Colon Hydrotherapy And Colon Cleansing
The Controversy
Surrounding Colon Hydrotherapy And Colon Cleansing
Is Colon Hydrotherapy Science Or
Scam?
What Is Colon Cleansing or Colon
Hydrotherapy?
Colon cleansing, colon
hydrotherapy, or colon irrigation is a controversial practice.
One of the earliest centers of colon
hydrotherapy in Europe was established in 1829 by Vincent Priessnitz in
Grafenberg (now in the Czech Republic, in central Europe); the center began
with 45 patients.
By 1837, there were 570 patients, and by
1839, there were at least 1,400 patients per year for the next three years
(Bradley and Dupree, Medical History, 2003).
Colon hydrotherapy then subsequently became
popularized in the United Kingdom starting in the 1840s.
By 1860s, there were 20 centers performing
colon hydrotherapy in Britain, attracting a large following of many prominent
Brits at the time.
Colon-irrigation practitioners have claimed
that the Egyptians have been performing colon cleansing since 1500 BCE (Before
Common Era) or some 4,000 years ago.
In the late 1800s, a Dr. Elmer Lee introduced
the method of irrigating the intestines to the United States. But is this
practice based on sound science, or is it a costly scam?
There is a wide variety of names and
techniques associated with colon cleansing and colon hydrotherapy; these names
are similar and operate under the same principles: eliminating the old
stagnated, putrefied, compacted fecal materials out of the colon.
These various names are colonic cleansing,
high colonic irrigation colon cleansing, high colonic, high enema, colonic
enema, home self colonic, colon hydrotherapy, and colonic hydrotherapy.
A wide variety of herbs, water (e.g., warm
water, pure water, herbal water, oxygenated water), and a lot of water-and a
combination of both have been used to achieve the objective of cleansing the
colon.
Although the colon is essentially a storage
tube for body's metabolic wastes before being excreted by the body, its main
functions are the extraction of water and salts from the wastes.
In mammals, the colon consists of the
ascending colon, transverse colon, the descending colon, and the sigmoid colon.
The colon from cecum to the splenic flexure
(the junction between the transverse and descending colon) is also known as the
right colon. The remainder is known as the left colon.
Since the 1860s, critics have called colon
cleansing "unorthodox therapy," "medical heresy,"
"quackery," "money down the toilet," "scam,"
"expensive, utterly useless and potentially harmful," and "a
very expensive enema," among others.
As colon hydrotherapy is still practiced
today in 2008, nearly 180 years later after the first hydrotherapy center was
established in Europe, what is the explanation for its long survival? Is it
really a scam?
A Theory of Colon Hydrotherapy
Practitioners of colon
hydrotherapy believe that the accumulation of old, hardened feces in the colon
can stretch the colon out of shape until it becomes three or four times as wide
and twice as long as it should be, with only tiny channels through which new
waste material may pass.
This situation can lead to hernias, collapsed
colon, spastic colon, prolapsed colon, redundant colon, diverticulitis, and
hemorrhoids.
In the colon, the uneliminated feces continue
to putrefy and release toxins, thus resulting in "autointoxication."
Parasites, amoebas, and worms live in and thrive upon the stagnant putrefactive
feces.
Hydrotherapy therapists believe that in most
cases, colon cleansing will be enough to eliminate the waste buildup and its
resultant diseases.
Colon cleansing will also eliminate the
toxic, putrefactive matter, resulting in improved health.
Therapists believe that colon cleansing will
also reduce "transit time," the time it takes to expel the metabolic
waste after the food is eaten and digested.
A short transit time usually means that a
person has no problem with constipation.
Colon Hydrotherapy: A Description
So what is the exact procedure involved in
colon hydrotherapy? Nowadays, practitioners of colon hydrotherapy must be
certified by the International Association of Colon Hydrotherapy (I-ACT).
To be certified in any one of the four levels, one has to
complete between 100 and 1,000 hours of approved colon-hydrotherapy training
and must have one to three years of hands-on practice in the field.
One must also pass various levels of I-ACT exams. This
procedure is typically performed by people without medical degree (a M.D. or
D.O.).
The theory behind colon hydrotherapy is that the colon is
the body's "septic tank" and that when waste and toxins are not
expelled properly, the colon will be filled with waste and blockages, which
will lead to serious digestive-tract problems.
Because these hardened, dried feces are stuck to the lining
on the colon wall, they can only be expelled out of the body with help of
hydrotherapy.
Hydrotherapy is supposed to cleanse the colon and
"hydrate the lower colon."
According to the I-ACT, the hydrotherapy procedure
involves pumping several gallons of warm, purified water into the colon, which
will soften and loosen the hardened and dried feces stuck to the colon wall.
Clients are often asked not to drink water two hours
before the procedure.
Clients will disrobe from the waist down and put on a
gown. Clients lie in the bed and the therapist lubes the anus and then inserts
a speculum.
One therapist explained that "colon hydrotherapy can be taxing on the nervous system,"
so that clients should be as relaxed as possible.
Inserting the speculum may be the most difficult part of
the entire procedure; but once the speculum passes the sphincter muscle near
the anus, it cannot be felt.
The speculum has two hoses: one for pumping in the clean
water and another for pumping out the wastewater.
The two tubes are run through a lighted panel so that
people can see for themselves what is clogging their intestine.
Initially, the therapist will run the water for a while
to get the client used to the procedure. Then the soaking will occur. The
therapist will fill the client's intestine as much as the client can handle.
During this time, he or she will have a sensation of
desiring to urinate. Then after several minutes, the water will be released.
This process is repeated two to three times.
During each filling, the client will receive an abdominal
massage with lavender-scented oil (with the objective of calming the nerves and
of physically loosening the hardened feces inside the colon).
After the procedure, the client goes into the bathroom to
empty whatever has not been flushed out during the cleansing process.
Some liquid wastewater may come out instead of solid
waste.
In another variation, the "open system," the
rectal tube is the size of a pencil, and when the water is turned on, there is
no need to interrupt the cleansing to release the injected water.
The client will be filled with water and when she or he
needs to push wastes out, the tube will stay inserted so that whatever wastes
expelled from the colon will pass around the tube and down the drain.
In this system, there is no odor and the client will have
as much privacy as he or she wants.
In short, colon hydrotherapy is a procedure to physically
flush out the old dried, hardened feces stuck to the intestine-presumably due
to the lack of dietary fiber in daily diet and chronic constipation.
According to the therapists, as one gets older, one will
see better results with the treatment. It is recommended one signs up for at
least three sessions during the initial treatment. Each treatment session can
cost from U.S.$60 to U.S.$200.
Criticisms of Colon Hydrotherapy
Critics
have charged that colon hydrotherapy is nothing but a scam, an expensive enema.
(An enema is a procedure to introduce liquids into the rectum and colon through
the anus.
Enemas are usually performed as a treatment
for constipation.) Critics have focused on the potential harms of colon
hydrotherapy, as follows:
· Abscesses
caused by too much water injected into the colon
· Rectal
perforation as a result of speculum and other tubes inserted into the anus
· Electrolyte
imbalance due to water washing out the colon's electrolytes
· Unnecessary
washing away of the beneficial bacterial living in the colon (these bacteria
are required for food digestion)
· Using
too much water for the procedure
· Unnecessarily
costly
Critics have suggested that people should
simply try enemas or oral laxatives if they do not want any invasive procedure
done on them.
Colon-hydrotherapy critics have encouraged
people to drink more water and eat more food with dietary fiber (e.g., fruits
and vegetables).
Critics also argued that since people lose
electrolytes during the flushing out of wastes in the colon, one must replenish
the lost electrolytes after colon hydrotherapy.
The
critics of colon cleansing often challenged the idea of "autointoxication" and that they argued "still to this day, direct observations
of the colon through surgery and autopsy find no hardening of fecal matter along
the intestinal walls."
Another
critic said that this colon-cleansing idea is based on treating the intestines
as a "sewage system, and that
constipation, although never specifically defined, resulted in a cesspool
within the body where food wastes would putrefy, become toxic, and get
reabsorbed through the intestines. Some scientists also claimed that
constipation caused fecal matter to harden onto the intestinal walls for months
or years, blocking the absorption of nutrients (yet somehow not blocking toxins)."
Contrary to some critics, according to
National Institutes of Health in the United States, there is a legitimate
medical problem called fecal impaction, or impaction of the bowels, which is a
large mass of dry, hard feces that can develop in the rectum due to chronic
constipation and that this hard mass is so hard that it cannot exit the body.
Watery stool from higher in the bowl may move
around the mass and leak out, causing soiling.
As we know, one of the primary functions of
the large intestine is the absorption of water and salt.
If there is hardened residual fecal matter in
the colon, then it is likely that water reabsorbed by the intestine will be
that of somewhat toxic and putrefied liquid which has the hard, dried feces
soaked in it.
Alternatives to Colon Hydrotherapy
The
practitioners of colon hydrotherapy believe that chronic constipation and a
lack of dietary fiber in daily diet can result in accumulated, hardened and
dried feces in the colon.
This buildup mass of toxins in the body can adversely
affect one's health—especially in older people. Therefore, it is important to
regularly flush the colon to eliminate the rock-hard feces stuck to the lining
of walls of the large intestine.
Mainstream medicine, however, has mocked this
belief.
Regardless of who is correct in this medical
debate, experts believe that a generally healthy lifestyle can reduce chronic
constipation and the need for colon cleansing.
For example, the simple lifestyle changes can
eliminate the need for colon cleansing, as follows:
· Exercise—Regular exercise is extremely important in
establishing regular bowel movements.
Walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, weight
training, martial arts, and any other type of physical exercise is beneficial
to regular bowel movements.
For wheelchair-bound and bed-ridden people,
regular physical movements, especially abdominal-contraction exercises and leg
raises can still be done.
· High-Fiber
Diet, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables—A high-fiber diet is critical to building bulk to the
stool, thus promoting regular bowel movements.
One should also eat plenty of fresh fruits
and vegetables whenever possible. Fresh fruits and vegetables can also promote
other aspects of health, in addition to promoting regularity.
· Drink
Plenty of Pure Water—One
must drink approximately 2 liters of pure water daily.
A primary function of large intestine is to
reabsorb water; if the body is dehydrated, then the colon will reabsorb large
amount of water from pre-feces, drying and hardening the feces.
Dried and hardened feces will be difficult to
expel from the body. Hence, it is important to drink plenty of water to
facilitate the elimination of metabolic solid wastes from the body.
With these three simple lifestyle changes,
one will not be afflicted by chronic constipation, thus eliminating the need
for expensive colon hydrotherapy altogether.
In short, one doesn't have to pay hundreds of
dollars to cleanse one's colon in three to five colon-hydrotherapy sessions.
The best colon-care product is free: pure
water.
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