I admit it.
I haven’t completely quit coffee. In fact I still use it regularly…. but not in the way you might think. I have discovered a whole new way to consume coffee that doesn’t jangle my nervous system, mess with my sleep or cause me to be a type A freak.
The truth is I am recovering . . .
…recovering from a decade of coffee abuse. Sure I only drank one cup a day (sometimes 2), but it really messed me up. You see I had my first cup of coffee when I was 27. I had lived though adolescence and early adulthood, even college without it. I knew what it was like to be clean.
My addiction didn’t really start in earnest though until after graduate school when I moved to Portland, Oregon. I discovered that I could get a whole lot of stuff I really didn’t want to do, DONE if I just drank coffee first.
I was hooked… and very very productive between 32 and 42. I did quite during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but I always got back on the caffeine just as soon as they weaned. At 42 though I knew something had to change. It took me until this past Fall to completely kick the habit.
I owe it all to Working Class Acupuncture and….
to Coffee!
What???
You heard it. Coffee helped me get off coffee. I am now just consuming it a little ahem, differently.
Have you ever heard of a coffee enema? I had heard of them for years and even done a few, but until last year I had not really done them in earnest.
I started them as part of my training in Nutritional Balancing and was instantly amazed at the results when done consistently. Some practitioners recommend one do them up to 6 times/day! For awhile I did a coffee enema every day as part of my own healing protocol and the results were impressive. I felt alive and clear headed (without cutting out grains!)
I no longer do them every day, but twice a month and then daily during my Seasonal Cleanse. I use them with Nutritional Therapy clients and they are featured prominently in my brand new edition of the Top 10 Supplement Eliminator.
So many of us are stalled on our healing journey due to the toxic load we carry with us, it’s no wonder we need to drink coffee to get through the day. Well, I am here to tell you there is another way.
Coffee Enemas can help you quit (or reduce) the espresso habit.
They can help you feel better than you’ve felt in years without the cost of drinking coffee daily. I promise that once you get started you will really notice a difference in your vitality and well being. If I had to choose one thing to have people do to increase their well being it would probably be coffee enemas (or a close tie with saunas)
So here is how to do a coffee enema:
It is best to do a coffee enema first thing in the morning (because of the effects of caffeine) after a bowel movement if possible so your colon is empty. The goal is to have two 15 minute 1/2 qt. coffee enemas. You may have to work up to this. Take as much as you can hold and work up. It’s harder that you think!
What you need:
* An good quality non-plastic or PVC Enema Bag
* Coconut oil, butter, or olive oil as a lubricant
* Stainless steel cooking pot.
* 2 tablespoons of organic dark roast coffee fully caffeinated, drip grind coffee
* 1 qallon filtered water. Watch out: Chlorinated water will destroy your intestinal flora.
* An old towel. They can get stained with coffee.
* Cotton cloth for filtering coffee (don’t use paper)
How to make the coffee:
1. In advance, bring 1 quart filtered water to a boil.
2. Turn off and add 2 flat tablespoons of coffee and let it steep for 5 minutes.
3. Strain the liquid by pouring it through your cotton cloth.
4. On the morning of your enema, add 2-6 Tbsp to Spring or filtered water and warm it as close to body temperature as possible. It should not be too warm or too cold because it will trigger your body to expel it.
How to do a coffee enema:
1. Begin with Dry Skin Brushing
2. Lie down on a towel on your back, or right side
3. Lubricate the tip of your enema tube
4. Gently insert the tip of the enema tube about 4 inches.
5. Release the clamp and let the first quart of coffee flow in, but not too deeply. Clamp off the tubing as soon as there is the slightest amount of discomfort or fullness.
6. Do your best to hold the enema for 12-15 minutes and REPEAT
7. Rinse out the bag and hang to dry. You can wash the colon tube with non-toxic soap and water. Periodically run boiling water or 1/2 water and 1⁄2 hydrogen peroxide through the empty bag to discourage mold growth when not in use.
How to know if you are using the right amount of coffee:
If you feel wired after a coffee enema, reduce the amount of coffee by half. You may experience your gallbladder releasing under the right rib cage. If don’t experience this, consider making the coffee stronger, up to 8 tablespoons/quart. You can also increase the volume of coffee used.
* Never force a colon tube! Add more solution and you will be able to gently move the tube deeper. Sometimes a few evacuations are necessary before there is space to go deeper. Listen to your body. Pain means slow down.
You might be wondering now how and why Coffee Enemas work. Well that is for another article!
Intrigued?
You might be interested in our Seasonal Cleanse Kit:
Hello and thank you for reading this. I am not sure if you will have the time to respond to me as I am sure you get tons of emails! I have been trying to eat healthy and mostly raw for several weeks now. I am doing everything I can to eat right and to take care of my body. I am 66 and have always been healthy. But this last year I have had kidney stone operation twice, my gall bladder removed and a hysterectomy. So this has really scared me to want to start a healthy diet. I am about 30 pounds overweight and want to get back in shape, too. So now I am hearing about coffee enemas and am thinking that I should do them and that not having a gallbladder is okay. My question to you is…is there anything I should do or not do when it comes to coffee enemas or diet? I remember my urologist saying to me that I could eat anything I wanted and when I asked him about spinach he said sure as long as I wasn’t a vegan and overdid it. Well, I wasn’t a vegan then but I guess I am on the road to being one now. I am juicing everyday and using my vitamix for smoothies. I always read how healthy “green” drinks are. Are they good for me, too – when I’m prone for kidney stones? I’m really confused as to what I should do now and how to proceed. Any help you can give me would be very appreciated. Thank you so much and kind regards, Birgit
How does this work for someone who has had their gallbladder removed? Still ok to go ahead?
@Ellie, What a great question!
Coffee enemas are safe and still helpful for detoxification even if you have had your gall bladder out. You can read more about how coffee enemas detoxify here: http://www.tierrasoul.com/why-coffee-enemas-work/
Here is a quote from the Gerson Institute:
“Cholecystectomy does not contraindicate coffee enemas at all. To put this in context, removal of the gall bladder deprives the liver of its depot for storage of preused bile, ie., bile that has been partially saturated with toxins is dessicated and stored for additional uses. Bile goes through this process 9 – 10 times before it becomes too saturated with adsorbed solutes and is allowed to work its way out of the body through the intestinal tract. Post-cholecystectomy, the liver compensates for the lack of stored bile by producing more, which it is quite capable of doing. Many people find that grazing with 6 small meals per day will help them avoid digestive problems.
On challenge with coffee per rectum, the liver and small-gut wall intensify their detoxification enzyme (glutathione-S-transferase) activity six to seven fold. Bile production itself is increased by as much as 25% – 30%. Once the palmitates of the coffee have been cleared, bile production returns to normal, a process taking 30 – 60 minutes. Detoxification enzyme activity remains elevated for hours”
(from: http://curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1554322)
I want to point out that for many people coffee is truly poisonous. I’m one of those. Genetically a slow metabolizer. I switched to “decaf” only to learn that decaf is more low caf. I had PVC and SVT with coffee chocolate any caffeine in the minutest amount. Many people do not realize that caffeine or even theobromine in chocolate can cause symptoms in those who are stimulant sensitive. This is an interesting approach for those who can tolerate coffee safely and want to get off of it. I also like that you’ve thought of an approach that isn’t cold turkey but rather more clever.
@Belinda, this is a very good point. I am personally very sensitive to caffeine in coffee when I drink it (I get whole body muscle cramping) and am careful with how much coffee I use in my coffee enemas. I seem to be fine if I use only 1T/enema.
Also, it depends on how you do your enema as the coffee will not have the same effect if you are able to keep it in the sigmoid colon. Here is a quote from Kristina Amelong (the enema detox heroine) of the The Optimal Health Network:
“if coffee gets beyond the sigmoid area (easy to do with deep insertion of a colon tube), the caffeine gets into my general blood circulation and I get a buzz as if I had drunk coffee — not good. This rarely happens if the caffeine stays in circulation to the liver only — i.e., the coffee stays in the sigmoid area.” (http://www.optimalhealthnetwork.com/Using-a-Coffee-Enema-Kit-at-Home-s/538.htm)
There is also an interesting chicken & egg question with caffeine sensitivity – a healthy liver might recover from caffeine sensitivity through the use of coffee enemas. Who knows… I know I would love to one day enjoy the odd cup o’ Joe the old fashioned (non-enema) way.