By Kelley Tice
Colon therapy may not be for everyone – especially the weak of heart or should we say the weak of stomach?
For example, at the Washington Center for Inspiration and Transformation on 220-24 Merrick Blvd. in Laurelton, Florence Washington, an ordained minister with a Ph.D in naturopathy, proudly displays a picture of the insides of a distended colon after an autopsy. (Picture fat sausages linked together.)
And if that's not enough to convince a potential client of the necessities of this alternative procedure, then perhaps the bottles of floating matter will.
“Do you see this? I have not sent this out to the lab for testing yet, but I believe this is a parasite,” Washington said. “I found it in one man's stomach.”
She held up a bottled jar with what looked like a floating mussel or some other seafood matter.
“Sometimes there is no indication, which goes to show that parasites can be more prevalent in the United States than what we are led to believe,” Washington said.
The Washington Center is one of two Queens facilities advertised under “colon health care” in a directory called New York Naturally: Community Resources for Natural Living. The phone number for the other, Phoenix Rising Holistic Center in Forest Hills, has been disconnected despite its rather large ad in the free directory that lists everything from acupuncture to yoga therapy and a whole assortment of natural food stores, practitioners, and products in between.
The Washington Center's much smaller ad reads “Colonic Irrigation” under which these specialties are listed: Disposable Accessories, Purified Water, Parasite Cleanse, Detoxification, Nutrition, Reflexology, Reiki, and Hypnotherapy.
Washington said colon therapists are not licensed in New York state, but many practitioners are certified by various training institutes.
In her promotional literature she lists affiliations with the International Association of Colon Therapists, International Association Counselors and Therapists and National Federation of NeuroLinguistic Psychology.
Like most holistic practitioners, Washington believes that good health involves an integration of the mind, body, and spirit. But for her, the healing begins with a healthy colon.
“God has given us the ability to help our bodies heal. We have to support that ability by what we eat, digest, assimilate, and eliminate,” Washington said on a recent Sunday afternoon.
After returning from church, Washington gave a brief tour and a lengthy lecture on the hazards of poor colon care. With her metal lecture wand, she pointed to the Digestive System Chart hanging on one wall and described the process of digesting food and eliminating waste. In her view, this process rarely runs smoothly.
“If we combine our food improperly, it can stay in our system to putrefy and ferment,” she said. “This can cause a toxic build-up, gas and constipation, among other things.”
After pointing to the picture of the autopsied colon, she ended with a brief demonstration of the instrument used to clean the large intestines. Approved by the Federal Drug Administration, the aluminum instrument is mounted in the wall. To the left is the bed where the client rests on his stomach. A disposable, double cylinder, which consists of in-flow and outflow tubes, is inserted into the rectum. The in-flow tube carries distilled water into the large intestines or colon.
“The person will let you know about the pressure,” Washington said. “When he is feeling enough pressure to evacuate, he will let you know when he is ready to release.”
Once the client is filled with water, the pressure is turned off and the lever controlling the outflow is released. At this point gravity pulls the waste products through the outflow tube, pass a window in the aluminum box, and eventually down the sewage drain.
Washington emphasized that the distilled water flowing into the body comes through one set of pipes and filters while the waste products exit through another set of plumbing. The whole process takes about 45 minutes to one hour and uses about 25 gallons of water.
The waste that passes through a window in the metal box is what usually reveals the source of pain, according to Washington.
“There was one woman who had a terrible backache. She couldn't even bend over or squat down,” Washington said. “She had two MRIs done and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Then she came here and had a cleaning.
“You could see whole broccoli florets, mushrooms and other whole vegetables. She thought she was eating healthy – and she was. She just wasn't taking the time to chew her food. But after the colon cleansing, she had no problem,” Washington said.
Dr. John Cleodes, a gastroenterologist with Astoria Medical Group, said he had heard of colon therapy.
“I'm not a proponent and I haven't used it,” Cleodes said. “I'm not saying it hurts or helps. There are just no conclusive studies to say one way or another.”
He noted that gastroenterologists use a similar method for severe constipation with distilled water.
Washington provides a basic, four-session colon cleansing with the option to continue in a second phase of eight sessions. In addition to colon cleansing, the second phase includes liver detoxification, enzyme renew, a kidney and bladder flush.
