What is an enema and why do enemas?

I am inspired to write about using enemas as a cleansing tool, or when on a detoxifying diet.

Before you completely freak out, read on. Enemas have been used for centuries across numerous cultures. Well known and inspiring health gurus of our modern day such as David Wolfe (raw food), Donna Gates (Body Ecology Diet) and of course Dr Max Gerson (Gerson Therapy) proclaim the benefits of colon cleansing, including home administered enemas.

That being said, enemas are not for everyone. They certainly have taken me a long time to try. I have written about using enemas to assist the cleansing process before. My main inspiration for considering an enema was an ever-inspiring girlfriend who’s been doing them for years. I’d sometimes see her enema kit in the shower and feel slightly perturbed by it. It’s interesting to observe that when something is out of our own sphere of awareness that there can be a tendency to ignore, reject or judge it.  If you are interested and want a step by step process to help get over your intimidation with the process, plus more inspiring information,  check out Jess of the Wellness Blog, who has written a step by step process  for a coffee enema (and a video too!) – it’s a must for enema-newbies.

Basically an enema flushes liquid through the lower portion of the colon.  Using specialised (and simple) equipment consisting of a container and a tube, the enema fills up the lower portion of the colon with up to a litre/ 32 Oz of liquid (I only manage about 500ml/17Oz). The liquid stays in the lower portion of the colon for a short period of time (e.g. 12-15mins), and then the contents are eliminated into the toilet. I love that word- elimination! It’s nearly as good as evacuation…

Yoga master Mr BKS Iyengar instructs in his book Light On Yoga, that one should evacuate their bowels before asana practice.

Evacuate, evacuate. Such an important thing to do, yet it can sure be a pain in the butt (excuse the pun) when you can’t! To help with regular bowel movements make sure to be eating plenty of fresh vegetables, doing regular exercise, deep belly breathing and reducing stress. I have written more on that here.

Coffee enemas

My favourite type of enema is a coffee enema.  I do enemas irregularly, and  mostly when I’m not feeling great or doing a cleanse/detox. For instance over the last few weeks I’ve put myself on an elimination type diet in an attempt to identify if any of the foods I eat regularly are causing my mild allergy symptoms – I do a lot of self-learning around health, I’m my own guinea pig. Because I’ve cut out a lot of foods, like dairy, wheat and gluten and added cleansing ingredients such as diatomaceous earth and oregano oil, I’ve experienced mild cleansing reactions.

Coffee enemas were popularised by Dr Max Gersen of the Gerson Therapy. The Gerson Therapy uses coffee enemas as part of a treatment for healing patients with cancer or other chronic disease. Coffee enemas have been found to stimulate the detoxification of the liver through various mechanisms including stimulating the production of bile.

Before attempting an enema you should have a general level of good health including importantly regular (at least once a day) bowel movements – unless you have supervision or guidance by a trained practitioner. Eliminating waste and toxins through regular bowel movements is crucial to great health. The use of filtered spring water (not chlorinated/fluoridated tap water/ contaminated water) is imperative, as is following a tested protocol.

Enemas are sometimes advised to assist in bowel movements, as are laxatives. However, dependant use of either enemas or laxatives can lead to further problematic issues.

Have you tried enemas to assist in cleansing/ detox and what was your experience?

Note – As always these are only my opinions as is everything on this blog. Please do other research and see how you feel about it. Only you will know what is right for your health.

How I healed my gut after intestinal parasites

I’ve described in a previous post how I suffered from intestinal parasites  for over ten months. It was only the last six months I experiencing symptoms, of which the last three were intense – diarrhoea, gas, bloating, restlessness, impaired ability to concentrate, lack of energy, generally feeling unwell and slightly nauseous.

Kefir and Kambucha

When I was first diagnosed (again, check my previous post and all the in-depth comments about the importance of proper diagnosis), I immediately began on herbal treatments – I took various herbal blends that included the usual anti-parasite herbs including:

• Black walnuts (Juglans nigra)
• Wormwood (Artemisia annua)
• Garlic (Allium sativum)
• Barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
• Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)

I felt immediate relief from the herbal treatment, and continued with them for about two to three months. When things weren’t improving fast enough (and remember I had really exhausted myself out at this stage), I returned to my naturopath and asked for more information on medication. I am loathe to take medication unless I absolutely feel I need to, and I hadn’t had any medication for several years. I also feel that if I had more knowledge and experience, I may have been able to treat myself naturally – I am on this path now and hopefully in the future will have more information and skill to be abel to do this – stay tuned!

For now though, my naturopath (who works with her doctor husband who is able to prescribe medication), provided a script for a particular combination of medications* that she found worked best for other patients. I was warned I would feel slightly nauseous. I was also recommended to heal my gut afterwards, and this is what I want to write more about now.

Intestinal parasites occupy, obviously, the intestines, and so in themselves have an impact on the ability to uptake essential nutrients and minerals. Taking medication also harms the beneficial gut flora. I would highly recommend anyone who is mending themselves from intestinal parasites seek the help of a naturopath, and also arrange to have blood tests to determine levels of things such as iron, active B12, zinc and protein to be sure to treat any deficiencies and get back on the road to full health. My results showed very low iron, very low B12 and low zinc.

Quit sugar

In order to regain my health, I spent time investigating and experimenting with various diets such as the CSD diet (which admittedly got me to cut out sugar for three days upon which I kept going using  Sarah Wilson’s 8-week IQS plan – do it!).  ‘Quitting’ sugar was of major importance in feeling relief from the symptoms of intestinal parasites, and in healing my gut. Like most people, I didn’t have much obvious sugar (never drank soda/soft-drink, rarely had cake etc), but I tended towards sweet fruits and wanted a sugar hit in the afternoons (such as chocolate or toast with honey) – all signs of a sugar addict. I won’t go on about it here, there are other awesome sites dedicated to this topic, but do yourself and family a massive favour, particularly if you have intestinal parasites, and quit.

Supplements for intestinal health

I took (and still am taking, minus the iron) the following supplements. Note, I provide name and brand just for interest:

• iron (ferrasorb by Thorne)
• zinc (zinc picolinate by Now)
• immunoglobulins (immune advantage by Now)
• probiotic formula (Primal Defense which includes Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus plant arum, L.acidophilus, and others; by Garden of Life)
• B complex (#6 by Thorne)

More recent supplements – are these going to be KEY to full health?

More recently, and since the medication treatment, I am taking the following supplements. I will write more about these in time, and feel these two will help to regain full health and stave of re-infection. I am taking the first one in the morning, the second one before sleeping.

• MSM (methyl-sufonyl-methane) – for it’s supply of sulfur
• Fossil Shell flour (diatomaceous earth) – for its anti-parasite/wormer qualities**

Superfood powder for general health pick me up

I also started to take a superfood powder, which I highly recommend called MANABlend. It is a mix of eleven ‘super’ foods and I love how it makes me feel. I will keep taking this even when I stop taking the other supplements.

MANABlend – boosted green smoothie for general pick me up

Probiotic rich foods

I increased my intake of homemade probiotic-rich foods and created regular batches of:

• milk kefir
• coconut kefir (occasionally, I can’t quite get used to it yet!)
• sauerkraut
• kambucha (more recently).

In addition, I started taking herbs for stress and for my overworked adrenal glands.  I swap between these two brands, and find the top one the best:

• Adrenal Health by Gaia Herbs
• AdrenoTone by Metagenics.

Heal Well All

To those on this journey, I wish you the most success with your health and I would love to hear any tips you can share on your journey to heal your gut.

* For those still looking for information on best method of treating  D.fragilis, I will be compiling further research and comments of those who have contributed to my initial blog post on the topic. Anyone who has suffered or is suffering from intestinal parasites will understand how horrible it is. It’s a difficult battle at the moment, as most docs still think the parasite shouldn’t cause any issues and thus do not, a) properly diagnose, and b) properly treat. Many people are being reinfected, particularly those with small children, as there is a big possibility pin worms could carry the parasite (and anyone with kids will know how easily they get worms).

**If you do any internet research on these two supplements you won’t find a great deal. It’s worth remembering that just because there isn’t extensive research undertaken on things doesn’t in fact mean they won’t work/help. Research is very expensive. Its unlikely that research will be undertaken for products which big pharma’s can’t make money from (fair enough). I like to keep an open mind about such things, learn from those who are on this path, and if something is not going to damage my health I am open to experimenting.

A gut-full of Parasites – my experience with Dientamoeba fragilis

This is a very icky post. I am revealing I have not done proper stools for about six months now due to hosting in my gut the parasite: Dientamoeba fragilis. How hideously gross, and importantly, dangerous to my health and potentially those around me!

Finally after suffering for months, I turned to a last resort – antibiotics. I’m still not sure if I am out of the woods yet, but thought I’d share on the topic as it seems to be far more common than we realise.

Before you think that I must have travelled to a less developed country, and only places like India and Africa have such things…. I tell you otherwise. I have not been to any other country since June last year (there is a case for it being in my system from then). I am not exactly sure where I contracted these foul buggers (the literature is not sure on the route of contraction, but most obvious is the feacal-oral route). My suspicions point to when I stayed with friends in the hinterland of the north coast of NSW in a cabin on their property which is infrequently used. We drank filtered water, but I showered, brushed teeth etc using tank water which hadn’t been flushed out in over six months. Interestingly, there is mounting evidence and personal experiences that threadworm (sometimes called pinworm) Enterobius vermicularis is the vector (infective agent or carrier) responsible for person to person spread. And anyone with little kids at school knows how common worms are!

More and more it is being discovered that being infected with parasites is no longer a problem of developing countries alone. Parasites could potentially be contracted from infected water supply in cities such as Sydney as is discussed in this article on the topic here.

Having this experience has certainly made me take water filtration far more seriously. Previously I had felt invincible and been adventurous (or stupid) enough to drink town water in places like India (note this was after six months of traveling in India).

What is this species living in my gut?

Dientamoeba fragilis is a parasite that lives in the large intestine of people, and animals. Many people who have the parasite do not have symptoms. Often it is mis-diagnosed as something like Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS). It is also not often recognised even by well known clinical practices, with many saying that it is asymptomatic, that is, it occurs but shouldn’t have any effect on humans and so is not always treated. This seems to be changing with well known medical schools such as St Vincent’s in Sydney (Dr Damien Stark) and UK schools recognising that the parasite is a health issue.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Disease Prevention, the most common symptoms are diarrhea and abdominal pain. Symptoms can also include loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, and fatigue. The infection does not spread from the intestine to other parts of the body. My symptoms included bloating, foul gas (smelly farts), unformed stools (I describe them as ‘fluffy’ – I’m sorry this is very graphic!), and as it got worse I also experienced sleeplessness and fatigue. Occasionally I felt so unwell I had to leave work early and lay down, and even lost it emotionally.

Through my own research on blogs and forums, there are many people suffering from this parasite and from another more common one Blastocystis hominis. Some people are desperate to rid themselves of chronic infection with the ‘bug’ while some struggle to even have it properly diagnosed.

Why D.fragilis and B.hominis are not easily diagnosed

It seems the reason these parasites are not well diagnosed is mostly due to the way in which the stool sample is preserved. The parasites easily die off in air, and so a special fixative is required to preserve three stool (poo/faeces) samples. This is the reason that people may carry the parasite undiagnosed for years, and are often provided with a diagnosis of IBS.

If you suspect you may have one of these parasites be sure to see a sympathetic doctor who will write a referral to a pathologist indicating that your stool samples need to be taken over three consecutive days and be preserved in a special fixative!

My treatment

Once I had an accurate diagnosis, I got straight onto herbal treatments. While this didn’t work for me, with correct dosage and persistence, this may be a good method. See a skilled naturopath for the full list of practitioner dispensed herbs/supplements. My experience with this route was that it certainly reduced my symptoms dramatically, but once the monthly dosage finished my symptoms would return.

I took preparations of anti-parasitic natural ingredients including Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), Black Walnut leaf (Juglans nigra), coupled with herbs and nutrients for the gastrointestinal tract which is damaged from the persistent infection (things like Aloe Vera, Slippery Elm bark, Tumeric, Glutamine). I also took a probiotic.

In the end I called my naturopath and after a discussion on symptoms and risks, I asked for a last resort antibiotic prescription. It is important to take particular antibiotics as some types work better than others in treating parasites. I took a high dosage of two types of antibiotics for ten days, and I felt quite awful, particularly for the first few days.

Fingers crossed I am all clear but I wont know for sure until I have another series of stool tests later this month. You will be happy to know my bowel movements are getting closer to normal, but as I have damaged my gut flora it may take some time to settle into a proper healthy rhythm.

Take aways for me: super cautious with own hygiene, eating and drinking from clean places only, filtering tank water, staying healthy so my own immune system can fend off any reinfections.

Update: Read my follow up post on how I healed my gut after intestinal parasites.

© Angela Standley natureglow.com.au – please link back to my site if you use the recipe/reference/source me. Love to have your comments/questions below.