Preparation for a colonic is simpler than most people expect. There’s no fasting, no elaborate cleanse, nothing you need to buy. But a few small adjustments in the days beforehand do make a noticeable difference — both to how comfortable the session feels and to how much you get out of it.
The short answer: eat lightly and mostly plants for two to three days beforehand, drink plenty of water, stop eating about two hours before your appointment, and avoid fizzy drinks entirely on the day. Wear something loose. That covers the essentials.
Below is the fuller version, along with the reasoning — because knowing why tends to make it easier to bother.
Two to three days before
This is where the useful work happens. The aim is simply to make things easier to shift on the day.
Lean towards
- Vegetables, especially cooked ones — steamed, roasted, in soups
- Fruit, particularly things like pears, berries and stewed apple
- Whole grains: oats, brown rice, quinoa
- Soups, broths and stews
- Plenty of water throughout the day
Ease off
- Red meat and heavy, rich meals
- Heavily processed food and ready meals
- Alcohol
- Excess dairy, if you know it sits heavily with you
- Very salty food, which encourages fluid retention
None of this needs to be perfect. If you have a takeaway two nights before your appointment, the session will still work. Do what you reasonably can.
The day before
Keep meals light and eat your evening meal a little earlier if you can manage it. Soup, a simple vegetable dish, something warm and easy.
Hydration matters more than most people realise. Water is what makes the whole process comfortable, and being properly hydrated the day before does more good than drinking a great deal on the morning itself. Aim to sip steadily through the day rather than downing a litre at once.
Skip alcohol the night before. It’s dehydrating, which is the opposite of what you want.
On the day
Eating
Stop eating around two hours before your appointment. You don’t need to arrive hungry or empty — a light breakfast or lunch beforehand is fine, just not immediately before.
If your appointment is early morning, something small and light is better than nothing at all.
Drinking
Water and herbal tea are fine right up until you arrive.
Avoid fizzy drinks entirely — including sparkling water. Carbonation introduces gas into the digestive tract, which makes the session noticeably less comfortable. This is the one instruction I’d genuinely encourage you not to skip.
Coffee is best avoided on the morning of, though if you’d otherwise spend the appointment with a caffeine headache, one small cup is the lesser problem.
What to wear
Loose, comfortable clothing. Nothing tight around the waist. You’ll change into a gown for the treatment itself, but comfortable clothes make the journey home nicer too.
What to tell me beforehand
Please mention any of the following when you book, rather than waiting until you’re in the room:
- Any prescription medication you take
- Supplements, including iron and probiotics
- Any surgery in the past six months, particularly abdominal or bowel surgery
- Existing diagnoses — IBS, diverticular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, haemorrhoids
- Heart, kidney or liver conditions
- If there’s any chance you might be pregnant
Sometimes this conversation means the treatment isn’t appropriate — this post sets out who it isn’t suitable for. I’d much rather establish that on the phone than have you take time off work and travel to Chipstead for an appointment we then can’t go ahead with.
Things you don’t need to do
There’s a lot of unnecessary advice circulating about preparing for a colonic. To be clear:
- You don’t need to fast. Extended fasting beforehand isn’t necessary and can leave you lightheaded during the session.
- You don’t need laxatives. Please don’t take them to “prepare” — they’re not part of the process and can leave you dehydrated and crampy.
- You don’t need a supplement or a kit. Nobody needs to sell you anything for this.
- You don’t need to give yourself an enema first. That’s what the appointment is for.
If in doubt, ask me rather than the internet. There’s more on the claims worth being sceptical about in this post on common myths.
Preparing mentally
Worth saying, because it affects the physical experience more than people expect: tension makes the session less comfortable. The body being braced doesn’t help anything relax.
If you’re nervous, the most useful preparation is knowing what’s going to happen. This guide walks through a first appointment step by step, including the questions people usually find awkward to ask. If your particular worry is whether it hurts, there’s an honest answer here.
And if there’s something specific worrying you, ring or message me before the day. It genuinely helps, and I don’t mind at all.
Afterwards, briefly
Worth planning for, since it shapes what you buy beforehand:
- Keep drinking water steadily for the rest of the day
- Start with something light and warm — soup, broth, steamed vegetables
- Skip alcohol and caffeine for 24 hours if you can
- Don’t schedule anything demanding straight afterwards if you can avoid it
A probiotic can be useful in the days following, though whether it’s worth it depends on your circumstances — I’ll advise individually rather than sell you something as a matter of course. The full aftercare guide covers the next 48 hours properly.
A note on medical advice
Colon hydrotherapy is a complementary therapy. It doesn’t diagnose or treat medical conditions and it isn’t a substitute for advice from your GP. If you have persistent digestive symptoms — ongoing pain, bleeding, or a change in bowel habit lasting more than a few weeks — please have that looked at properly first.
If you’d like to talk anything through before booking, get in touch. Or if you’re ready, you can book a session directly.