Struggling with Constipation or Digestive Woes? How Colon Hydrotherapy Can Help

What comes to mind when you think of irrigating your colon? While this might sound awkward and downright unpleasant at first, the act of irrigating or cleansing your lower intestines can actually have some pretty remarkable benefits – and leave you feeling light, refreshed, and even elated.

In this blog post, we’re going to explore exactly what colon hydrotherapy (the act of irrigating of your colon) entails, the benefits associated with this unique therapy, and some steps you can take to best support a happy, healthy digestive system. Let’s start by reviewing exactly how your digestive system is designed to work.

Digestion Defined: How Exactly Does the Digestive System Work?

We obviously rely on our digestive system to keep us alive – without it, we’d be unable to absorb nutrients or excrete waste. This complex system is a series of organs that takes the food and nutrients you consume through a process that goes something like this:¹

• Mouth: Your mouth is the gateway to your digestive tract. After food is mechanically chewed, it’s washed down your esophagus where it begins its journey to your stomach.
• Stomach: Your stomach secretes acidic juices full of different enzymes that break food down into digestible particles.
• Small intestine: Once your stomach is finished breaking food particles down, it pushes this mix of nutrients and digestive juices forward into your small intestine. Here, the walls of your small intestine absorb water and partially digested nutrients into your bloodstream.
• Large intestine: Up next is the large intestine where any remaining fluid as well as certain vitamins and electrolytes are absorbed with the help of an ecosystem of microscopic microbes known as your microbiome – but more on that in a moment.
• Rectum: Your rectum is where the final product of digestion is stored. Once your body is ready for a bowel movement, the rectum serves as an exit – completing the digestive process.

Before we dive into some common digestive issues, let’s zoom in on another important component of your digestive system – your microbiome.

What Is the Gut Microbiome?

Housed within your digestive tract, are trillions of microorganisms that have taken up residence – collectively making up what’s known as your gut microbiome. Think of your gut microbiome as a community designed to work in harmony with your own cells. In fact, this delicate ecosystem is so crucial we quite literally couldn’t survive without them – with your gut microbiome playing a pivotal role in life-sustaining processes like:²

• Nutrient breakdown and absorption
• The production of essential vitamins and health-boosting compounds
• Detoxification
• Immune system function and overall defenses
• Brain health and mood
• Skin health and appearance
• The development of chronic disease
• And much more

The more we learn about the gut and the microbiome, the more apparent it is that this organ system and delicate ecosystem truly are the gateway to our health. So it makes sense that if any component of this complex network gets thrown off-kilter, it can have a ripple effect – impacting just about every facet of your health.

Let’s explore some common digestive issues that can occur when something isn’t functioning quite right in your digestive tract.

Common Digestive Problems

Unfortunately, digestive woes have become more and more common in our modern world, with many people facing unpleasant digestive issues such as:

• Bloating and excessive gas
• Abdominal discomfort and/or pain
• Irregular bowel patterns (like diarrhea and constipation)
• Abnormal bowel movements (like finding undigested food in your stool or having stools that float)
• Allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities to certain foods

If left unaddressed, these digestive problems can escalate into more serious conditions like:

• Hair loss and skin issues
• Thyroid problems
• Arthritis and joint pain
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Inflammatory bowel conditions like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
• Gut dysbiosis (an imbalance in the community of microorganisms that live in your gut)
• Malnutrition
• Autoimmunity

A sluggish, imbalanced, and unhappy gut can throw your whole body out of equilibrium. But fortunately, there are some steps you can take to begin restoring balance to your gut. And one potent tool we can use to accomplish this is a therapy known as colon hydrotherapy.

What Is Colon Hydrotherapy?

Colon hydrotherapy, also referred to as a colonic, colonic irrigation, or colon cleansing is a totally natural healing procedure where large amounts of warm water are flushed through the colon – also known as your large intestine. The practice of colonic hydrotherapy has been in use for thousands of years – and for good reason.

Because your large intestine is essentially the “end of the line” when it comes to digestion, many digestive imbalances inevitably show up in this part of your digestive tract. And a colonic can help ease symptoms, promote healing, and support healthy digestion. Let’s look at some of the most potent benefits that have been linked to colon hydrotherapy

Benefits of Colon Hydrotherapy

Colon hydrotherapy can:

• Improve digestion: Colon hydrotherapy can help clear out your bowels while stimulating your digestive tract to supercharge digestion
• Relieve constipation: Colon hydrotherapy can help remove any accumulated debris or waste that may be hanging out in your colon and bogging you down
• Support a healthy, diverse microbiome: Proper digestion and removal of waste is essential for keeping your gut microbiome healthy and balanced

Because your digestive system plays such a pivotal role in your health and well-being, improving your gut health has a domino effect – leading to secondary benefits such as:

• Elevated mood
• Feelings of clarity, lightness, and even euphoria
• A boost in energy
• Clearer skin
• A jumpstart for weight loss

So, you’re probably curious about what to expect if you do decide to have a colon hydrotherapy session.

So, What Exactly Happens During A Colon Hydrotherapy Session?

While the process of a colonic might sound strange or uncomfortable at first, it’s actually a quite simple procedure that is much cleaner and much more comfortable than you might think. When you receive a colon hydrotherapy session from a quality clinic, the process will go something like this:

• You’ll start with a consultation with a certified hydrotherapist to discuss your symptoms and treatment goals
• During your consultation, your hydrotherapist will show you all of the equipment that will be used and explain the entire procedure to ensure you’re comfortable moving forward
• Once you’re comfortable and give them the go-ahead, your hydrotherapist will gently insert a small tube called a speculum about an inch and a half into your rectum
• The hydrotherapist will ensure you’re comfortable and cover you with a sheet to ensure your privacy is maintained
• After insertion, warm water will begin to flow gently into your large intestines
• You will likely feel slight pressure as your colon is filled, but it should not be painful or uncomfortable
• Once your intestines are irrigated with the correct volume of warm water, it will be carefully drained out of your large intestines – carrying along with it any waste or debris
• While you can certainly look at the tubes as waste moves through them if you choose, you won’t smell anything during the procedure, as the machine runs within a self-enclosed system
• This process of filling and draining your intestines is repeated several times while the therapist massages your stomach to ensure a thorough cleanse
• The entire procedure lasts about 45 minutes and when your colonic is complete, your hydrotherapist will remove the speculum and check in with you to see how you’re feeling

While colon hydrotherapy can undoubtedly be a powerful tool in helping to ease digestive symptoms and optimize your gut health, it works best when used in conjunction with a comprehensive big-picture approach.

Other Ways to Boost Colon and Gut Health

Some additional strategies you can use to boost the health of your colon and the rest of your digestive system include:

• Eating a well-rounded, healthy diet full of anti-inflammatory foods: The food you eat either supports or damages your gut health. So focus on building most of your meals around inflammation-fighting foods full of healing vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
• Support a thriving, diversified microbiome: The ecosystem of microbes that make up your microbiome is a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to gut health. So it can be helpful to take a probiotic to help reintroduce beneficial, healing bacteria into your digestive tract.
• Avoid excess environmental toxins and support detoxification: Environmental toxins can put a damper on every facet of your health – especially your gut health. So minimizing exposure to these toxic compounds and supporting detoxification is key. To learn more about the impacts of environmental toxins and how you can boost detoxification, head over and read the article Why Is Detoxification Good For Health? How To Supercharge Your Natural Detox Pathways.
• Minimize inflammation: There are countless things that can trigger chronic low-levels of inflammation ranging from stress and sleep deprivation to nutrient deficiencies and toxin accumulation. Finding ways to decrease overall inflammation is another foundational aspect of supporting a healthy digestive tract.

If you’re dealing with any ongoing digestive woes, unexplained symptoms, or are simply looking to optimize your gut health, your best bet is to work with a Holistic Practitioner that takes an Integrative Functional Medicine approach. They can help identify any underlying triggers that your symptoms may be stemming from and help you create a comprehensive plan to heal and optimize your gut health.

Colonic Hydrotherapy in Phoenix AZ: Ready to Experience the Power of Colon Hydrotherapy?

Your gut truly is the gateway to health. So if your digestive system isn’t firing on all cylinders it can have a domino effect – putting a serious damper on everything from your mood to your appearance and from your overall health to your longevity. Whether you’re managing an ongoing digestive condition, healing a gut imbalance, or simply seeking to improve your well-being – colon hydrotherapy can be a powerful tool.

If you’re in Phoenix or the surrounding areas and you’re ready to experience the healing, refreshing, and digestion-boosting power of colon hydrotherapy, we’ve got you covered. One of our key areas of focus is gut health – and our team of experts will employ an arsenal of knowledge, tactics, and tools to help get your gut (and overall health) in tip-top shape. And we are lucky enough to have the expertise of the incredible certified Colon Therapist Shelly Wieseler on our team who specializes in creating a professional, comfortable, clean, and top-notch experience for our patients that want to tap into the power of colon hydrotherapy (you can click here to learn more about Shelly).

We take a big-picture approach – addressing your physical, mental, spiritual, environmental, and relational well-being to create an entirely customized plan to get you looking, feeling, and performing your best as quickly as possible. So if you’re ready to tap into the next level of healing, health, and vitality, come into Silver Tree Wellness and consult with one of our experienced practitioners – we’ll come up with a customized plan for your health that’s as unique as you are.

To schedule your consultation, call our office at 602-675-0170 or send us an email by clicking right here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Resources:

1. Your Digestive System & How it Works | NIDDK (nih.gov)
2. Diversity, stability and resilience of the human gut microbiota (nih.gov)

‍