It’s late February, and now’s the time to start planning your transition from winter to spring. While we’re merely anticipating longer days and warmer weather outside, the glandular system is already fast at work making subtle metabolic shifts to prepare the body inside. And the more we can do right now to help it, the better.

5 Tips for Healthy Seasonal Transitions

1. Eat Warm Soups with Raw Garnishes – We’re not out of the cold yet! We need to keep the body feeling warm and safe, and soups top the list. Homemade stocks with stewed veggies and meats supply needed minerals, but adding raw “garnishes” will help alert the body that you’re slowly moving toward more fresh, raw, seasonal fare. Try grating raw carrots, fennel bulb, radishes, parsnips, beets, zucchini or anything you have, onto the top of the soup as a fresh (and pretty) edible garnish.

2. Protect the Thyroid – The thyroid is one of the most sensitive glands in the body. Did you know it takes about ten days for the thyroid to transition from temperature fluctuations of just 5-10 degrees? Here in the Rockies, where it’s common in the springtime to go from a sunny 70-degree day to a snowstorm in 24 hours, it’s imperative to blanket that thyroid! Pull out your lighter-weight cotton scarves (try pastel colors to match the season!) but don’t put them away until it truly is summer.

3. Eat Liver Detoxifying Foods Daily – Despite popular belief, detoxing doesn’t happen that one week a year when we go on a “cleanse”. It’s the liver’s job to detox the body each and every day, but we can help it now by getting it get revved up for the season shift. The following liver detox foods can be added to your daily diet for the next 2-3 months: grapefruit, radishes, watercress, beets, broccoli, arugula, green apples, bitter greens and sulfur-rich foods like garlic and onions.

4. Do Coffee Enemas – Used as an enema solution, certain compounds in coffee purportedly stimulate the liver into its detox pathways. All the while, toxins are easily flushed out via the colon through the enema. Read more about taking a coffee enema in my article: Double-Tall Non-Fat Coffee Enema – Your Morning Cup o’ Joe.

5. Start Juicing (with added protein and fat) – Fresh veggie juices are a great way to get a concentrated, therapeutic supply of nutrients into the body quickly. Juicing any of the above liver detox foods can greatly help the liver. But since we’re still in transition, most of us need some protein or fat along with the cooling, spiking surge of carbohydrate that a glass of fresh juice begets. After pressing, blend a little protein powder or nut butter into the drink. Who says you can’t make a smoothie out of veggie juice?

I made a big stink blogging about my coffee enemas a few weeks back. Most people know that a ‘cup o’ joe’ can keep you regular, but I didn’t realize so few people were in the dark about using coffee as an enema solution. Used to clean out the gut, detoxify the body and kick-start bile flow, we can now enjoy some positive effects of our morning coffee, just not the way we’re used to!

Enemas have been used for millennia to help slough off stuck fecal matter in the colon, kill parasites, decrease bloating or pain in the lower belly and detoxify the digestive tract. In the Ayurvedic tradition, medicinal enemas are called basti, and are a powerful tool used to eliminate excess vata, treat disease, digestive disorders and restore health and well-being (1).

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Ayurvedic physicians may use medicated oils, tonics or herbal milks as the enema solution (2), but in the west, an enema is generally a flush of water through the colon, sometimes with additions to the water for multiple healing effects. An enema can be administered in the privacy of your own home, and is often used in combination with cleansing or fasting.

Coffee Enemas

Western naturopathic doctors often prescribe enemas that use brewed coffee as the medium. Although the coffee (or maybe just the enema itself) is thought to loosen hardened material from the colon, its primary use is as a liver detoxifier.

Coffee contains caffeine compounds that purportedly boost a key detoxification system in the liver, called glutathione S-tranferase, responsible for neutralizing free radicals (3). For more info on glutathione, please read my article, Top 3 Reasons Why Cruciferous Vegetables are So Good for You. It also helps to discharge bile. The caffeine travels up the hemorrhoidal vein to the portal vein and from there to the liver (4). The coffee, taken rectally versus orally, has significantly less negative side effects from the caffeine (and for many, none at all, as is my own personal experience). In fact, many report a calming effect rather than a stimulating one.

Are Enemas Safe?

There are a few things to take into consideration before taking an enema. First and foremost, anyone considering taking an enema should request the permission of a doctor. Persons suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, obstructed bowel, diverticulitis, rectal bleeding, ulceration, chronic diarrhea, anemia, fever, heart pain or severe abdominal pain should not take an enema (5). If there’s liver or gall bladder disease, or if the gall bladder has been removed, seek the advice of a doctor before using coffee as an enema solution.

I found an excellent guide to enema safety at EnemaBag.com that includes factors such as equipment, the procedure and solutions that go into your enema bag (and ultimately into your colon). Please read these carefully, and peruse their site for enema products and other resources.

EnemaBag.com: Using Enemas Safely

Another safety factor is electrolyte balance. Electrolytes are minerals that effect nerve function. Taking a few enemas is probably not going to alter electrolyte balance, but if used frequently over a long term period, or if over-used, enemas may lead to electrolyte loss. The best way to minimize this is to monitor your reactions closely after taking an enema or while on a duration enema program. You should feel a sense of well-being, increased energy, and a “clean” feeling in the gut. If you start to feel lethargic, drained of energy, moody, or any negative physical, emotional or mental symptoms, it’s a good time to stop and request the advice of a doctor.

How to Take a Coffee Enema

First, you need the right materials if you want to take a coffee enema safely. The coffee needs to be organic and full strength. Do not use inorganic or decaffeinated coffee. Inorganic coffee beans have been spayed with pesticides. Decaffeinated coffee has been processed with chemicals. You do not want to put these into your colon!

You’ll need to purchase a good quality enema bag and hose. Purchase yours online at EnemaBag.com or your local drug store.

I decided not to reinvent the wheel by creating an enema procedure document, nor to lengthen this article by including instructions in it. Instead, the best enema procedure resource I’ve found is at EnemaBag.com. A downloadable PDF version of the procedure is included.

EnemaBag.com: How to Take an Enema

The general guideline for a coffee enema “recipe” is 1 tablespoon of full-strength organic coffee per each cup of water. The coffee is brewed in a percolator, or boiled and steeped for 10-15 minutes and strained. The solution should be not hotter than body temperature, about 98 degrees.

For full instructions on how to take a coffee enema, please use this link:

EnemaBag.com: Coffee Enema

Have you ever done a coffee enema before? How has it worked for you?

Have often do you do enemas?

Have you had positive, lasting results?

Article References:

1. The Chopra Center. Basti. 2010.

2. Enema Info. Ayurvedic Bastis. 2010.

3. Moss, Ralph W. Ph.D. The Cancer Chronicles. Coffee: The Royal Flush. 2010.

4. Rubin, Jordan N.M.D., and Brasco, Joseph, M.D. Restoring Your Digestive Health. New York: Twin Streams. 2003.

5. Bernard Jensen, M.D. Dr. Jensen’s Guide to Better Bowel Care. New York: Avery Publishing Group. 1999.

6. EnemaBag.com. Using Enemas Safely. How to Take an Enema. Coffee Enema. 2010.