For most people, just the mention of an enema instills a bottom-clenching fear.
But for some, having several gallons of water pumped through the colon is as self-pampering as a pedicure.
A colonic, also known as colon hydrotherapy or colon irrigation, is an intense water enema that clears out the colon.
Some doctors and spas are offering the treatment as a remedy for everything from acne to weight loss.
“It can affect every part of your life,” said Dr. Bradley Frezza, a naturopath and master herbalist who works in Memphis, Tenn.
According to colonic providers, the average American is walking around with between 5 and 20 pounds of impacted fecal matter in his or her colon.
“You should see how much material sticks to the colon wall,” he said.
Without a hint of sarcasm, Frezza boasts he has a robust elimination three times a day, thanks to a healthful diet and regular colonics.
At his clinic, AHE Inc.’s Alternative Health and Beauty, Frezza offers a variety of detox treatments.
Colonics are his best sellers.
“It’s amazing what it can do,” said Frezza.
“Seventy to 80 percent of all disease is caused by what you eat and what you eliminate,” Frezza said.
But the real problem, he says, is what you don’t eliminate.
Perhaps the least sexy organ in the human body, the colon is the last stop on your lunch’s tour through the digestive system.
After food and nutrients have been absorbed, what remains slides into the twisty, tubular tract of the bacteria-lined colon.
The organ absorbs the remaining water, salt and any straggling nutrients the small intestine left behind, forming the final product to be eliminated.
But as people know too well, it doesn’t always go that smoothly.
The American diet of processed food, sugar, alcohol and not enough fiber results in bloating and constipation, landing people at the local pharmacy, rifling through a buffet of medications — or off to get a colonic.
The stress from a divorce and an unexpected pregnancy threw Amber Sam’s health out of control. She ended up packing on an extra 85 pounds and being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
“I was at a fork in the road,” she said.
A friend in California told her about colon irrigation, and after several months of colonics, she dropped all the weight and got her diabetes under control, she said.
A year ago, Sam left the banking industry to open Renew Wellness Spa in Germantown, Tenn., where she now does eight to 12 colonics a day.
“It’s been a lot of effort on our part educating people,” said Sam, who was trained under the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy.
Most people think a colonic is another term for colonoscopy. Sam attempts to clear up some of the mystery with a colonic demonstration on her spa’s website, renewspamemphis.com.
“It takes away a lot of that fear,” she said.
Although the equipment has gotten more sophisticated, colonics are nothing new. Colon hydrotherapy traces back to ancient Egypt.
Much of the medical establishment is skeptical.
The Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit organization, released an article saying colonics do more harm than good. And even Dr. Oz weighed in on the debate, warning that the procedure could have damaging complications.
Yet colon hydration practitioners and their patients insist it is a life-changing treatment, easing depression, eradicating skin problems, flattening bellies and curing diseases.
“It’s really something you have to experience,” Frezza said.
He recalled a female patient who came to him in terrible shape.
“She was loaded with intestinal parasites, her hair was falling out, she was sluggish,” said Frezza, who has since treated her with 30 colonics over a three-month span.
“Now she comes in bouncing like a cheerleader,” he said.
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