With the Winter cold & flu season upon us, many people are missing some of the most important steps to ensure the best cleanse possible. During the colder months many of us tend to eat heavier foods, exercise less frequently and drink less water…..all things that aren’t so great for your gut! So here’s how to get the most bang for your buck out of your Winter cleanse.

Pre-soak your insides

I’d say 95% of my clients come to me chronically dehydrated. If you want to have a great colonic, you really benefit from drinking a lot of water in preparation. Sure you can walk in off the street and have a colonic that’ll do a good enough job. But for the best results, you really want to load up on water the day before. When our colon is working properly we’ve ideally got a 24 hour transit time, so it’s yesterday’s water that will impact today’s treatment. When cleansing, I like to aim for up to 1L of water for every 22kg of body weight.

The ‘softer’ the better

This is the one that most people struggle with, because our emotional attachment with food means we often eat for taste instead of nutrition. To get the best impact from a colon cleanse, you’ll definitely evacuate more waste if you eat a soft diet leading up to your treatment. By ‘soft’ foods I mean pretty much only fruit, veggies and legumes! Look to things like soups, smoothies, lightly cooked veggies, mild curries and cooked oats. These foods are easier for your colon muscles to move along your large intestine, and make for a much more effective elimination of waste so you can achieve deeper results quicker.

Time out

Just because you can jam a detox into your busy schedule, it doesn’t mean it’s best for you! If you’re fasting or on a juice detox, schedule appointments when you have the time to take it easy afterwards, to focus on your breathwork and let your body rest and relax. Balance is the key – your body will heal and regenerate best when you give it the right conditions to do so. Otherwise, you could be defeating the purpose of detoxing in the first place.

Perfect Match, Dexter!

For many people, having their first colonic is quite a daunting and vulnerable experience, so it’s important to find a therapist that makes you feel as safe and relaxed as possible. Good word of mouth usually goes a long way, so before booking ask your friend network for recommendations. If a friend had a positive experience then it’s more likely you will too. Also, call around and ‘interview’ a few therapists. Ask them if they are fully certified or just trained on-the-job – the last thing you want is to end up at a dodgy operator! Enquire about how much experience they have. And ask what program they recommend to help you achieve your health goals. A good therapist should be happy to answer all your questions and leave you feeling confident that you’ve made the best decision.