Special Edition - The enema edition

Yep… that last bit brings me to this subject. Ramona wanted me to write about the different kinds of enemas I’ve been doing. I think this is a great opportunity to have a little ‘enema edition’.

First of all, I know a lot of people are apprehensive about enemas and colonics. Don’t be. It’s good to do ‘house cleaning’ once in a while. The colon has all these tiny pockets and stuff can get stuck in there and remain impacted for great lengths of time. It weakens the colon and can release toxins into the lymphatic system. When I last had a colonic, I passed a lot of ‘fecal stones’…. Tiny pieces of poo that were stuck in these colon pockets…. Not good! The good news is, fasting/juicing weakens the ability that these things have to hold on to the colon wall. Juice feasting in tandem with enemas and/or regular colonics will help you get rid of these nasty things!

Poo! Yes, first of all… try to poo. The preference here is to have normal BMs over having to do enemas. You shouldn’t rely on enemas to have BMs. Enemas are to help the cleansing process. My newest friend Kyle wrote the best entry about pooping here. I highly recommend giving it a read. Seriously; everyone should be born with this pooping manual! :)

Get the right equipment! I have an open top enema kit that works with gravity. I bought mine here. This is the ideal type of enema bag you want to get. It’s easy to clean, dump your water/tea into and it releases water slowly into the colon. It also has a valve that is easily accessible for you to stop the flow when the bag is empty or if you just need a moment to breathe through a ‘peristalsis’ moment.

The right ingredients! I’ve personally used plain water, coffee, burdock tea and cat’s claw tea so far. That being said, there is a plethora of teas you can use (you can even add a squeeze of lemon to plain water) to enhance the enema experience.

* Remember to be careful about the temperature of this stuff; I personally like to have enemas at a 100F temperature… just above body temp. I have a candy thermometer to make sure that the temperature of the liquid is safe. I wouldn’t have an enema with liquid above 103F. Cooler temps are good to end the enemas as they help the colon contract.

Pure water enemas: definitely start with this if you’re new to enemas. Your first few enemas should just be pure distilled water. When making the other types of enemas, ensure you’re using pure distilled water as well.

Coffee enemas are a great liver detoxifier. They help dilate the bile ducts and get some bad stuff out. They’re a great one to have in the morning. Detailed information on coffee enemas (which are quite common) can be found here. This one can be quite intense! I got the shakes and chills and heard a lot of funny noises coming from my stomach at one point. Be prepared.

Burdock tea enemas: Burdock is a really great blood purifier. Doing enemas with burdock tea is a great way to start if you’re new to ‘special enemas’. It’s good to hold this one for a while before evacuating it.

Cat’s claw tea enemas: by far my favorite. I have to thank Carrie for familiarizing me with this one. It’s a very good enema; but very intense. It’s like it claws at the colon walls and gets all the nasties out. I’m always surprised at how much I eliminate after one of those. I call it ‘the big guns’. Cat’s claw has restorative effects on the colon walls. It’s very good for people with ‘leaky gut syndrome’ (such as those people with psoriasis and eczema).

Cat’s claw is a novel herb that has been researched lately for its, "remarkable ability to cleanse the entire intestinal tract and help those suffering from different stomach and bowel disorders", including Crohn’s disease, gastritis, ulcers, parasites, candidiasis, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, leaky gut, and intestinal flora imbalance (Dr. Brent Davis, DC Wellness Advocate Feb 1995;5(1):1-4).

Another good one for restorative effects on the colon wall are slippery elm enemas (2tbsp slippery elm bark per quart of pure water).

Google “enema recipes”. There are tons of enema combos out there; wheatgrass enemas, neem tea enemas, catnip enemas…. Also look into implants (wheatgrass, E3live, etc).

Once the concoction is inside you, you need to massage your tummy. There is an awesome youtube video on how to massage your tummy and administer an enema here.

Of course, enemas are no match for a good colonic! Colonics are great for evacuating more impacted material; you basically go through 40L of water in one session. That’s like 20 enemas in a row! The colonic will also introduce a lot more water into the transverse and ascending parts of the colon which are harder to reach with enemas. Those are also spots where stuff tends to get stuck. So… go get colonics! :)

This concludes my enema report! :)

- Ben

PS: Yes.. that is a picture of an enema brooch pin!