Ancient Herbal Method for Colonic Cleansing

Colonic cleansing has been practiced since ancient times. The Egyptians recorded their procedure in the Ebers Papyrus, a document dating back more than 3,000 years. They believed most illnesses originated in the colon and manifested themselves in the forms of constipation or diarrhea, bloating, chronic fatigue, intestinal gas, stomach pain, indigestion and backache. They used infusions of herbs and water gathered from the sea in order to cleanse the colon of bacteria that could lead to such maladies.

What Is a Colonic Cleanse?

• Also called colon hydrotherapy and colonic irrigation, a colonic cleanse is the process in which purified water is flushed through the colon via the rectum in order to remove waste products that may become breeding grounds for illness-causing bacteria. In the majority of modern colonic cleansing practices, no other chemicals or additives are typically mixed with the purified water. This seems to be the biggest evolutionary change in colonic cleansing since ancient times. When herbs are used, they commonly include slippery elm bark and/or licorice root.

How Has It Changed in Modern Times?

• The ancient Egyptians, as recorded in the Ebers Papyrus, practiced colonic cleansing for three days in a row during each month of the year as a precautionary ritual to guard against illness. The ibis bird proved to be the inspiration for the Egyptian colonic cleansing regimen, as they recorded observing it insert sea water into its anus presumably in order to remove toxins. The Egyptians replicated the process themselves by fashioning a tube made out of reed or carved from bone and attaching it to an ox's bladder or silk cloth filed with sea water. In addition to the minerals found in the salt water (used abundantly in many Egyptian medical treatments), ancient Egyptians also added antiseptic herbs such as sweet clover and date extract in order to purify the colon.

  Having survived the ages, the herbal colonic cleanse is practiced today in many Indian Ayurvedic clinics. The extracts of the dried fruits known as haritaki, amalaki and bibhitaki are added to purified water and used to not only detoxify the colon but also to restabilize the digestive tract.