While it is true that the scientific literature is not considerable in
terms of using colon cleansing, the enema, or the coffee enema for health benefits, you absolutely can find peer-reviewed, randomized, double-blind studies in the scientific literature that do support the use of enemas as an important therapeutic tool.
Some scientific articles even go so far as to say that by using therapeutic agents in the colon, such as
butyrate, you can "enhance the maintenance of colonic homeostasis... by
regulating fatty acid metabolism, electron transport, and oxidative
stress pathways."
In this article,
Butyrate-Induced Transcriptional Changes in Human Colonic Mucosa, published by
PLOS ONE**, an international, peer-reviewed, non-profit online journal, researchers report that the enema is "a safe and reliable way to deliver a specific amount of substrate to the distal
[descending/sigmoid] colon" and that "other techniques, such as oral
intake of dietary fibers or encapsulated butyrate, do not allow to
accurately target the distal colon." They go on to say that the enema
was chosen as a delivery method of the butyrate intervention since "the
incidence of carcinomas and diseases... of the colon is rising."
If I may transgress, I must directly speak to the Florida couple in the TV show
My Strange Addiction
who were "reportedly addicted" to the coffee enema, to ABC News, and to
the medical doctor who was interviewed by ABC News for an
article about the TV program.
Beyond the fact that scientific evidence does point to the enema as a safe and reliable way to deliver therapeutic substances,
every day I receive phone calls and emails from clients who share that
enemas, colon cleansing, and coffee enemas saved their lives. Every day.
For 16 years now, I have heard the same stories. I know that my
personal and professional experiences aren't the same as the scientific
method, but in terms of human life, these stories matter.
It is wrong to use mocking of the coffee enema as a form of
entertainment. Even the woman in the show said that the coffee enema
allowed her to "live life for the first time in years." It seems obvious
to me (but not in the way that the show presented it) that this
person's experience of first using the coffee enema for a healing tool
but later only as an addictive habit is just
one person's story.
Tragically, in the show and the subsequent reporting about the show,
the Florida woman's story is used to speak to the very nature of the
coffee enema itself: it is reported as if addiction is inherent in the
use of coffee enemas. I doubt that this story is even about that woman's
"addictive" personality. Perhaps these people are simply actors? To me,
the pieces of the story don't fit together; there are numerous discrepancies.
For instance, the article's title is, "Couple Addicted to Coffee
Enemas, Up to Four Times a Day," but in the beginning of the interview,
she says, "In a 24-hour period, I probably did 9 or 10 coffee enemas."
At this point, her husband acts like this is a surprise to him. And this
is a but one inconsistency among many.
This is a story ONLY for
entertainment, a story that is being cloaked in an air of science by
interviewing a medical doctor who obviously hasn't spent time thoroughly
researching the enema before she comments. She says, "The bottom line
is there is not any beneficial effect and there is some risk associated
with any enema..."
Don't get me wrong. I adore entertainment. For instance, I love going to the movies. Just Friday night, I saw
The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wes Anderson's second best movie ever. My favorite movie of his is
Moonrise Kingdom.
But to scorn a healing tool, such as the coffee enema, as a form of
entertainment crosses a line where entertainment is distorting reality
in a way that interferes with people's lives. And, the
fact that the producers and the writers went further to say that there
is "no scientific evidence" of the enema as a therapeutic tool so that
OTHER PEOPLE will become afraid of the enema is wrong. It is absolutely wrong.
What can those of us who know colon cleansing, enemas, and/or coffee enemas as invaluable healing tools do?
- Spread
the word! Share your stories! Talk to your friends, co-workers, and
strangers on the street about what you are doing and how it is helping
you.
- Read the scientific literature
to really back your practices. With your confidence, tell your doctor
what you do. Bring your health practitioners the scientific research
that you collect.
- Support scientific research on colon cleansing, enemas, and coffee enemas.
- If you'd rather remain anonymous, send your stories of healing to the Optimal Health Network where others can learn from you.
**PLOS
ONE features reports of original research from all disciplines within
science and medicine. By not excluding papers on the basis of subject
area, PLOS ONE facilitates the discovery of the connections between
papers whether within or between disciplines.
Labels: addiction, butyrate, caffeine, cancer, coffee enema, colon, therapeutic enema