Colonic Therapy by Michael Braunstein

YOU ARE BECOME WHAT YOU EAT
We never find out if Billy Rosewood, the Zen comedic sidekick in "BEVERLY HILLS COP," takes action on the information he culls from whatever periodical he was reading. Millions of people around the world and in America do, however. If the idea of 5 pounds of putrefying, undigested red meat in your gut does not sound pleasant to you, be assured that to therapists practicing the healing art of Colon Therapy, it's considered downright dangerous.

Colonic Irrigation, High Colonics, Hydrotherapy, and to some degree, Gerson Therapy are terms that you might find that indicate a broader category of the Healing Arts known as Colon Therapy. There are records describing colon therapy that go back 3500 years to the Ebers Papyrus of ancient Egypt. And based on the type of high fat/low fiber diet contemporary Americans, (Heartlanders included,) typically follow, there seems no time more than the present that colonic therapy might be appropriate.

The lower portion of the human digestive tract consists of the small and large intestines. Food travels from the stomach through the small intestine then into the large intestine which is divided into the cecum, the colon and the rectum, finally passing out of the body as waste. The colon is about five feet in length and a primary function is the absorption of water from the food bolus that is passed into it by the muscular contractions we call peristalsis. The inside surface over which the food passes is ridged with wavy convolutions known as diverticuli serving to increase the surface area. Colon therapists believe that herein lies the problem. A truly carnivorous species, such as lion, has a comparatively shorter colon. This allows meat to pass through the gut quickly, without putrefying, in less than 24 hours. In humans, however, the process can take 48 hours or more. Additionally, it has been noted by many nutritionists and health advocates that no species other than human continues to eat milk or dairy after the infant stage. The lining of the colon can become clogged with a sticky, glue-like substance, especially if the diet one eats consists of meats and dairy foods that typically produce excess amounts of mucus in the body. The accumulated substance is mucus mixed with undigested and decomposing food and adheres to the lining, blocking proper digestion and leading to illness and metabolic imbalance. Medical autopsies have found colons up to nine inches in diameter with an interior passage of less than one-half inch and clogged with debris weighing up to forty pounds! The mess is difficult to dislodge without colonic therapy.

Colonic therapy uses two primary methods to aid the body in eliminating this toxic waste build-up. Irrigation uses the injection of a liquid, often simply water, into the rectum much like a high-powered enema. The irrigant is allowed to fill the full length of the colon and the abdomen is usually massaged to help in the process of loosening the infarct. The liquid, which may also contain mild herbal solutions, is then drawn out under pressure, taking the impacted waste with it. The second primary method of colon therapy uses the dedicated adjustment of diet and the addition of high fiber supplements, like psyllium seeds, and medicinal herbs to clear out the waste. Some therapists also use inorganic compounds, such as clay or pumice. These two methods are very effective when combined.

Nothing New Under the Sun (or where the sun doesn't shine)

Colonic Therapy was a very typical treatment used by physicians in the first third of the 20th Century. With the introduction of drug therapy and antibiotics, Western medicine changed greatly and treatments such as Colonic Therapy fell into disuse as far as many M.D.'s were concerned. There are a number of practitioners in the Heartland, however.

Be well.