Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
The humble therapy known as the coffee enema is a critical component of the most effective alternative cancer therapies in the world. This includes the Gerson Institute in California and the treatment program used by the late Nicholas Gonzalez MD, an oncologist from New York City.
The ability of coffee enema therapy to rapidly remove toxins from the body to speed healing has generated a groundswell of support from other alternative practitioners. It is regularly recommended even for patients who do not have cancer. Lawrence Wilson MD claims clinical experience with over 40,000 patients who successfully utilized coffee enema for healing.
When a practitioner suggests the regular use of coffee enema as a key component to health recovery, it is important for the patient to source the type of coffee that will best assist with the healing process. There are certainly plenty to choose from! Common types include regular, instant, caffeinated, decaffeinated, light roast, medium roast, dark roast, blended, whole bean and so forth.
Enema Coffee MUST be Caffeinated
The most important characteristic of the enema coffee selected for therapeutic reasons is that it must be caffeinated.
Why does caffeinated coffee work and decaf does not? This is because the caffeine in coffee stimulates the opening of the bile ducts in the liver thereby increasing bile production and flow. According to the journal Physiological Chemistry and Physics:
Caffeine enemas cause dilation of bile ducts, which facilitates excretion of toxic cancer breakdown products by the liver and dialysis of toxic products from blood across the colonic wall.
Max Gerson MD discovered that the unbound caffeine taken in via coffee enema is absorbed from the descending colon via the hemorrhoidal vein. This vein then carries the caffeine to the portal vein and the liver. The caffeine stimulates the liver and biliary ducts to open. This process occurs rapidly which releases metabolic and environmental toxins into the intestinal tract for immediate elimination.
Interestingly, caffeinated tea does not work either. This is likely because the caffeine in tea binds to the tannins and L-theanine, a water soluble amino acid when it is brewed. These bonds prevent the caffeine from directly opening the bile ducts as they would have to be metabolized digestively first. Since an enema bypasses the digestive process, tea is ineffective compared with coffee for enemas.
Sensitive to Caffeine?
Not to worry if you are sensitive to caffeinated coffee or other foods and beverages containing this natural stimulant. The vast majority of people who are sensitive to caffeine consumed orally typically have no problem with an enema made with coffee. This is because the digestive process is bypassed with an enema and so absorption of caffeine into the bloodstream is very low.
Other Considerations for the Best Enema Coffee
Any type of coffee can be used for enema as long as it is caffeinated. That being said, there are some things to look for to ensure that you get the best quality and type for maximum effectiveness.
Organic Coffee Better than Conventional
It is best to source organic coffee if at all possible. Coffee enemas are used for detoxification, so introducing chemical residues into the colon is counterproductive to the process.
Conventional coffee is among the most heavily chemically treated foods in the world. Heavy sprayings of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides are common practices. Coffee farmers are exposed to a high level of chemicals while spraying their crops and handling them during harvest. In addition, the environment surrounding these farms is negatively impacted by chemical residues in the air and water. Many of these chemicals are highly toxic and detrimental to human health (1).
If you are trying to detoxify and regain your health using coffee enemas, using organic coffee is just basic common sense.
Dark Roast or Light?
When considering the type of coffee to use, lighter roasts or green coffee beans are not optimal.
However, this suggestion is not in accordance with what is suggested by the Gerson Institute which recommends lightly roasted enema coffee. Beware also of coffee specifically labeled as “golden coffee” or “enema coffee” as these are frequently light roasts too.
Why is dark roast coffee better than light roast?
The journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research published research favoring dark roast coffee over light for restoring blood levels of glutathione, the mother of all antioxidants. Vitamin E levels also recovered to more optimal levels. What’s more, the 2011 study concluded that dark roast coffee promoted weight loss better. It also combats the problem of excess stomach acid production that plagues some coffee drinkers (2).
Research presented by the American Chemical Society in 2010 claims that the beneficial compound N-methyl pyridinium (NMP) not present in green coffee beans is created during the roasting process. The darker the roast, the more NMP is created. Stomach cells exposed to coffee compounds increased acid secretion with the exception of cells exposed to the same compounds containing NMP.
For these reasons, darker roast enema coffee may prove easier on the intestinal tract and produce higher levels of antioxidants in the blood.
Choose Single Origin Whole Bean Coffee Instead of a Blend
From a quality standpoint, coffee blends are inferior to whole beans from a single source that you grind yourself.
Single source coffee more likely involved a higher level of care and standards during coffee production. Coffee blends take beans from a variety of places and mix them until the overall taste is acceptable.
Best to select a coffee that achieves the necessary quality with no mixing necessary!
Wet Processed Coffee Better than Dry Processed
The type of processing used can affect the toxins in the coffee bean. According to Alternative Daily, mechanical wet processing results in fewer toxins and mold in the coffee than dry processing. As a bonus, it is more sustainable than wet processing using fermentation.
About half the world’s coffee is produced using dry processing, particularly coffee from Brazil, Sumatra, and Ethiopia. Be sure to ask how your coffee was processed before buying it for therapeutic reasons. This will ensure that you don’t introduce a counterproductive mold risk to your enema therapy.
Oily Beans Versus Dry Beans
Try to source enema coffee that is not too oily. While overly dry coffee tends to be stale and bitter, too-oily beans are a problem because the lipids in the coffee bean are subject to rancidity. Try to find the freshest coffee possible that is not too dry but also not too oily!
As for packaging, seek to buy whole bean coffee in a sealed bag that contains the following information:
- Where and how the product was grown (the best coffee is organic and grows near the equator at altitudes of more than 5,000 feet).
- When it was harvested.
- When it was roasted (generous estimates claim that coffee beans stay fresh for about four weeks after roasting. More realistic claims give you about 1-2 weeks.)
This information will go a long way toward ensuring the best enema coffee experience possible. Another tip is to store roasted coffee beans and especially ground coffee in the freezer to prevent rancidity.
I appreciate your informative post. I was a little confused though in the wet vs dry processing section and think perhaps the last sentence in the excerpt below should have said…As a bonus, it is more sustainable than dry (instead of “wet”) processing using fermentation?? The few sentences in that section said, ‘The type of processing used can affect the toxins in the coffee bean. According to Alternative Daily, mechanical wet processing results in fewer toxins and mold in the coffee than dry processing. As a bonus, it is more sustainable than wet processing using fermentation.” This seemed a little contradictory so just wanted to check with you about that. Thanks!
the dark roast recommendation in this article is bs. if u go directly to the gerson website it says they DON’T recommend dark roast but medium to light. please correct this so misinformation isn’t being spread.
Did you read the article? I explain why dark roast is better even though Gerson recommends light. The reason is published in the peer-reviewed journal of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. Dark roast coffee is favored over light for restoring blood levels of glutathione, the mother of all antioxidants. This is the whole reason for doing coffee enemas in the first place…to improve blood levels of glutathione!
The Wikipedia has a good article on coffee roasting. From my fairly extensive reading on the subject, light roast is supposed to be higher in caffeine. I have used a large number of different brands. I agree with using organic grown coffee beans, along with freezing the coffee to preserve it longer.
SA Wilson’s was the only bag, that I pitched out as soon as I opened it. It smelled moldy and triggered an allergic reaction I have to mold spores. Maybe it sat in a hot warehouse too long?
Amazon sells: Detox Organic Green Enema Coffee (1 pound) – Germany’s No.1 for therapy (Gerson), weight loss, detox and cleansing. This is one of the best light roasts that I have found. It is a fresh coarse ground organic coffee that I make in a French Press. I use 3 Tbs, along with 1 Tb of Cafe Mam light roast, which is much darker, to 1 Liter of filtered water. The coarse ground green coffee absorbs a lot of water from the coffee maker and the grounds expand like a sponge. The darker roasts don’t seem to have this issue. I am mixing these two as I bought a 5LB bag of the Cafe Mam from Mexico and need to use it up. It is a nice smelling golden roast.
The Aussie Health Company’s 419° F. roasted coffee is a darker American roast, that produces the most caffeine buzz in my experience. It smells nice like regular coffee.
While in a lab the green roast might test higher for caffeine, I seem to experience more caffeine effects from the darker roasts I have tried, so Sarah may be correct, when it comes to coffee used in enemas. Would be interesting to hear what real life experiences others have had with the different roast types? Darker roasts also seem to be more irritating and are harder for me to retain for 15-20 minutes.
My body says that’s not true. I tried 3 T. in one qt. of water and was awake most of the night. Tried 2 T. in one qt. of water yesterday and I was up again most of the night last night.
What I meant asking is that you recommend Dark Roast for Coffee Enemas but the type of coffee from Cafe Mam Therapy Roast that you recommend is Light Roast as far as I know. Your answer will be appreciated.
I didn’t recommend a light roast … I simply stated that this is what the Gerson Institute uses if you read it again. Try using both and see which one produces the most helpful detox for you, is what I would suggest 🙂
Sarah, in your article you are saying that dark roast coffee is better for enemas but the coffee you recommend from Gerson Institute is Light Roast. Please advise. Thx.
Perhaps the wording is not clear enough, but I recommend dark roasts in accordance with the research from the journal of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
The study you have citied regarding glutathione and weight loss was for ORAL consumption of coffee. ORAL CONSUMPTION. Completely irrelevant regarding coffee when used for enema’s. Where there is no clinical evidence regarding light vs dark for enemas, surely the next best thing is asking an expert with the most experience treating people using coffee enemas (Gerson?) – or better yet, trying it yourself (gasp!) and comparing the two. If you had of done either you would realise light coffee is gives the best result.
If light works better for you, then that’s great!
My comment was meant for Bob. Sarah, you were very gracious in your reply to him.
If coffee beans for enema are supposed to be used ‘fresh,’ then wouldn’t buying large quantities be counter-productive, meaning, it’ll eventually become rancid, moldy, etc, from long-term storage?
How long do beans last used for this purpose?
I freeze my coffee beans … you can use them straight out of the freezer by the way. They don’t clump together.
What brand do you use?
This organic therapy roast is used by the Gerson Institute. https://amzn.to/2uqEVV1
I use an organic dark roast.