by Sue Thompson
Constipation afflicts about 4 million people every year. If you are suffering from chronic constipation, you can be at risk for more serious ailments. The discomfort that you feel is due to the impacted fecal matter in your colon and bowel. A colon cleanse can effectively flush all that out. With a cleansed system, you will also notice a significant decrease in your weight.
John Wayne, an American actor who made many Western movies, started his career as a slim young man. As he grew older however, he started to put on weight. When he died, hard fecal matter was found on the lining of his intestines which weighed an incredible 60 pounds. This nasty bulk could have been flushed out with a colon cleanse. People who complete a colon cleanse usually lose about 5 – 15 or more pounds.
If you do not move your bowels daily, you may be experiencing chronic constipation. A healthy frequency is two times a day. There are many adults who only move their bowels twice a week. This is not good as it can lead to many serious diseases. A person who is suffering from chronic constipation is one who has been experiencing the following symptoms for at least a year:
Less than 5 bowel movements a week
Feeling that you have not completely eliminated everything after a bowel movement
Straining during defecation
An unpleasant strained sensation during fecal elimination
The usual causes of constipation are: lack of fiber in the diet, lack of exercise, inadequate water intake, and stress. When we are stressed, our bowel muscles tend to contract at different times. In a normal situation, the muscles in the upper intestinal tract contract as the lower muscles in the bowel relax. However, when instead of relaxing the lower muscles in the bowels contract, problems occur and constipation if one of them.
Anything that causes a change in your normal diet and exercise program can cause constipation. Traveling is an example because it interrupts your regular routine. Inactivity is another cause. This may be due to a medical condition or an injury. Constipation is common among the elderly because age-related health problems often keep them from being active. Many young people these days however, live a sedentary lifestyle. This combined with poor nutrition have increased the number of obese children. Studies show that 50% of children now suffer from obesity.
To prevent constipation you should increase your intake of dietary fiber. This is available as a supplement which can be in pill form or powder. Although these supplements are effective, they are not inexpensive. You can still add fiber to your diet just by eating more fiber-rich foods and avoiding low fiber ones. You can add an apple to your lunch and a salad for supper. You can dig up or create your own low fat meals. There are a lot of recipes available now that are not only healthy but great tasting as well. Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean eating bland.
Exercise is another way to combat constipation. If you have been sedentary, do not overwhelm yourself with strenuous physical activity when you start. Begin with simple stretching exercises which stimulate circulation. It is important to get blood pumping into your muscles. As you go along, you can add more activities. As a beginner you can take a walk around the block or a do a quick lap in the pool. If you like biking, you can pedal to the corner store and back. Even if you do not suffer from constipation, these sustained exercise activities are great because they do a lot for your cardiovascular health.
The modern diet is causing many problems in our digestive system because of the large amounts of artificial ingredients we consume. This causes our digestive system to become lined with mucoidal plaque which slows it down. This means that waste matter takes a longer time to go through it resulting in constipation.
See your doctor if your constipation lasts for more than two weeks. He can find out what causes your constipation and then can decide which treatment you want based on the options available to you. A colon cleanse together with a diet rich in fiber is one of the best ways to solve the problem.
Observe the frequency of your bowel movements and always make sure your colon and intestinal tract are clean. Do not take products that contain aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, milk of magnesia, mineral oil and those that have a high fat content. For fiber, your daily dietary requirement is 15 grams a day.
As long as you exercise regularly, eat a diet high in fiber, are well hydrated and use a safe and natural colon cleanser, having regular bowel movements will not be a problem.
About the Author:
Sue Thompson spent many years studying constipation solutions offered by both Traditional Medicine and Holistic Medicine. Utilization of
probiotic supplements during intestinal cleansing helps to cleanse your body and lose extra pounds at the same time. To find out why
colon cleanse pro is the
colon cleanser of choice, please visit our site with detailed reviews of probiotic and
colon cleanse supplements.