Colonics and Enemas: A Healthy Way to Jump Start Weight Loss?

Let’s start off by stating the obvious: first of all, they’re definitely not pleasant (I’m assuming this, never having had either) and next, they’re definitely not Paleo (do you think cavemen were facilitating fluid up what is essentially meant to be a one-way street?  Not trying to be too graphic, but come on, now).

How many times have you heard a friend, colleague or relative mention doing a colonic to get a head start on their weight loss, to ‘clean out their system’ or to ‘give their digestive system a break’?   

I’ve heard it far too many times to think it’s an anomaly.

They’re promoted in magazines, by celebrities and by both real medical and pseudo-medinal professionals alike.   Does that mean they’re a good option… or even safe?  And what’s the difference between the two?

They’re both therapies that both involve introducing water into the colon through to rectum in order to cleanse the colon; but here’s how they differ:

Colonics

• Cleanse the entire length of the colon. 
• Involve mutiple infusions of water into the colon. 
• Result in fecal matter leaves the body via a tube. The client does not see or smell the fecal matter during the session.
• At the end of the session, the client usually sits on a toilet, and usually passes any residual water and stools.
• Must be administered by a trained colon hydrotherapist and requires professional equipment.

Enemas

• Cleanse the lower part of the colon, the sigmoid and part of the descending colon. involve a single infusion of water into the colon.
• Involve the one-time infusion of water. It sits in the lower part of the colon for a period of time, and then the person sits on the toilet.
• Do not have to be administered by a professional. Disposable enema kits are available in drugstores and online.

Incidentally, that last bullet point on the under the enema heading would be enough to send me running in the other direction; would you allow someone that is not a professional to do this procedure on  you?

Now, back to the question on hand- is the concept of ‘cleansing the colon’ healthy?

In my opinion, no.  At least, not with external assistance.  The idea that we need aid in cleansing anything inside our bodies is akin to the idea that we must douse ourselves with anti-bacterial soap, wear medical masks when we fly commercially and not let our kids play in the playground where they might get dirty.

The body cleanses itself.

What’s next?  A procedure to get our stomachs scrubbed clean or how about a nice brain polish?

Let’s let common sense dictate.

If we put only healthy, clean, real food into our bodies and drink a proper amount of water, we will naturally eliminate all the toxins and automatically have a ‘cleansed’ colon.  It’s only when we start putting things in our bodies that we simply cannot digest that we start running into a problem.

Compare it to a sink.  If you just run water down the drain, the sink will always work properly.  But as soon as you allow pieces of hair, dental floss and whatever else might fall in, to begin to clog it up, then you have an issue.

Unlike a sink, however, which must manually be snakes, our bodies have the unique ability to heal themselves, simply by discontinuing the ingestion of horrible non-foods and changing to a natural, alkaline Paleo regime.

It really comes down to common sense.  Just think about it.  We’re not supposed to be putting things into any orifice in our bodies.   Don’t shove q-tips into your ear canal;  you’ll simply push the wax further in.  We tell our kids not to shove crayons or chalk up their nostrils for the very same reasons.  

Equally, why not just not create a situation where you have a build up of sludge, constipation and colon cancer in the first place?   Follow the True Paleo regime which, by the way, is naturally high in fiber since veggies contain roughly 7 – 11 times the amount found in fortified grain products, and just keep it clean all along!