Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings National

Colon Hydrotherapy: Fosters a Clean Bill of Health

Our culture so values beauty and cleanliness that millions of us spend hundreds of dollars a year on personal services and body care products. We regularly clean, soften and beautify every inch of our exterior, from hair to toenails. But how clean are we on the inside?

Today’s onslaught of known toxins in our environment continually bombards us with chemicals that can alter the way our body works,” says Brenda Watson, a certified nutritional consultant and author of Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps. “This not only affects natural processes, it also affects the body’s capacity to heal and maintain vibrancy.”

Watson suggests that we adopt an increasingly refined mindset about being responsible for our health. She likes a program that keeps internal body systems, such as our colon, liver and other organs, clean and maintained using herbal cleanses, colon hydrotherapy and a high-fiber diet that packs a punch with good nutrition. “For centuries, every culture around the world has been using some form of colon cleansing for health,” observes Watson.

This proponent of colon hydrotherapy, which detoxifies the large intestine through a gentle infusion of purified water at a safely-controlled temperature, with gentle, continuous pressure, is not alone. Like Watson, Dr. Linda Berry, a chiropractor, certified clinical nutritionist and author of Internal Cleansing, indicates the viability of colonic irrigation.

“Colonics remove the waste from the body and can be optimized with an herbal cleanse and high-fiber diet that may aid in the cellular relief of toxins,” says Berry. She sees juice fasting as another complement. “The problem with enemas,” Berry points out, “is that they are short-term and can cause the walls of the anal area, as well as the section of the large intestine known as the sigmoid colon, to stretch.” Both agree that one of the reasons an individual feels better after a colonic irrigation is because the protocol hydrates the intestinal walls, and people typically fall short of their daily requirements for drinking water.

Watson has used colonic hydration to overcome her own issue of constipation, related to a lazy colon. “Hydrating the colon causes the muscles to contract,” explains Watson, “and that brought about an automatic release response, which my body needed, to remind my colon how to do its job.”

Watson and Berry suggest that we employ a cleansing program twice a year, one that includes a series of three colonic irrigation sessions of about an hour each. If an individual is suffering from chronic constipation, Watson posits that these might be done more frequently

Prospective clients should note that each state issues its own licenses for colon hydrotherapists; in some states it falls under the category of massage therapy. Use of disposable speculums, which are inserted into the rectum, is a standard in all states, as is the use of Food and Drug Administration certified equipment.

More information on standard operating procedures is available from the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy, which works to heighten awareness, provide education and offer referrals among its professional members.


For information, visit International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy at I-ACT.org.

For more information on Brenda Watson, visit BrendaWatson.com, or for Dr. Linda Berry, visit DrLindaBerry.com.

Join Our Community Newsletter