An excess of the physical and an excess of the psychic. Both can turn into  maladies. A psychologist may be needed to treat people who are anal-retentive. The patient faces inadequacies and pent-up emotions in the course of therapy. But, unknown to most, human beings also have rotting matter—literally and not just psychic—lodged in their innermost passages.

A recent talk on antiaging by Dr. Cris Enriquez of Rapha Health disclosed that “daily colonics are very desirable to keep away the effects of aging and maintain good health.” So how does one get rid of rotting intestinal matter? Presenting the ancient Egyptian technique, now modernized, called a colonic.

What is a colonic?

Colon therapy, a.k.a. colon cleansing, is best described as a twofold regimen. Using special equipment and a hose, enemas inject water or other liquids into the colon via the rectum. Water is biologically flushed out through a muscle contraction called peristalsis. Along with feces and other accumulated waste, water is released through the same hose in a closed system. Thus the insides are cleaned. The literal “anal-retentive” is no longer retentive, although multiple colonic sessions are needed to thoroughly cleanse.

Colon therapy, in its holistic sense, also includes oral cleaning therapy which is a strict diet of fruits and vegetables in their raw or juiced state, though other regimens include dietary fiber, dietary supplements, or even laxatives. Without meat and animal fat in the diet, patients will lose weight, ease up on cholesterol, and shield themselves from animal meat-induced diseases.

The belief that irrigation and diet can bring health benefits is based on a hypothesis called auto-intoxication, a dogma on medical deficiency theorized by the ancient Egyptians and Hellenic Greeks, and was said to be discredited by Western journals of health science in the early 1910s, according to medical history sources.

Auto-intoxication derives from the belief that waste accumulated through eating unabsorbed substances, particularly from animal sources, will eventually turn toxic and rot in the body. Auto-intoxication calls for cleaning the cleaning (read excretory) system itself.

Friendly neighborhood colon cleansing

SO there’s alternative relief. Despite the sermons of Western science, alternative treatments open another world of healing techniques. Although the colonic is not a common staple of medical clinics, through word of mouth, we discovered Tree of Life Wellness Center (http://treeoflife-wellness.com), a recently opened colon-cleansing center in Merville Park, a subdivision in Parañaque City just 10 minutes away from Makati.

They offer a beginner’s regimen consisting of five days of back-to-back irrigation, one session of body massage, and various talks on how to prepare juiced vegetables and enjoy fruit diets. It’s no different from some health spas abroad.

The Tree of Life Wellness Center provides a cleansing alternative from some of the excesses of Western medicine. The center believes that since pharmaceuticals and animal flesh accumulates in the body and turns toxic, patients must undergo colon cleansing to flush out poisonous waste. The center also has alternative programs for cancer, respiratory ailments, headaches, constipation, hyperacidity, diabetes, bloating, skin diseases, cardiovascular problems and halitosis. All these programs are based on the use of colonics and a modified diet.

As with those consumer caveats that go with all-natural health supplements, this story makes no medical claims.