Mariella Cedeno is making a straightforward proposition: that periodically flushing warm filtered water through your colon removes accumulated waste, hydrates your body, and contributes to long-term wellness. She pairs this with infrared sauna and foot detox as a holistic protocol. The framing is gentle, the tone is earnest, and I want to be honest with you about where the science holds up and where it doesn't — because that's what you deserve.
The 2021 review paper on therapeutic hydrotherapy in our knowledge base covers water-based treatments extensively — contrast showers, hydro-massage, cold and hot immersion. These are practices with genuine research behind them. What's conspicuously thin in the clinical literature is the evidence for colonic irrigation specifically. Mainstream gastroenterology doesn't recommend it for most people, and for good reason: your colon has its own microbiome — trillions of bacteria that regulate immune function, produce short-chain fatty acids, and modulate your mood via the gut-brain axis. Flushing warm water through it repeatedly doesn't just remove waste. It disrupts that ecosystem.
There are documented cases of electrolyte imbalance and bacterial disruption following frequent colonics. For people with intact digestive systems, the procedure can undermine the very equilibrium it claims to restore.
Here's the thing: the nutritional advice in this conversation is solid. Fiber-rich foods, adequate hydration calibrated to your body weight, limiting red meat — these are genuinely evidence-based recommendations for digestive health. The green apple recommendation is simple and effective. Fiber feeds the beneficial bacteria colonics are trying to protect. That's not incidental. That's the real protocol.
And the infrared sauna? That's where the detoxification science is actually robust. Infrared penetrates tissue differently than conventional sauna heat, activating the lymphatic system, promoting circulation, and clearing metabolic byproducts through sweat. We have Finnish population studies, we have heat shock protein research, we have data on cardiovascular and neurological benefits. The sauna recommendation in this session is the strongest thing on the menu.
If you're curious about colon hydrotherapy, approach it the way you'd approach any intervention: low frequency, qualified practitioner, and listen to how your body responds. Some people report genuine relief, particularly those with chronic constipation or sluggish digestion. But I'd prioritize the fundamentals first: hydration, fiber, sleep, regular movement. These build the foundation. Once that foundation is solid, contrast therapy and infrared sauna offer well-supported benefits with far less potential for disruption.
What strikes me about this conversation is the invisible thread running through it: every service Mariella offers — colonics, infrared sauna, foot detox, body composition analysis — is a proxy for the same deeper question: how do we help the body do what it already knows how to do? That's the honest framing. Not "detox" as a medical claim, but creating conditions where your body's own elimination and repair processes can run without interference. The body is always trying to reach equilibrium. Our job is to remove obstacles, not manufacture outcomes.
Start with water. Real water. Every day. Then add heat. Then rest. That's where the data lives.