Coffee Enemas

A Most Powerful Treatment How coffee enemas detoxify the liver

How coffee enemas work to detoxify the body and treat chronic disease and cancer

The history of enemas: One the more controversial yet necessary treatments I discuss in lectures or at the clinic are coffee enemas. Enemas alone are documented for disease treatment all the way back to the ancient Chinese and Egyptian times. Hippocrates prescribed enemas some 2,600 years ago. In the Dead Sea Scrolls there is one scroll called the “Manual of Discipline” which records people practicing enemas more than 2000 years ago. During the reign of King Lois the XIV enemas were a daily practice in early European history.

During WW I with Germany surrounded by Allied forces and morphine being in short supply, field surgeons utilized coffee enemas–which reportedly worked just as well as morphine for post-operative surgery pain. In 1920, Professor Meyer and Professor Huebner, from the University of Goettingen in Germany began to research the effect of coffee enemas in rats. The published results showed how caffeine infusions opened up the bile ducts in the liver, allowing the liver to release accumulated toxins. The coffee enema for medical treatment appears in every Merck Manual from 1898 until 1977.

Gerson therapy

Max Gerson was the first to propose that coffee enemas had a positive effect on patients with tuberculosis and also patients with cancer. Gerson’s teaching was that improved circulation and tissue integrity would prevent the spread of cancer and destroy malignant tumors. He proposed that no cancer can exist in normal metabolism. Max Gerson transplanted cancer tumors into healthy lab animals, but transplanted tumors were first surrounded by inflammation and then quickly dissolved in the healthy host. In order to make transplanted tumors take hold and grow, he had to impair the metabolism of the host by damaging the thyroid and adrenal glands (Charlotte Gerson, 2001, p 161).

Although coffee enemas primarily facilitate excretion of toxic wastes, these enemas also promote the absorption of vitamin A, which is a process requiring the action of bile acids (Simone, 1983, p. 64). Coffee enemas enable patients to use copious amounts of vitamin A when combined with juice fasting which in turn, plays a vital role in immune function (Keusch, 1983, vol 2, p. 330-331).

“Coffee enemas are not given for the function of the intestines but for the stimulation of the liver.” Max Gerson

What are enemas

Enemas are accomplished by the introduction of water into the colon through the rectum. Enemas are used in general to relieve constipation, clear fecal impaction and cleanse the colon by removing stagnant material. Enemas are not to be confused with colonics as colonics involve multiple infusions of water in a therapy session to remove stagnant material from the colon whereas an enema involves a one-time infusion of water or other solution.

The very last part of the colon is the “S” shaped sigmoid colon. By the time digested particles and refuse reach this part of the colon most nutrients have already been absorbed into the bloodstream. The stool at this point contains end products of digestion and putrefaction. Because of direct communications between this segment of the bowels, the liver and the brain, there can result a sick nausea feeling from the toxic contents that signals the colon to eliminate. The resulting evacuation of this burden leaves you feeling instantly better afterwards. Enemas help to remove the bulk and toxic buildup sometimes trapped in the sigmoid colon

The coffee enemas carry all these same benefits of regular enemas, plus they stimulate the liver to expel toxic bile while promoting the detoxifying enzyme system in the liver and small intestines. A coffee enema uses strained, cooled coffee water infused into the colon to stimulate the liver to release bile and dump toxins into the colon for removal. The solution of coffee is retained in the lower part of the colon for a short period of time and finally released into the toilet. Caffeine from the coffee does not generally enter the systemic circulation but is preferentially absorbed into the hepatic system and goes directly to the liver where it becomes a very strong detoxifier.

Coffee enemas are known to relieve rashes, depression, confusion, general nervous tension, allergy related symptoms, severe and chronic pain and help the body fight disease and cancer.

How coffee enemas work

There are two detoxification pathways in the liver and small intestines. Phase I is the “reduce and bag it” phase and Phase II is the removal pathways that “take out the trash”. The detoxifying enzymes in the liver and small intestine work in the Phase I process to convert and reduce toxins like: poly-amines, ammonia, toxic bound nitrogen, and electrophiles, all of which can cause cell and membrane damage throughout the body. In Phase I, the liver uses oxygen and enzymes to burn toxins making them more soluble in water for excretion by the kidneys or the liver. Sometimes the end products of Phase I are more dangerous than the original compounds being reduced and rely on Phase II enzymes to safely complete the cycle.

In the Phase II detoxification pathway, oxidized chemicals like benzene are combined with sulfur, amino acids, and/or organic acids, and then excreted in bile. The Phase II of liver detoxification involves glutathione conjugation as the primary pathway for removal of the intermediate Phase I metabolites. Increased exposure to toxins as well as an inadequate dietary supply of glutathione leads to generalized glutathione depletion and increased cellular damage.

It is extremely important that the Phase I detoxification does not surpass the ability of the Phase II enzymes to finish the job.

The coffee enema has the very specific effect and purpose of lowering serum toxins, both in the liver and the body. All the blood in the body filters through the liver every 3 minutes or so and coffee enemas have been called a form of dialysis of blood when the enema is held for 15 minutes or more. The thinning of the bile and ultimate expulsion during a coffee enema is a huge benefit as under normal body function, toxic bile is reabsorbed up to10 times before working its way out the body via the feces.

Coffee enemas benefit the phase II pathways in the body by raising the antioxidant production and levels in the body and moving the bile out of the liver. In 1981 Wattenberg and coworkers discovered that the palmitic acid found in coffee literally multiplies the glutathione S-transferase and other ligands activity. These enzyme groups are responsible to change free radicals that are in the body and blood serum. When palmitic acid enters the liver through a coffee enema, this lowers the oxidative stress in the body and liver, promoting greater health (Charlotte Gerson, 2001, p 160).

There are both natural and pharmaceutical agents that work as choleretics to increase bile flow from the liver, but compared to the coffee enema, these other agents do little to boost the liver’s detoxifying enzyme systems. Other choleretics do not facilitate the passage of bile from the body via the rectum but rather allow the toxic bile to be re-absorbed in the digestive tract, causing an added burden on the detoxifying pathways in the liver. The coffee enema is unique in that it actually blocks re-absorption of toxic bile across the gut wall making it not only the most effective choleretic, but also the only known, non-reabsorbed, repeatable choleretic available that can be safely repeated every 4 hours for detoxification in extreme disease cases.

As a bonafide cleansing therapy and cancer battle adjunct, the coffee enema has no other therapy or medicine to compare with, leaving it in a class all by itself.

How to do a coffee enema

Take 4 tablespoons of light roast coffee and boil them in a quart and a half of either Reverse Osmosis or distilled water for 3 or more minutes. Cover the pot and simmer for about 10 more minutes. Allow to cool to 100 degrees F – or about body temperature. (It is safer to have the liquid too cool than too warm.) Never use hot or steaming liquid for any enema. Screen (do not filter) the grounds out of the coffee water and pour the coffee water into an enema bag. Hang the bag 2 foot or so higher than your body. At this time you will be laying down in the tub on your right side. (Prepare the tub in advance with some towels and a pillow to be comfortable on.) Position a clock or timer within easy view and perhaps place some reading material nearby.

Now you are ready for the coffee enema.

Remove your lower garments and lay on your right side in the tub. Loosen the hose clamp on the enema bag line to purge air from the line and allow a few drips of coffee water to run out to the end of the catheter tip and re-clamp the hose. Lubricate the catheter tip with some coconut or other natural oil and insert gently into the anus about two inches. Open the clamp of the hose to the bag and allow the liquid contents to empty into the colon. Gentle pressure can be applied to the bag to assist it to empty faster if desired. If you experience a wave of fullness during the infusion you can clamp the bag off until the urgency passes. Once the bag is empty, remove the catheter tip and hold the entire contents in the bowels for a minimum of 15 minutes if possible before releasing the contents of your bowels into the toilet.

Note: All the blood in the body passes through the liver about every 3 minutes or so, retaining the coffee enema for 15 minutes represents a unique form of blood dialysis across the gut wall.

Although most people experience immediate pain relief and a contented-empty feeling in the liver and bowels, extremely toxic people and people with fatty livers may experience nausea and discomfort with the first few coffee enemas. In these cases, repeat the coffee enema in 4 hours to help empty the sigmoid colon where putrification sensors in the enterohepatic circulation system cause nausea. Also take activated charcoal to absorb the newly released toxins that are making you feel bad. A daily regimen of coffee enemas for relatively healthy people for one week duration, once a year is what I recommend. For disease and pain management, more will be required. In the case of stage IV cancer I often recommend that the patient do up to 3 coffee enemas a day, 4 hours apart, for the duration of 30 days. Once daily after that and the once weekly after the cancer is in remission.

If you feel a caffeine rush or feel hyper, have palpitations or irregular heartbeats after a coffee enema, you should reduce the amount of coffee used in preparation by half for a few sessions. Sometimes you will hear or feel a squirting out and emptying of the gallbladder. This occurs under the right rib cage and often close to the mid line. If after a week of daily enemas you have never felt or heard the gall bladder release, you should consider making the coffee stronger, going up in 1/2 Tablespoon increments per quart, not exceeding 6 Tablespoons total.

Discontinue enemas if you experience moderate to severe adverse reactions and consult your physician, nurse, nutritionist or hydrocolon therapist before continuing. People with certain conditions, such as diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, severe hemorrhoids, blood vessel disease, congestive heart failure, heart disease, severe anemia, abdominal hernia, gastrointestinal cancer, recent colon surgery, and intestinal tumors should avoid coffee enemas unless otherwise instructed by their physician.

Always drink plenty of water and/or fresh vegetable juice before and after a coffee enema. If you experience an electrolyte imbalance or dehydration with coffee enemas, try drinking coconut water before and after the therapy.

Keep a clean enema bag!

Always rinse the bag, hose and catheter after every use. Clean the catheter tip every time with hot soapy water and a hydrogen peroxide rinse. Sterilize your bag, hose and catheter periodically by pouring boiling water, peroxide, or other antimicrobial agent through to discourage mold and bacteria growth when not in use. Discard the old bag for a new bag and setup every 10-15 usages.

What you may find in the toilet: After a coffee enema you’ll feel refreshed and energetic based on most reports from coffee enema practitioners. Coffee enemas can quickly relieve symptoms such as muscle aches and pains and rashes. Some things you will expect to find in the toilet with an evacuation after a coffee enema will be: normal fecal matter, parasites and/or parasite eggs, fatty globules, flakes that look like black cilantro leaves, strings of black or dark brown lining from a congested bowel, gall stones and perhaps pockets of foam (Candidiasis).

  • Charlotte Gerson, M. W. (2001). The Gerson Therapy:The Amazing Nutritional Program for Cancer and Other Illnesses. New York: Kensington Publishing Corps.
  • Keusch, G. T. (1983). Nutrition, Host Defenses, and the Lymphoid System, Advances in Host Defense Mechanisms, John I. Gallin and Anthony S. Fauci (eds.) . New York: Raven Press.
  • Simone, C. B. (1983). Cancer and Nutrition, . New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Authored by Cancer Nutritionist Craig Stellpflug NDC, CNC
Dayspring Cancer Clinic Scottsdale, AZ
Copyright 2012 Craig Stellpflug© Permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute this article but only in its entirety

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