Colonics receive a fair amount of shit (pun intended), but that’s because people are still confused about what it actually is and what it does for you. But flushing the colon out for better (digestive, bowel and overall) health has been happening since the Egyptians were doing it back in 1500BC.

I experienced my first one last week at The Colon Care Center and to my surprise it wasn’t anywhere near as embarrassing or painful as I thought it might. Granted right at the beginning I did feel the colour drain from my face and felt like I was going to pass out, but that was because I got myself all panicked. My colonic therapist Jenny got me through by rubbing my tummy and telling me I just needed to take big deep breaths – after that I was right as rain.

So why get a colonic I hear you ask, because…

1. You lose the bloat.
A lot of this is gas, (from bad digestion, eating too fast etc) and this is one of the best parts of colonics - it pushes all of those gas bubbles out. Gas bubbles which in turn cause big fecal blockages.

2. You push out toxins.
If you’ve got a lot of old waste sitting in there, clinging to the walls (because of poor diet, or poor digestion, or because you’re very dehydrated) guess what it’s doing? Sinking through the walls of your bowel, and getting into your bloodstream, gross!

3. You get great skin.
My colonic therapist calls colonics the ultimate facial. This is because with all that water slowly going into your body, (and the warm water does go into your bowel very slowly so that it gently loosens the fecal matter) it is able to be absorbed by your body easily, which results in lovely, hydrated skin from the inside out.

4. You lose weight.
Well, think about it, you’re removing mass from your bowel. Of course you will lose weight. You also lose volume from getting rid of all the trapped gas. All of that leading to a flatter stomach. And after you’ve got your bowels back into health, you tend to be a lot more aware of your digestion, hydration and absorption stuff, which should help you stay that way.

5. You feel more energetic.
Your body is constantly under stress to eliminate waste while trying to grab what nutrients it can from food which more often than not contains loads of chemicals and preservatives. By clearing out the build up, your body has more energy for fun stuff, like being energetic.

For the best results, after a treatment it’s recommended you do the following:

1. Drink plenty of liquids:
Pure water
Juices
Herbal Teas
Electrolyte liquids

2. Replace intestinal flora with Probiotics.

3. Eat vegetable soups for 24 hours after the procedure.

4. Avoid eating raw vegetables for 2 days.
Cooked veggies and raw fruit are sufficient; chew well.

5. Reduce heavy meat consumption for 3 days.

6. Avoid sweets and alcohol for 24 hours.

Colon Care Centre:
639 New North Road,
Morningside, Auckland.
Tel: (09) 815-6499
Web: www.coloncarecentre.co.nz