Alkalising colonic irrigation with sodium bicarbonate

Why have a colonic?

People come to Parkland Natural Health for colon hydrotherapy for many different reasons.

For some, the immediate concern is constipation, abdominal fullness, bloating or the feeling that the bowel is not emptying effectively. For others, the objective is longer term: they want to encourage a bowel that has become sluggish or unresponsive to work more regularly and independently.

At Parkland Natural Health, we do not regard colon hydrotherapy simply as a way of “washing out” the bowel.

In clients with persistent constipation in particular, our therapeutic approach is often better understood as working with and stimulating the natural mechanisms responsible for bowel movement.

Using filtered water, carefully controlled changes in water flow and pressure, abdominal manipulation and continual feedback from the client, the treatment is intended to encourage the colon’s own muscular and reflex activity.

Supporting bowel evacuation

The most immediate effect of colon hydrotherapy is the introduction of warm filtered water into the colon followed by the evacuation of water, gas and bowel contents through a closed drainage system.

For clients who feel constipated or incompletely emptied, this may provide a sense of:

• more effective bowel evacuation;
• reduced abdominal fullness;
• relief from trapped wind;
• reduced bloating;
• greater abdominal comfort;
• feeling lighter following treatment.

The amount released differs considerably between clients and between individual sessions.

Our objective is not necessarily to empty as much bowel content as possible during one appointment. In clients with chronic bowel dysfunction, the way in which the bowel responds to treatment can be more important than the volume evacuated.

Encouraging natural peristalsis

The colon moves its contents through coordinated muscular contractions known as peristalsis.

This activity depends on interaction between intestinal muscle, the enteric nervous system and sensory signals generated within the bowel.

During colon hydrotherapy, gradual filling creates gentle changes in volume and pressure inside the colon. The therapist can vary the water flow within the low-pressure operating range of the gravity-fed system and combine this with abdominal massage.

These changing stimuli may encourage the bowel to contract and release its contents.

For this reason, particularly when working with chronic constipation, we see colon hydrotherapy as more than simply irrigation.

A form of bowel stimulation

Over almost two decades of providing colon hydrotherapy, we have repeatedly observed clients whose bowel initially responded very little but became progressively more active during a course of appropriately managed treatments.

In some cases, clients who reported bowel movements only once every several days — or sometimes approximately once a week — subsequently reported considerably more regular spontaneous bowel movements.

These are clinical observations from our practice rather than results from a controlled clinical trial, and individual outcomes vary.

Nevertheless, they influence the way we approach chronic constipation.

Instead of trying simply to remove the maximum possible amount of bowel contents during every session, the therapist may concentrate on eliciting and observing the bowel’s natural response to:

• controlled filling and release;
• gentle variations in water pressure;
• abdominal massage;
• stimulation of different areas of the colon;
• repeated cycles of distension and evacuation.

The longer-term objective is to encourage the bowel to do more of the work itself.

“Training” rather than simply flushing the bowel

This distinction is particularly important for clients with long-standing sluggish bowel function.

A colon that has been moving infrequently may not respond immediately or strongly during a first treatment.

We therefore do not judge the success of a session solely by how much material is evacuated.

A useful response may instead be:

• stronger bowel contractions during treatment;
• an increasing urge to evacuate;
• spontaneous bowel activity after the appointment;
• greater frequency of bowel movements between treatments;
• improved awareness of the body’s natural bowel signals.

When this happens over a course of treatments, it is reasonable from a practical therapeutic perspective to describe the process as bowel stimulation or bowel retraining, rather than simply bowel cleansing.

However, colon hydrotherapy should not be represented as a proven medical treatment capable of repairing damaged nerves, and clients with neurological bowel dysfunction or significant post-surgical problems should be medically assessed where appropriate.

Constipation and sluggish bowel function

Chronic constipation is one of the most common reasons people enquire about colon hydrotherapy.

There can be many causes, including diet and hydration, medication, reduced physical activity, behavioural factors, pelvic-floor problems, gastrointestinal disease and neurological conditions.

Colon hydrotherapy does not remove the need to determine the cause of persistent constipation.

Nevertheless, the treatment can provide controlled mechanical and sensory stimulation to the bowel while assisting evacuation.

The abdominal massage incorporated into our treatments is also relevant. Research into abdominal colonic massage has found improvements in bowel-movement frequency and quality of life in people with chronic constipation, although this evidence should not be confused with evidence for the entire colon hydrotherapy procedure itself¹.

Bowel function after illness, surgery or neurological disturbance

Some clients seek help because their bowel habits have changed following illness, abdominal procedures or neurological problems.

These cases require particular care because the cause and severity of bowel dysfunction can vary considerably.

In our clinical experience, some suitable clients have shown progressively stronger bowel responses during carefully managed colon hydrotherapy.

One possible therapeutic rationale is repeated stimulation of sensory and muscular responses within the bowel through controlled filling, emptying and abdominal manipulation.

However, this should be distinguished from a claim that colon hydrotherapy repairs neurological damage. There is currently insufficient clinical evidence to make that assertion.

Where there has been significant surgery, neurological disease or another serious medical condition, suitability should be assessed carefully and medical clearance may be required.

Abdominal massage as part of the treatment

Abdominal manipulation is an important component of the way we practise colon hydrotherapy.

During treatment, the therapist may massage different areas of the abdomen to encourage movement through the colon and stimulate its natural muscular activity.

Massage is combined with what the therapist can observe about the client’s response to water flow, pressure and evacuation.

The treatment is therefore dynamic rather than simply allowing water to flow continuously for a fixed period.

The therapist may:

• slow or temporarily stop the incoming water;
• allow additional time for release;
• modify the filling cycle;
• massage a particular area of the abdomen;
• wait for a bowel contraction;
• repeat the cycle according to the client’s response.

This allows the treatment to be adapted to each individual bowel.

Bloating, trapped wind and abdominal fullness

Bloating and abdominal fullness are also common reasons for treatment.

During colon hydrotherapy, both gas and bowel contents may be released through the closed system.

Some clients consequently report feeling less bloated or more comfortable afterwards.

Bloating nevertheless has numerous possible causes and persistent or unexplained symptoms should not simply be attributed to the presence of bowel contents.

Sodium bicarbonate colon hydrotherapy

Parkland Natural Health also offers a specialist colon hydrotherapy treatment in which a carefully prepared sodium bicarbonate solution is used.

We originally introduced this option particularly for clients concerned about excessive yeast or Candida.

What does research tell us about bicarbonate and Candida?

There is laboratory evidence that sodium bicarbonate can inhibit Candida species.

Published experimental research has demonstrated antifungal activity against yeast isolates, including Candida. One study found inhibition of yeast growth at tested sodium bicarbonate concentrations².

More recent laboratory work using clinical Candida albicans isolates found that sodium bicarbonate inhibited fungal growth and substantially reduced both hyphal formation and biofilm production. The researchers described the effect principally as fungistatic, meaning that it suppresses fungal growth and activity rather than necessarily killing every organism³.

This provides a scientifically plausible rationale for exposing Candida to a bicarbonate-rich environment.

An important distinction

These studies were performed under laboratory conditions.

They do not demonstrate that a bicarbonate colonic eradicates intestinal candidiasis in humans, and bicarbonate colon hydrotherapy should therefore not be described as a clinically proven cure for Candida infection.

At Parkland Natural Health, we use the bicarbonate option as a specialised colon hydrotherapy treatment based on the known biological effects of sodium bicarbonate, our practical experience and the individual circumstances of the client.

Clients who have, or suspect they have, a clinical fungal infection should seek appropriate diagnosis and medical treatment where required.

Why bicarbonate changes the environment

Sodium bicarbonate is an alkaline compound naturally involved in the body’s acid-base regulation.

When used in an appropriate solution, it alters the local chemical environment.

Research in other medical contexts has demonstrated that bicarbonate can alter extracellular acidity. For example, the scientific paper by Zhang discusses the ability of sodium bicarbonate to increase pH when applied locally to an acidic tumour environment⁴.

That paper is relevant to the general biological principle of bicarbonate modifying local acidity, but it is important to be precise: it is cancer research and provides no direct evidence about Candida or colon hydrotherapy.

That distinction matters to us because we prefer to explain what the science actually demonstrates rather than attribute conclusions to studies that they did not test.

Why clients sometimes choose a course rather than a single colonic

A first appointment provides useful information about how an individual’s bowel responds.

Some bowels respond immediately and strongly. Others require a much slower approach.

For a client with long-standing constipation, one session may assist evacuation without necessarily changing the bowel pattern afterwards.

A course allows the therapist to observe whether bowel responses change over time.

Possible signs of progress may include:

• stronger spontaneous contractions during treatment;
• easier evacuation;
• a stronger natural urge to open the bowel;
• spontaneous bowel movements after the session;
• increasingly regular bowel movements between appointments.

This is one reason we offer both single treatments and structured treatment courses.

A course does not guarantee that these changes will occur, and treatment frequency should be determined individually.

Becoming more aware of your bowel

Another benefit that is sometimes overlooked is bowel awareness.

People with chronic constipation can become accustomed to ignoring or barely recognising the body’s signals to evacuate.

During treatment, clients experience bowel filling, movement, contraction and the urge to release in a controlled setting.

The therapist communicates with the client throughout the procedure and may draw attention to these sensations.

For some people, learning to recognise these signals can become part of establishing better bowel habits outside the clinic.

General wellbeing after treatment

Some clients report additional subjective effects after colon hydrotherapy, including:

• feeling lighter;
• a feeling of greater wellbeing;
• improved comfort;
• feeling more energetic;
• improved sleep;
• improved mood.

Historically, clients have also reported changes in skin condition and other aspects of wellbeing.

These experiences are individual and should not be interpreted as evidence that colon hydrotherapy treats disorders such as psoriasis, acne, depression, allergies or other systemic diseases.

We therefore regard these as reported experiences, not guaranteed therapeutic outcomes.

What colon hydrotherapy cannot promise

We believe this distinction is important.

Colon hydrotherapy can assist evacuation and provides a means of stimulating and working with bowel activity.

It does not mean that the treatment has been clinically demonstrated to cure every condition sometimes associated with poor digestive health.

We therefore do not promise that colon hydrotherapy will cure:

• Candida infection;
• neurological disease;
• inflammatory bowel disease;
• skin disorders;
• allergies;
• depression;
• chronic fatigue;
• other systemic illnesses.

Where an underlying medical condition is present, appropriate medical diagnosis and treatment remain important.

This does not diminish the practical benefits clients may experience. It simply distinguishes what we observe in clinical practice from what has been proven in controlled medical research.

Is colon hydrotherapy suitable for everyone?

No.

Before a first treatment, every client completes a health-screening questionnaire and has a consultation with the therapist.

Certain gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, surgical and other medical circumstances may mean that colon hydrotherapy should not be performed or should only be considered following medical advice.

If we identify a contraindication during your pre-treatment consultation, we will not proceed with the treatment.

Read our Contraindications and Restrictions →

What actually happens during a colonic?

If you are considering your first treatment, our What to Expect from Colon Hydrotherapy page explains the entire appointment step by step — from consultation and changing through insertion of the lubricated disposable speculum, the closed gravity-fed system, abdominal massage and water cycles to using the toilet afterwards and receiving aftercare advice.

Read: What to Expect from Colon Hydrotherapy →

A different way of thinking about colon hydrotherapy

For a person who simply wants bowel evacuation, a colonic can be thought of as a cleansing procedure.

But in many of the chronic constipation cases we see, that description is incomplete.

Our approach is:

not simply to empty the bowel, but to encourage the bowel to respond.

The combination of controlled filling and release, changes in water flow, abdominal manipulation, feedback from the client and repeated stimulation of natural bowel reflexes forms the basis of this approach.

For some clients, the most valuable outcome is therefore not what leaves the bowel during the appointment.

It is what the bowel begins to do by itself afterwards.

Ready to book?

Your first colonic appointment includes health screening, consultation, treatment and aftercare advice.

Alkalising colonic irrigation with sodium bicarbonate

Safe and effective colon hydrotherapy includes an initial consultation. Consequently, sodium bicarbonate delivered to the colon through hydrotherapy can kill off Candida.

£119.43or£107.99 if booked online

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