The Great Microflora Reset: What Actually Happens After Colonic Irrigation

By Bonnie Bellamy | Wellness writer & colon-hydrotherapy enthusiast

Let's Just Say It Out Loud, Shall We?

There is a particular kind of British awkwardness that descends the moment someone mentions colonics at a dinner party. Forks freeze mid-air. Someone suddenly finds the wallpaper very interesting. And yet, in my experience, those same people will corner you by the cheese board twenty minutes later whispering, "So... what's it actually like?"

I have been a colon hydrotherapy enthusiast for years now — not a practitioner, not a doctor, very much just an ordinary woman who found it helpful and became, shall we say, evangelically chatty about it. And the single question I get asked most, after the obvious logistical ones, is this: "What do I do afterwards?" Specifically, what happens to all those friendly bacteria that were quietly going about their business before a rather thorough spring clean came along?

That is exactly what we are going to talk about today. Grab a cup of something warm. Let's get into it.

What Colon Hydrotherapy Actually Involves

First, the basics — because half the mystery is in the not-knowing. Colon hydrotherapy (also called colonic irrigation) is a wellness practice in which warm, filtered water is gently introduced into the colon via a small tube, with the aim of flushing out accumulated waste. A session is carried out by a qualified therapist in a clinical setting, and the whole thing is considerably more dignified than your imagination is currently suggesting.

I want to be clear here: I am not making any medical claims about what colon hydrotherapy does or does not do for your health. What I can tell you is how it has felt for me, and what many therapists — the qualified, professional kind — gently explain to their clients afterwards. If you are curious about trying it, please do consult a qualified colon hydrotherapy practitioner who can assess whether it is appropriate for you personally. The Association and Register of Colon Hydrotherapists (ARCH) is a good starting point for finding someone reputable in the UK.

The Flora Situation: What Therapists Often Mention

Here is where things get genuinely interesting, at least to a gut-health enthusiast like me. Your large intestine is home to an extraordinarily complex community of microorganisms — bacteria, mostly — that collectively make up what scientists call your gut microflora or microbiome. We are talking trillions of the little characters, going about their daily business in a remarkably organised fashion.

When water moves through the colon during a session, it does not discriminate particularly carefully between the waste it is helping to shift and the bacteria living alongside it. Many therapists will therefore suggest — quite sensibly — that clients think about how they might support their gut flora in the days following a session. This is not a medical prescription; it is more like being told to replant the garden after you have done a thorough weeding. It just makes a certain intuitive sense.

This is the point at which the question of friendly bacteria — probiotics — tends to enter the conversation.

Enter Élie Metchnikoff (and a Nobel Prize Worth Knowing About)

I love a good origin story, and the story of beneficial bacteria has one of the best. At the turn of the twentieth century, a Russian-born zoologist named Élie Metchnikoff was working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He had already won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908 for his work on immunity, but his parallel obsession was with why certain populations — particularly in Bulgaria — seemed to live such remarkably long and vigorous lives.

His conclusion, which was considered rather eccentric at the time, was that fermented milk products rich in specific beneficial bacteria were playing a meaningful role. Metchnikoff became one of the earliest serious scientific voices arguing that the bacteria in our gut mattered enormously to our overall wellbeing. He was, in many ways, the great-grandfather of the modern probiotic movement, long before "probiotic" was even a word anyone used.

I find it rather wonderful that this century-old curiosity has a direct line to some of the most considered probiotic formulations available today.

Why I Started Looking at MaXilin

After my own early colonics, I went on something of a research mission — as one does when one has a tendency to fall down wellness rabbit holes at eleven o'clock on a Tuesday night. I wanted something that felt considered and well-grounded rather than just another tub of capsules with a cheerful label.

MaXilin is a food supplement that caught my attention for a couple of reasons. First, its heritage traces back to Metchnikoff's early research into beneficial bacteria, which appealed enormously to the part of me that likes to know where things come from. Second, it combines super probiotics with polypeptides — a formulation that struck me as more thoughtful than a straightforward single-strain supplement.

As a food supplement, MaXilin is not a medicine and does not claim to treat, cure or prevent anything. What the brand does say — and this is the bit I keep coming back to — is that as part of a healthy lifestyle, MaXilin may help support the balance of your gut microflora. For someone looking to be intentional about reintroducing friendly bacteria after a colonic session, that framing felt honest and appropriately modest. I appreciate a brand that does not overclaim.

One practical note worth mentioning: MaXilin is also available in a suppository format for those who prefer a non-oral delivery option. I mention this simply because people's preferences and circumstances vary, and it is useful to know the option exists.

Building Good Habits Around Your Session

Whether or not you choose a probiotic supplement, most therapists will suggest a few gentle post-session habits that are worth knowing about:

• Hydration: Keep drinking water steadily throughout the day. Your body has just done something quite significant and it appreciates the support.
• Gentle foods: Soups, steamed vegetables, and easily digestible meals tend to feel more comfortable in the first day or two. Perhaps not the moment for a vindaloo.
• Fermented foods: Natural yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi all contain naturally occurring beneficial bacteria. Even small amounts can be a lovely complement to a supplement if you enjoy them.
• Rest: It sounds obvious, but giving yourself a quiet evening after a session rather than rushing straight back into a packed schedule makes a noticeable difference to how you feel.
• Consistency: If you do introduce a probiotic supplement, giving it a fair and consistent run — rather than taking it twice and forgetting — tends to yield a more meaningful experience.

A Few Final Thoughts from Someone Who Has Been There

I am not going to pretend I have all the answers about gut health, because nobody does — not even the scientists, who will cheerfully tell you that the microbiome is one of the most complex and least fully understood systems in the human body. What I do know is that paying attention to your gut, approaching it with curiosity and a degree of care, and making thoughtful choices about what you put into your body feels like time well spent.

Colon hydrotherapy, for me, has been one part of a broader approach to feeling well — alongside good food, movement, sleep, and yes, the occasional probiotic supplement. If you are considering a session, please seek out a qualified practitioner. If you are already on that path and wondering what comes next, I hope this has given you something useful to think about.

And if you want to go deeper on any of this — the science, the practicalities, the questions you are slightly embarrassed to ask — I am genuinely here for that conversation.

Want to Know More? Let's Talk

If this has sparked questions — about colon hydrotherapy, gut flora, MaXilin, or anything else in this wonderfully strange world of digestive wellness — please do get in touch with me. I love hearing from readers, and no question is too basic or too peculiar. You can also request your free gut health guide, which goes into much more detail on supporting your microflora as part of a healthy lifestyle. Consider it a little gift from one gut-health enthusiast to another.