Development of Reflorastation

by Victoria Bowmann, PhD

Beginnings:

During the years that I had been a colon therapist from 1978 to 1991, there were times that I felt that I wasn't doing a complete job. Certainly the quality of my colonic was as it should be, however it was difficult for individuals to completely resolve their bowel issues. It was at this time that I began to challenge and question the extent of my education. 

I came across an article written in the Lancet December 24-31, 1983. The Lancet is a prestigious medical journal published in the United Kingdom. The title of the article was titled: "Rectal Infusion of Bacterial Preparations for Intestinal Disorders." In this study there were four patients treated: two patients with chronic constipation, one with constipation as a result of an influenza like syndrome, and one with your will bowel syndrome which diarrhea and abdominal pain. 

The rectal infusions of about 150 million bacteria suspended in 50 ml saline were given once a day for 3 days. Bowel function promptly returned to normal in all four cases and remained normal (one or two normal stools a day) without further treatment.

As I contemplated this medical article I realized, that from a holistic point of view, I was doing an incomplete job. While I was doing a very good job of cleaning out the colon during my colon hydrotherapy sessions, I was not restoring the environment of the colon to a healthy state. One of the holistic physicians who referred clients to me was Abram Ber, a licensed homeopathic medical physician. 

One morning, I went to his office and asked if we could talk for a few minutes. During this time I brought a copy of the Lancet article to him and discussed my desire to advance my colon hydrotherapy sessions. Obviously, I wasn't interested in using feces from a healthy donor but rather the introduction of probiotics; which are readily available in capsule form. It was decided to begin with Lactobacillus and Bifidus, since these are the two prevalent beneficial bacteria in the large intestine. 

My first attempt at Reflorastation was with a close girlfriend, Arlene, with a lifetime history of chronic and severe constipation. She had tried many things to resolve this including: dietary changes such as food combining, vegetarian diet, macrobiotic diet, as well as exercise programs such as yoga, and being an active tennis player. She also drank plenty of water and tried any other reasonable suggestion that others offered. This woman was also an active member of our holistic community.

When I brought my ideas to Arlene, she was willing to become my first research subject. In fact, she helped to design the methodology in which the treatment is administered. Due to her extremely slow transit time, it was decided to do two colonic hydrotherapy sessions on consecutive days prior to the introduction of the Lactobacillus and Bifidus.  

Together we devised a way to suspend of the bacteria in water and administer it through an enema tube into the rectum after her second colonic. The following day she had no bowel response. However, on day two she had a normal healthy bowel movement. This response continued for 13 days, at which time she missed one day for having a healthy bowel movement. The following day, her bowels began moving correctly again. 

When I returned to Dr. Ber's office and shared this research, he commented that we had a breakthrough in helping others with chronic constipation with a natural holistic approach. It was decided at this time that he would refer patients for two colon hydrotherapy sessions on consecutive days to be followed with one bacterial introduction of these two probiotics. He evaluated his patients six weeks later and noted the health progress improvement was more than he previously had seen. 

It was at this time that our definition of Colon Reflorastation crystallized. It is as follows:

Colon Reflorastation is the introduction of healthy intestinal bacteria supplement into the rectum, which delivers it into the sigmoid flexure of the colon. After one hour of retention, it will colonize the bowel; three days later, it will be stabilized. This health procedure is only designed to reinforce the homeo-dynamic balance of the bowel flora. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. 

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Dr. Ber and I decided to continue our investigation in the beneficial effects of replacing the healthy bacteria removed during a colonic irrigation.