Enemas on GAPS: Why You Need Them More than You Think

Avoiding an enema on the GAPS diet can increase the time it takes to heal yourself by three months (says Amy Mihaly, of The Be Well Clinic).  So doing enemas on GAPS may be a major determiner of the outcome you will receive from all the hard work you do this diet. Yes, enemas may seem uncomfortable, but let me just get real with you.  I’ve been healing my gut for three years and just started doing enemas on a regular basis. This habit has completely changed my energy, my mood, my sleep, and my optimism toward healing.

 

Especially when you are dealing with die off or slow progress, you have get the toxins OUT of your body! You have to clear the compacted fecal matter stuck to the walls of your colon! Otherwise, your body will continue to reabsorb toxins and struggle daily.  I’ve personally done a cleansing enema every day for the last 6 months. Now, just to put it into context, I have the highest amount of pesticides in my body that my doctor has ever seen (by 100 fold).  The pesticides leave through my skin, leaving chemical burns- unless I do enemas.  So far, my body has not become dependent on them at all.  Debunking the myth that if I did an enema every day, I wouldn’t be able to poo on my own anymore.  

 

When working with my clients, I definitely don’t recommend starting with doing an enema every day.  Generally, I recommend they do one cleansing enema every 3 days, or 2x per week to facilitate their healing process.  Then building up the amount from there if they feel the need to.  However, everyone’s needs are different (aka me doing one every day because… pesticides).

 

I used to do a coffee enema once a week. They really helped me, and I think doing them was a huge reason parasites started coming out of me.  However, then I contracted lyme disease and these became too detoxifying.  The way I could tell was that I would feel worse, get nauseous, and have to lie down after I did one.  So doing these are more ‘advanced,’ but when my body is ready for them, they also help get me to the next level of my healing.

 

Coffee enemas are not as bad or as scary as you think, and this process is actually super empowering because you are taking such positive action toward your health! I have faith that you will get over the emotional enema hurdle very quickly when doing one every 3 days.  Unless you struggle with chronic diarrhea, I HIGHLY encourage you to try an enema at least once!

 

How to do an enema:

Get this enema kit. Even if you do not buy this particular one, make sure that the enema kit you do have has an attachable hose that is the appropriate length to fit past both of your sphincters. Here’s the down-low on human anatomy. You have two sphincters, muscles that can open and close, in your anus: one on the outside that is obvious and one roughly a few inches up on the inside, and its distance from the outside varies from person to person. 

 

Prepare Enema:

1. Boil 1 quart of filtered water the night before you do an enema. When freshly boiled, pour into quart-size mason jar, put eh lid on so it seals, and leave it out on your counter overnight for it to cool.
2. Next Morning- Put enema kit together using instructions provided in package. Rinse out with food grade hydrogen peroxide before using.
3. Hang your enema bag by the hook on a clothes hanger, and hang this clothes hanger on your shower head. Put a towel down in your bathtub that you don’t really care about. 
4. There is a pinch clamp on the hose that opens and closes access to water from your enema bag. MAKE SURE THIS CLAMP IS CLOSED before you put any liquid into your enema bag. 
5. Prepare your enema water. To do this, you use the water you boiled the night before. You can either use the entirety of this room temperature water, or you can do this to make the water warmer/ more comfortable for your first time. To do that, fill a quart-sized mason jar mostly full with room temperature filtered water and then fill the rest of your jar with boiled filtered water.  Mix water around and test the temperature.  You can test the water by putting a drop on the inside of your wrist, but I personally recommend take the temperature using a meat thermometer.  That way you do not have to guess.  The temperature of the water is so important for your comfort during this process! Aim for the water to be around 92-93 degrees Fahrenheit. The colder the water, the less comfortable, but also the more the walls of your colon will contract and shed old compacted fecal matter.
6. Take a heaping 1 tsp of sea salt and a heaping 1 tsp of aluminum free baking soda and mix it into your temperature-perfect water.  You can break open a probiotic capsule and add this powder as well.  Mix into your water with a clean fork. Pour this water into the top opening of your enema bag. 

Perform Enema:

1. Now for the fun part!  Use coconut oil or animal fat to lubricate your enema hose and your anus. Relax and get into your bathtub. Insert the hose and make sure it goes past your second sphincter. Open up the pinch clamp to let liquid in. Position yourself on all fours or lay on your right side with your knees curled up to your chest.  Have a good book to read or movie to watch. 
2. Once all of the water is in you, you can keep the hose in and wait for as long as you like, up to 15 minutes if you are comfortable doing so (I usually shoot for 3-5 minutes if doing multiple enemas, 15 minutes if I am only doing one). If you do not feel comfortable holding it, just go to the toilet and release. 
3. And yay! You did it!!! You can do up to 3-4 water enemas at a time, or until the liquid coming out of you starts to look clear. Once clear, you can take your enema game a step further by doing a coffee enema.
4. OPTIONAL: Coffee enema. These are typically not recommended to children under the age of 12 or for every sensitive people just starting their enema journey. A coffee enema stimulates your liver to detoxify and release gallstones.  Only do a coffee enema if your bowel is clear (released enema water being mostly clear) and only when your body feels ready to intensely detox. When planning to do a coffee enema, set aside two hours in your schedule. And due to the caffeine, you will want to do a coffee enema in the morning.  To prepare the coffee, dump 3 heaping tablespoons of organic ground coffee into 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Strain and allow to cool to about 92-93 degrees Fahrenheit.  Pour temperature appropriate coffee into enema bag and perform enema. You can open up a probiotic capsule and add it to the coffee as well.  Lay on your right side. Try to hold for 15 minutes, as this is about the amount of time it takes to stimulate your liver to release gallstones. This method is particularly beneficial for physical pain symptoms.

 

And Yay! You are finished! Clean your enema kit with food grade hydrogen peroxide. By performing this enema, you just sped up your gut healing time by three months! So take a warm bath with epsom or sea salt and relax. You deserve it!

 

Enemas and Easing Symptoms

One thing I have really noticed since doing enemas on GAPS regularly is that I sleep way better.  I used to go to bed not really knowing if I was going to get a full nights sleep, and now I don’t even think about it.  Along with improved sleep, doing an enema makes my gut healing time faster and my skin clearer. I’ve passed thousands of parasites, about 50 gallstones, and even after 6 months of every day enemas, parasite eggs still come out of me on a weekly basis.

 

Enema GAPS Certified Instructional Video

If you want a step-by-step video of EXACTLY how to do this, I made an Instructional Video for you. It has been reviewed + approved for accuracy by Dr. Natasha’s son. Don’t worry, I don’t do an enema in front of you! haha. But This detox support video shows exactly how to use your enema kit (I do break out my own out & show you the ropes!), how to clean it, how to prepare your water, & the serious dangers of not doing an enema correctly. I go more into depth on why enemas are such a game-changer on GAPS & Dr. Becky Plotner is even in this video! There is an instructional resource guide attached for all of the supplies + GAPS approved water filters that you’ll need for successful enema-ing. For additional info about this, you can click here.

 

GAPS Certified Instructional Videos so You can Transform Your Life

That’s why I created the GAPS Certified Instructional Videos approved by Dr. Natasha’s Son to completely change the way people go on GAPS forever. You’re in the right place if you want to See the Videos.