‘“Those who do not find some time every day for health must sacrifice a lot of time one day for illness.”

Father Sebastian Kneipp.

Hippocrates said “Let food be your medicine. Let medicine be your food.”

In English, we have a saying that ‘the love of money is the root of all evil’. If we change one of these words to ‘route’, we may be able to see that within our lives there have been many people, with both money and influential backgrounds who have changed the ‘route’ of our lives. Never more so has this been than in the case of Pasteur and Bechamp.

Modern medicine progressed to its present level through a scientific and philosophical debate that came to a head in the 19th Century. This debate was between two eminent Frenchmen, Antoine Bechamp and Louis Pasteur, both famous microbiologists. Louis Pasteur being the stronger, more flamboyant and vocal of the two, won the day by convincing the scientific community that his view alone was correct and went to great lengths to disprove the theory of Bechamp. Pasteur came from a family that had both the right connections and wealth to support him in his research.

Pasteur’s accepted theory of disease described non-changeable microbes as being the primary cause of disease. The theory of monomorphis, when it is accepted that microbes or bacteria invading the body from the outside, only cause disease. Commonly known as the germ theory.

Bechamp on the other had held the view that microorganisms go through different stages of development and evolve into various growth forms within their life cycle. This is a theory known as pleomorphism. Bechamp found microbes in the blood, which he named microzymas. The microbes changed shape as individuals became diseased which Bechamp felt was the cause of disease and produced the theory that disease comes from inside the body itself.

A third scientist of the same period, Claude Bernard, who also entered the argument, said it was actually the “milieu” or environment that was important to the disease process. The ‘environment’ in which they were exposed affected the change of the microbes. Therefore, if the environment of the body was correct disease should not develop.

At the time of his death, Pasteur finally gave an acknowledgment of Bechamp’s work by saying “Bernard was correct, the microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything.” He finally admitted on his deathbed that his own germ theory had flaws. This admission, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears and to save the faces of those who had promoted Pasteur’s theory this change of history never took place. The mainstream of science at that time had already accepted the allopathic (drug based) route.

The result of the road paved by Pasteur is what we see today. When a body is out of balance an attempt is made to put it back into balance first of all with drug therapy, then through surgery to cut away the parts that are ‘diseased’. The general effect is to remove the symptom, but not to improve the terrain, or environment (the balance of the body)

Much mystery and ignorance surrounds the benefits of colonic hydrotherapy. Socially we find the discussion of anything to do with areas below the belt, impossible and embarrassing to deal with. Many people come to me with the idea that colonic hydrotherapy, colonic irrigation, or high enema (to give it some of its names), ‘is a new therapy’, ‘an unnatural practice’, ‘something which will prevent me from going to the toilet naturally if I have too many’ ‘I was curious to see if it would help me’ and yet the interest and demand for this type of treatment is growing because people are seeking ways of improving their health.

It is a practice that has been around for thousands of years in both Eastern and Western medicine. Some of the early accounts appear in Egyptian medical writings and in the Book of Angels, The Essene Gospel of Peace found with the Dead Sea Scrolls, where we are told that the uncleanness within is greater than the uncleanness without. We are instructed to let the water flow through all our bowels until the body is free from every uncleanness and disease.

Until the late 1920’s practically every doctor’s surgery in America housed a colonic unit and until the beginning of 1950 in the UK some doctors still practiced this method of treatment.

The list of emotions and illnesses that can benefit from colonic hydrotherapy is long, but to give you some idea of a few of the benefits I should like to quote one or two clients who have been kind enough to allow me to pass on their comments to you.

COMPANY DIRECTOR: ‘I have always been unable to control my anger. Since having regular colonics I find I am more in control of my life and much less angry.’

ACTRESS: ‘Apart from the benefits to my skin I find that having colonic therapy has made me less stressful and able to concentrate on my work more. I am more mentally alive.’

FILM DIRECTOR: ‘As a woman, it is important in this profession, that I do not show my age. The benefit of this treatment means that I do not age so quickly.’

BEAUTICIAN: ‘In my job I have to look good and I have been fighting a losing battle with creams and lotions which have not improved my skin complaint. After taking regular colonics not only is my skin really good, but I feel and look great, plus I have more energy.’

STOCKBROKER: ‘Working in the City is stressful enough. My job adds more stress and in the past I found this difficult to cope with. Since having weekly sessions this stress has eased and I’ve lost weight, which is an added benefit.’

Visit also this new website from Dilys Gannon-Bone