Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Constipation - A Sign of Poor Digestive Health

By Sue Thompson

Do you have regular bowel movements?

An odd question but a very practical one. Good digestive health starts with having regular bowel movements. It has been found that over 95% of health problems start in the digestive system. In many of these, constipation has been identified as the main cause.

In a 24-four period, the number of meals you take should be the same as the number of times you have your bowel movements. If you take frequent meals, then you should also take frequent trips to the john. Not being able to do this means you are constipated. Among Americans, 65% are suffering from this condition.

Holistic Opinion offers an entirely different view of constipation from that of Traditional Opinion.

In Traditional Medicine, constipation is defined as the passage of small amounts of hard dry stool. It also explains that frequency of elimination is dependent on an individual's level of metabolism. Since people's level of metabolism vary, the frequency of elimination also varies among each individual.

Holistic Medicine has a more universal approach and that is -- one elimination for every meal eaten daily. A healthy digestive system is able to complete its functions efficiently from eating, digesting, and eliminating within the time frame of 12 to 18 hours. If waste matter stays longer than 18 hours in the body, it becomes rotten and the toxins that result from this create more serious health problems.

If you are constipated, the following tips will help you normalize elimination.

1) Drink lots of water to rehydrate your digestive system. Your daily intake of water should be one ounce for every pound of your body weight.

2) Engage in a regular exercise regimen. This need not be extremely strenuous but challenging enough to get your blood pumping. This increased blood flow will help facilitate elimination.

3) Take a fiber supplement that has ground flax..

4) Include Essential Fatty Acids like Flax, Borage and Fish Oils in your dietary supplements because these lubricate your digestive system and help ease elimination.

Constipation is something to be concerned about. When waste matter clogs the digestive system, the resulting toxins are absorbed by the body. The organs that function to get rid of these poisons such as the liver, lungs, lymphatic system, blood, skin, colon, and kidneys are forced to work harder to flush these out.

If you have constipation, why not visit a naturopathic medical practitioner? He can offer you healthy alternatives, give you good advice regarding supplements and even share reading materials to help you deal with conditions caused by poor digestive health. - 16463

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