Flush with health with colonic cleansing

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

You may not want to hear this, but your gut, where you store your digested food, could be the source of all your problems.

If you have a recurrent headache, sleep problems, bad breath, acne and/or constipation, it's time to check your stomach. And, for some, taking care of the colon through colonics, also known as colonic hydrotherapy or colonic irrigation, has become their remedy of choice for what ails them.

In Europe, and especially the United States, it's not unusual to hear some celebrity waffling on about their colonic experiences on a talk show (Princess Diana was reputed to be a faithful follower of colonic therapy).

Bertha Herlina, a doctor at an antiaging center, Provitalitas, in Kelapa Gading Permai, North Jakarta, said that even a trivial problem like dull skin may indicate that your colon is suffering inside.

"Poor diet and an inactive lifestyle are the common triggers. These factors may obstruct the functioning of the colon and in turn poison the body," she asserted.

Most people, she said, have been leading unhealthy lives by making fatty foods and hard-to-digest red meats their staple foods. This poor diet is often accompanied with little, or worse, no physical exercise, which makes it hard for the colon to eliminate the waste. The unwanted substances remain there and the colon continues to process the leftovers, making them even drier and harder.

Bertha added that poor diet may also lead to plaque being deposited on the colon's wall, which in turn could get in the way of optimal nutrient absorption and obstruct the natural peristaltic movement, leading to constipation.

Improper nutrient absorption deprives body cells of the nutrients they need to rejuvenate, while toxic materials, from pesticides to undischarged feces, contaminate the system and can affect health.

"This is why an unhealthy lifestyle over the years may cause toxification in the body and make a person look older than he/she actually is, and even affect the functioning of other organs, like the brain," Bertha said.

This condition, however, can be improved by "cleaning" the colon of the impurities and other unwanted wastes through colon hydrotherapy, she added.

The therapy uses filtered water which has been sterilized and heated to body temperature. It is pumped into the rectum from the anus with a disposable hose, which is connected to a machine from which the water is filtered.

The colon is then immersed with water for one to three minutes so the waste, including the ones deposited on the colon's wall, can be easily removed. A staffer helps the process by massaging the patient's stomach.

After that, the dirty water is discharged out of the rectum through the same hose, carrying with it the waste, gas and other toxic materials from the colon. "It is quite safe, and comfortable too," said Bertha.

The therapy, she added, improves the colon's peristaltic movement and enables it to function properly. "Fears that good bacteria will also be discharged are baseless because good bacteria exist in the small intestine."

People with constipation, diarrhea and gastritis problems will benefit from the treatment. But it is not suitable for pregnant women, those paralyzed from the stomach down, people with tumors or colon cancer, and people with acute hemorrhoids.

Bertha said that for optimal results, the therapy should be performed every week for a period of six consecutive weeks, and to maintain the colon's health it could be repeated every month.

Despite claims that this invasive therapy is quite safe, an internist with the Association of Indonesian Gastroenterologists, Dharmika Djojoningrat underlined the importance of clearly defining the indications and contraindications (circumstances or symptoms in which a therapy or a procedure is advisable or inadvisable) as well as clarifying the therapeutic claims.

"Constipation can be triggered by various factors from bad habits, colitis (inflammation of the colon) to cancer. Not all of these causes can tolerate or be 'treated' with this therapy," Dharmika said.

"This is an invasive therapy and we don't really know the condition of the colon when the water is pumped in, whether or not it is ready for it," he said, while adding that such therapy may disturb the bacteria's living environment in the colon. The bacteria help decompose the feces.

Bertha also explained that colon hydrotherapy must be followed by a change of lifestyle that included a healthy diet and adequate physical exercise.

The diet should include plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, yogurt, reduced red meat (lamb, beef and pork) consumption, and more chicken and fish instead. It was also important to drink eight glasses of water everyday and reduce one's fatty food intake, including coconut milk and fried foods.

Bertha also advised people, especially working people, to chew their food slowly to help stimulate the production of the enzymes required in digestion.

She also encouraged people to be physically active and to exercise so as to help improve colonic peristaltic movement and ensure smooth excretion.

Walking, jogging, doing sit-ups, push-ups, swimming, cycling and aerobics are among the best exercises. "But do them properly so that you will reap the benefits," she advised.