colonics in your life!
It is a technique that is at best simplistic in its approach. Washing out the large intestine doesn’t re-establish proper levels of beneficial bacteria, even if they put probiotics (usually poor quality without the ability to remain in the intestines) in the water and it doesn’t restore proper chemistry necessary for the health of the gastrointestinal system or figure out what foods are contributing to the problem. It doesn’t wash out parasites and other abnormal bacteria that shouldn’t be living in your gastrointestinal tract. In other words, it might at best be a temporary fix, but it isn’t a solution to the typical Irritable Bowel Syndrome patient.
Download a copy of Dr. Dahlman’s free report on how you can conquer IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, Colitis or any gastrointestinal complaints with his all natural treatment utilizing his step-by-step process, temporary dietary eliminations and an all natural supplement program.
To find the costs of his program, please click here: “Do It Yourself Program” and solve you symptoms on your own or “Phone Consultation Program” to learn about how he can guide you through the step-by-step process to help you conquer this condition.
