Darlene, Author at Living Waters

What’s feeding you?

Sunday, 04 December 2022 by Darlene

When life speeds up, slow down.

Advice I recently gave to my friend’s daughter as she was coming of age and into her menstruation.

This was also advice I gave myself at 19, as I was grasping at straws as to what foods to eat or not eat. Pondering how to exercise and take care of my body, on a very basic level while constantly being inundated by new fad diets and programs being advertised daily. In hindsight, I was absolutely clueless to health.

Being raised in Las Vegas, my idea of health was slightly skewed, as doctors I met with never seemed to acknowledge the association of food to individual health. Buffets, fast food, and other popular establishments were seemingly in support of the standard American diet which severely lacked in the fundamental nutritional needs of the body.

Some of you have heard me say, that I had my first colonic at 19 year old. This sparked a new interest in fasting and discerning for myself, what my actual needs are versus what my wants were. This lead me to not just go along with what was being fed to me and those in my demographic, but to seek a balance. I was adamant to break my food addiction and fasting became my ally.

Within just a few months of beginning this journey, I opted to fast for an entire holiday season. Starting from Thanksgiving though Christmas (including Chanukah and Solstice) that I typically enjoyed celebrating with traditional foods, I refrained.

My intentions in attending the holiday gatherings had shifted from a consumption mindset to a connection motivation. I found that in doing this I had deeper conversations with those around me, I felt more spiritually empowered and clear minded in my motives. I also gained an ethereal empowerment in repetition of the words, rituals and traditions there-in.

One of biggest benefits to this holiday season, was being floored at how much extra time I found myself with. I wasn’t sorting out recipes, I wasn’t creating in the kitchen. I wasn’t food shopping, I was intentionally keeping to a minimum any conversations circulating around food. It almost seemed as if time slowed down instead of speeding up like holidays past.

However, I did find in conveying this information to others, some seemed to feel as if my actions and motives were a direct attack on who they were and how they lived, and/or how their choices affected their health.

I like to joke that when I fast, this is when I eat things with my nose. Though I may not be inhaling nutrients through my nose as if into my mouth to chew them and swallow- I’m instead digesting the flavors and smells as if I was. I implemented visualization, allowing my mouth to salivate and then swallowing that aromatic fantasy. This became pretty convincing almost to the point of feeling like the real thing. Of course, what really was feeding me in those meditations was my desire to rewrite this relationship as a whole, this relationship with food and famine- this is what inspired the process.

Ultimately, what I gained from this holiday fasting experiment was learning that it was my connections, that feed me. My connections that connect me to this world, and what I was choosing in the past, to fill the voids of certain connections I was missing, with foods. Examples such as losing my father a few years earlier, doesn’t hold a flame to being present and enjoying the connections as they arise in real life. While my life had heartaches, I began being filled with even more gratitude for what I did have. I credit this period in my life when I retired some old beliefs that were not serving me anymore.

To this day I continue to use fasting, and intermittent fasting, as a tool that reminds me of who I am at a core level. My longest fast to date was 45 days where I only consumed water, herbal teas, and fresh-pressed juice. I gave myself colonics everyday for 30 days, until I started oscillating them with oil enemas. To be fair, if I were to do this again today, I would optimize it with what I know now.

Reflecting on some of this in this moment, and with some issues we are facing as humanity on a whole, I felt it was important to remind myself and my loved ones that we are more than what we eat. Hence, my self-proclaimed famous quote ‘You could be doing all the right things, eating all the right foods, but if you are still an asshole, you are not healthy.’

This article, its author, and the company and website it is found on, assumes no responsibility or liability for any way the content, errors or omissions is perceived. This content is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.

Darlene J. Weiss

Living Waters

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Published in Lifestyle Medicine

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Gut Health in 2020 and Beyond

Sunday, 23 February 2020 by Darlene

The unfamiliar terrain of 2020 has taught us that taking care of our immunity is more important than we previously realized. Today the amount of contradictory information available to us is confusing for anyone beginning their journey to better health. There are so many fad diets, exercise plans, lifestyle changes, and retreat centers we can choose from. As we become more discerning, we recognize a need to blend traditional wisdom with contemporary science.

You might be surprised to learn that the basis of our immune system is in our gut lining. But this is not a new idea; internal cleansing has a long history beginning in ancient Egypt. It was described and recommended in the Ebers Papyrus, from the 14th century BC, as well as in an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association written by J. H. Kellogg, MD in 1917 who praised “the procedure’s efficacy for saving a dysfunctional large bowel.”

Folk remedies for colon care, like enemas and colonics and modern advancements, such as Functional Medicine, deserve recognition. Separately they both raise awareness around colon health for optimizing our immune system and general health, but together they can be a winning combination to help people feel better faster as they develop a deeper understanding of what works for them individually. Functional Medicine is on the leading edge of approaches to health and colonics are being integrated in some of the most exclusive wellness retreats and complementary therapy centers worldwide, such as the Absolute Sanctuary in Thailand, the Sea Wellness Clinic in Spain, the Gaia Retreat Center in Bali, and the Mt Rainer Clinic in Washington.

A colonic, aka ‘colon irrigation’ and ‘colon hydrotherapy’ and enemas use water to cleanse and flush out the colon. An enema is not as thorough as a colonic and typically self-administered, whereas a colonic is administered by a professional, and uses a device that allows for the control of the water flow.

Benefits for colonics range from feeling better overall, improved mood, clearer skin, relief of allergies, gas, bloating and constipation, to preparation for a colonoscopy. Stress levels, depression and anxiety can also decrease as gut health improves. Although there are some diagnoses that are not advised to use colonics (such as diverticulitis, Crohn’s Disease, bloody stool, cardiac or renal diseases, and others) a colonic can help you feel good in your body again, especially if your digestion has been less than optimal. You should discuss all health issues with a qualified colon hydrotherapist and your doctor prior to your session.

Although there are many different devices for colon hydrotherapy, the process generally infuses a client’s colon with warm, filtered water to aid in its removal of contents without the use of any toxic agents. In a closed system the client is lying on one side and the same nozzle, with a diameter of about 3/4”, is used to allow for the introduction of water and the disposal of waste with adjustable pressure. In open systems, the client is lying on their back and the nozzle, with the diameter of a pencil, delivers gravity-fed water and the waste is released around the nozzle into a basin. Whereas an open system is a more recent advancement, different people prefer different systems. In both systems it is the client that inserts the nozzle themselves (about 2”) and the colon hydrotherapist moderates the safety and dignity of the client while controlling the flow of water.

In its simplest definition, Functional Medicine is a systematic approach to identifying the root causes of disease rather than merely treating symptoms; it is understood that many diseases are caused by unwise lifestyle and nutritional choices. In Functional Medicine many aspects of health are considered. These include genetics, nutritional and environmental allergies and tolerances, exposure and detoxification of chemicals, heavy metals and molds. It is understood that imbalance in any of these factors can snowball into major health issues. Failing to consider these variables happens often with unfortunate consequences. Functional Medicine practitioners are trained to see them.

Let’s consider food allergies for a moment. Typically, testing looks for an immune response. But there could also be an inflammatory response in the absence of an immune reaction. This is the sort of thing a Functional Medicine practitioner might look for. Complimenting this kind of detective work, a colonic would both improve digestive health and reduce the person’s discomfort. Of course, other healthy lifestyle practices such as chewing food properly, breathing in a relaxed manner, reasonable exercise and adequate sleep are always helpful.

Optimizing our organism’s digestion is an essential first step to ensure our immune system is at its best. Colonics and Functional Medicine work synergistically to not only help us feel better faster and improve the quality of your digestion, they can also optimize your gut health and your immune system for the rest of your days. Then we can feel good in our bodies and enjoy our life!