Recently, I have been reflecting on the power of detoxing and the effect this has on our whole being, including, of course, on our sexual wellness.
A couple of months ago, I did a very powerful and highly effective colon cleanse. I used to do these regularly – and have tried all kinds of different protocols, both with and without colonic hydrotherapy.
But the simplest and easiest colon detox that I have ever done also happens to be the most effective one I’ve ever done too.
Which is really great news as far as I am concerned – as this kind of detox has never been that much fun for me (I really do LOVE food!) – but, if a colon cleanse is easy, then not only can we sustain it for longer periods of time, but it’s also far easier to step back into again, a whole lot sooner than we might otherwise feel inclined to!
I’ll share more about exactly what I did and the one particular thing that made it super easy (and, I believe, even more effective) for me this time around – but, first of all, let’s discuss what it is that makes this kind of cleanse important.
Why Do A Colon Cleanse?
Our colon is one of the most important detox organs of our body. All of the solid waste from our food exits the body via the colon – and the liver dumps its neutralised toxins into the bile, which then travels to the small intestine and from there into our colons for elimination from the body.
So it stands to reason that we want our colon to be working at optimal efficiency in order for its waste removal/detox function to be as effective as possible.
Far too often, however, a combination of poor food choices/combinations, as well as the stress and strain of our modern, fast-paced lifestyles – and a whole bunch of emotional baggage – has a very detrimental effect on colon function.
Constipation or diarrhea (both are essentially 2 sides of the same coin – impaired gut function & colon health) and poor elimination take their toll on our overall health overtime.
In addition, as the colon becomes more congested, so too does our small intestine – leading to malabsorption of nutrients, causing nutrient deficiencies in our bodies, which can then lead to a cascade of both minor and major health issues.
And, of course, our bodies function as a whole – so what starts out by affecting just one organ/area of the body, in time spreads out and affects other areas too.
Including our pelvic bowl and our reproductive organs – our wombs, ovaries and vaginas. These organs are tightly packed into a very small space and are also in close proximity to our colons – so any congestion or build-up of toxins in the colon can soon affect our sex organs and our sexual health.
R’Vive Colon Cleanse
So the colon cleanse that I swear by – and have used several times between 2012 and now – is called R’Vive (to whom I am not affiliated in any way, by the way – I just think that their cleanse rocks!). Unfortunately, however, it only seems they ship within South Africa – but for those of you who live elsewhere, you could always try to contact them and see if you could arrange your own courier to collect. It really is SO worth it.
Let me tell you why….
The R’vive cleanse is based on the “Blessed Herbs” colon cleanse – a US company, who operated between 1985 – 2020. Blessed Herbs was actually the original cleanse that we tried (it was being imported into SA at the time) – and we couldn’t believe the results! The cleanse is a mix of 5 cleansing drinks, taken 5 times a day – and then a herbal laxative tablet that is taken in the evening.
Back in 2012, my husband and I actually did this cleanse for 3 weeks – and were still expelling old mucoid plaque, even after all of that time! Which really does make you have to wonder, just how much old faecal material it is possible for one colon to store (more on this below)! Especially bearing in mind that both of us are pretty healthy eaters and had been doing other colon cleanses for the past 15 years before we tried this one (but with nowhere near the same results).
Subsequent cleanses also gave similar results – although I never pushed it for as long again and sometimes I didn’t even follow through to the end of the 5-day cleanse – it’s important to be emotionally ready to release, as well as physically up for it – and on a few occasions, I just wasn’t.
Every time I did this cleanse, I went for the most effective, liquids-only version of this cleanse (although you can do the cleanse with raw or cooked plant-based foods as well). So, that could look like green/veggie juices, fruit juices (I avoid these – far better to eat a whole fruit, with all its co-factors intact, to avoid spiking blood sugar) or herbal teas.
But, for the latest one, I also drank raw milk kefir – as often as I wanted to – and added herbal teas too. This had the effect of keeping me satiated and never feeling hungry – as well as feeding my gut beneficial bacteria and giving my colon a soft and easy food to keep things moving.
Raw milk also has a beneficial effect on both the liver and kidneys (yes, contrary to popular belief, raw milk – even though it is dairy does that – more on raw milk as medicine here). Raw milk kefir does still have a small carbohydrate content – although far less than raw milk, as the lactose in the milk is mostly consumed during the fermentation process. In addition to the digestive enzymes raw milk naturally contains, its high fat content (and no, fat does not make us fat – sugar does!) also prevents lactose from spiking the blood sugar.
This low lactose content – along with the beneficial effect on the digestive system, can also mean that even people who are lactose-intolerant can tolerate raw milk kefir. If this is you, then I would introduce kefir very slowly – in micro amounts once or twice a day and then, depending on how your body responds, building up from there.
One of the main reasons for using raw milk to make your kefir is that raw milk has all of its enzymes, vitamins and minerals intact. Meaning that it digests itself – it doesn’t pull on our (finite) enzyme reserves to do this. This can make all the difference to someone who is lactose-intolerant or whose body is unable to produce enough lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose) itself.
You can read about the nutritional profile of raw milk here.
Please note – my diet is predominantly raw milk kefir at the moment, so I was very used to drinking large amounts of kefir before I started this cleanse. Not that everyone has to do this cleanse using kefir – as I say, you can do it using whatever liquids you feel are most beneficial for you (or even do a lighter version of the cleanse, including solid, plant-based foods).
Integrating a parasite detox into this cleanse also feels beneficial – as when we kill off parasites, moving them out of the body as quickly as possible is important. Some kind of “drawing herbs” need to be used in order to do this – and the psyllium/bentonite clay and other herbs used in the daily cleansing drinks are great for getting that job done.
My Phenomenal Results!
The latest R’vive cleanse I did was in mid-May – and I continued for 8 days (I would probably have carried on for longer, but I went to stay with a friend for a couple of days and wanted to be able to share meals with her).
But during that whole time, starting from the morning of Day 2, I expelled strings and strings of old, hard or rubbery, compacted mucoid plaque from my colon, several times a day. It really was quite extraordinary to see so much of this material still coming out of me (I’m clearly still full of shit ????!)
And it didn’t end there! Even after I had stopped my detox, I was still doing one of the cleansing drinks in the evening (but none of the herbal laxatives – which I only took two of each night anyway – some people will need more, some less – the R’vive cleansing guide tells you how to work this out). And I was still getting strings of plaque out of my colon 2 weeks’ later! I did notice that the strings were much smaller at times, which made me think that my small intestine was now clearing itself out too.
Intrigued, I decided to research just how much old compacted matter a colon can hold onto. It seems that the surface area of the colon, if laid out, would cover the size of a tennis court! Bear in mind, that faecal matter can adhere to both the top, bottom and both sides of the colon – and this can be clearly seen in 2 distinctly different shapes of plaque that get expelled.
One is a typical “colon” shape (often with small pockets of matter where you can see the colon has ballooned outwards (in response to the pressure of built-up plaque – this is a sign of some degree of diverticulitis being present) – and the other is smoother, with overlapping edges. All of it is foul-smelling and old, however – and it is SO satisfying to see this stuff leave the body. Sometimes you may see sections of parasites being expelled too (and obviously these can increase if doing a parasite cleanse at the same time).
So now I am super keen to get back on the colon cleanse wagon and see how much more of the “tennis court” I can get rid of this time!
Liver & Gallbladder Flushing
As well as old toxic matter in our colon, there is, of course, a build-up of toxins in our system in general – especially as we are currently being bombarded with environmental toxins more than at any time in history. And, if the liver isn’t functioning at its optimal level, our toxic load can quickly get out of hand. This is why twice-yearly liver flushes (usually done at the end of a colon cleanse) are also an excellent idea.
I use the tried-and-tested liver and gallbladder flush by Dr Hulda Clark. This uses epsom salts – which may or may not agree with your body. As a result, I modify this flush though – and only do one epsom salts drink at 8pm at night and another at 6am. More than that and I feel that the epsom salts are putting their own toxic load on my body. There are other liver cleanses that don’t use epsom salts – so if you would rather do those, then by all means, do so. This is just the one I use.
You can read about it, along with all of the safety considerations, here. And, as with all self-administered health practices, you obviously undertake this at your own risk. If you have serious health considerations, always check with your primary healthcare provider before using any new health products or protocol.
Lymph & Kidney Cleansing
Lymph drainage and kidney function also need to be considered in terms of our sexual and overall health. Unlike the blood, the lymph doesn’t have an organ that pumps it around the body – we have to bring that about via regular daily movement – in other words, WE are the pump!
Keeping the lymphatic system healthy is vital to our overall health – as this is the body’s toxin collection and transportation system. The lymphatic system deposits these toxins in the blood, which is then filtered by both the liver and the kidneys. So as long as both of these organs are not congested and are working as they should – then these toxins will be filtered and removed from the body in the stools and urine.
Gentle movement – eg rebounding, walking – preferably every day, but especially important when we are cleansing – as well as daily skin-brushing – will help keep the lymphatic system in good health and maximise its toxin removal function.
Including a kidney cleanse after we have completed both a colon cleanse and liver/gallbladder flush, is a great way to ensure optimal toxin elimination. There are various ways to do a kidney flush – but some of the most popular ways are drinking lemon water, cranberry juice, dandelion tea, watermelon juice or ginger tea.
A pure fruit detox can also be particularly beneficial for our lymphatic system and kidneys (as well as for the rest of the body too – I will share my experience of my 28-day fruit fast another day). If you are keen to join a guided fruit detox, then Heleen of Anouthen Infinite Wellness is a super experienced detox coach and offers online programmes every month.
As with all detoxing, if you have any health concerns, feel free to discuss your detoxing options with your primary healthcare provider (preferably a good integrative medical doctor, naturopath or Chinese medicine practitioner).
How do toxins impact our sexual health?
In terms of our sexual health, the effect of an accumulation of toxic overload in all of these organs can lead to the following health issues:-
- Brain fog
- Mood changes
- Headaches and migraines
- Changes in the menstrual cycle
- Estrogen dominance
- Infertility
- Low libido
- Weight gain
Constipation & Painful Sex – My Story
At one stage in my life, I was chronically constipated. Although (most days) I would still have a bowel movement, it was never a full bowel movement, was often hard and compacted – and would generally take a long time to happen too (having a good stash of reading material next to the loo really does come into its own at such times!)
Over this same time, sex would also be incredibly uncomfortable too, with extremely painful cramps, particularly after orgasm. It took me a while to put two and two together (and it was a relief when I clocked it) – but the fact is that the pressure in my bowel – and the subsequent pressure on all of my pelvic organs – was creating a huge amount of discomfort.
Without putting too fine a point on it, there just wasn’t room for anything else in there! ???? And orgasmic muscular contractions were clearly off the table too…
Definitely NOT a recipe for a happy, pleasurable sex life.
Of course, there are other reasons for painful sex too – both physical and emotional (although, as we know, physical symptoms always have an emotional root) – but if constipation and painful sex are presenting at the same time, then regular colon cleansing might just be the key to reversing both of these.
An Integrative Gynae’s Take On Detoxing & Women’s Health
If you’d like to read more about detoxification and its importance for our health as women, check out this article by Suzanne Fenske, MD, founder of TārāMD – an innovative New York City-based integrative and functional gynecology practice located on the Upper East Side, Manhattan:-
Detoxification for Women’s Health
In relation to the above article, just one word about dietary choice. I have experimented with all kinds of diets and was, for a very large chunk of my adult life, vegetarian or vegan (and was even raw vegan for a few years). As I got older, I found that this way of eating simply wasn’t sustaining me enough – I was feeling weak and fatigued.
Since introducing animal foods back into my diet again, I feel a whole lot stronger – and, for the moment at least, I am thriving on an almost 100% raw milk kefir diet. I’ve been doing a lot of research into animal-based diets recently – and must say that I am blown away by what I am learning. I’ll share more on this in a future blog post.
Of course, diet is a very individual choice – and what works for one person absolutely does not for another. I would just encourage everyone to listen to their own body – and, if you are not feeling that your diet is creating optimal health within you (and our dietary needs often change as we get older), to remain open and flexible about what might.
Parasites & Sexual Health
Parasite-cleansing is another thing to consider when it comes to our sexual health. Cleansing parasites from our entire body is necessary to make sure that they aren’t wreaking havoc on our sexual wellness by hijacking our brains and hormonal system in general – as well as the systemic detrimental effect parasites in the gut can have, as covered above.
But it’s also worth considering that, when built-up uterine or vaginal mucus is present, this provides the perfect environment for parasites to set up home and flourish within the womb and vagina.
Yoni steaming is incredibly effective at getting rid of this mucus, as steam literally “melts” away built-up or hardened mucus (it can even melt hardened scar tissue too) and, in doing so, removes the cosy home these unwanted guests have moved into.
If you are keen to learn more on this topic, check out my blog – Yoni Steaming For Parasite Cleansing.
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