By Donald J. Mantell, M.D. (Professional Member AANC)
Indications for Colonics–Who can benefit from colonic irrigation?
Constipation is one of the major reasons people pursue this form of treatment. I will discuss this problem later in this article. Colon problems such as colitis, ileitis and diverticulitis affect conservatively two million people in this country. These problems can be directly addressed by colonic therapy.
Anyone who suffers from bloating, abdominal distention, gas pains, stomach aches, or someone who gets filled very quickly after eating and can only eat small amounts of food may be a candidate for colonic irrigation.
In our clinic we find that people with all kinds of skin problems, i.e., acne, psoriasis, eczema, etc., usually can benefit from a therapeutic course of colonic irrigations. The skin is the largest excretory organ in the body, the skin may act as a major excretory organ. Unhealthy skin is usually a sign of an unhealthy colon and no amount of antibiotics or skin creams or medications will alleviate the problems until the cause of the problem is addressed. In addition, vitamin A plays an important role in skin health. When the colon is adequately cleansed, vitamin A can be more effectively absorbed through the intestinal tract.
I have found that arthritis patients may be helped tremendously with a series of colonic treatments. This may be due in part to the fact that arthritis patients suffer from some form of internal toxemia whereby toxins are continually being absorbed into their systems (i.e. the colon) causing further inflammation and aggravation of their joints.
A third group of patients who may benefit greatly from colonic irrigations are cancer patients. We know that cancer patients have a tremendous problem breaking down and assimilating proteins. But they may also be extremely deficient in many vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. They may also suffer from constipation and other varied digestive disorders. Colon irrigations may help greatly in enhancing their ability to absorb these various macro and micronutrients.
In addition, it very important that a cancer patient eliminate efficiently and effectively all internal toxins. This is especially true in the case of a cancer patient who is on an integrated metabolic program. When on such a program, the cancerous tumor may start breaking down resulting in the release of cancer cells and various toxins throughout the body. Colonics may perform a very important function in helping to expel these toxins from the body. Dr. Max Gerson described a comparable situation when he first started treating cancer patients with an intensive dietary approach. He stated that he lost a number of cancer patients because of toxemia. They literally died from their own internal pollution. As their cancerous tumors were being broken down they were unable to eliminate these toxic products effectively or efficiently with dire results as a consequence.
However, it is very important that a cancer patient be under competent medical supervision. One would not want to administer these colonic treatments to a patient who was too weak, whereby the colonic irrigations may weaken them further. In addition, colonics would be contraindicated in a patient with a tumor in the rectum or large intestine. Also, colonics would be temporarily contraindicated in any patient whose intestinal tract is too acidic. When the mucous membranes in the colon become to irritated or friable, the colonics may be too harsh a treatment. The patient should be put on a metabolic program to reduce the patient’s acid state before beginning the colonic treatments. At our clinic, we do a special testing to test the body pH (i.e. urine and saliva) before making specific recommendations about colonic irrigations.
Note: The independent articles published in this section of the website are for educational purposes only. The opinions and methodologies described by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion and methodology employed at Aqualibria.
Aqualibria follows the professional guidelines of the International Association of Colon Hydrotherapists I-ACT, the largest organisation in the world governing this profession.