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Are Your Pipes Clogged?
By Yuri Elkaim and Amy Coates
Let’s face it. Talking about stool, flatulence, and anything else related to bowel function doesn’t make the greatest dinner conversation. However, it may be one of the most important topics when it comes to your health.
According to the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, approximately 1 million Canadians a year suffer from constipation (If you’re American, simply multiply this number by 10). However, the definition of constipation used by conventional medicine is 1 bowel movement every 2-3 days.
Any “natural” health care practitioner in their right mind knows immediately that this is a poor definition of constipation. After all, being regular means having 2-3 bowel movements per day!
The scary reality is that this is so rare in our culture. In working with thousands of individuals over the past 11 years, we’ve seen that having 2-3 bowel movements per day has been the exception, not the norm. In fact, we have seen clients who would report just 1 bowel movement per week! Talk about backed up.
What About Herbal Remedies?
If you suffer from constipation, you want, and need, a permanent solution. But be careful. Health food stores are full of quick fix laxatives that can help flush out the waste in your colon without necessarily “healing” your colon or improving the health of your intestinal system.
Take, for example, the “natural” remedies cascara sagrada and senna. These are essentially purgative herbs, which can be dangerous for your body if used for extended periods of time. The concern with such herbal laxatives is that they can be habit forming and do not restore your colon’s independent ability to function properly.
Cascara sagrada and senna (and other purgative herbs) work by irritating the colon, causing it to expel its contents. This can be a dangerous practice over time because it can also lead to poor nutrient absorption and imbalanced flora in your gut.
Why Is Constipation Such a Concern?
Think of constipation as your body’s way of going on garbage strike. Imagine for a moment that for some reason you couldn’t get rid of any garbage from your home. Instead, all of the garbage is allowed only to pile up. Now, can you see how this could be a problem for you and your family. Imagine the smell, the bugs and rodents it would attract, and the toxins it would give off.
Well, this is exactly what takes place in your body if you are constipated. The waste (feces) doesn’t move and thus it sits in the colon expelling further toxins back into your body – a process known as autointoxification.
Therefore, it is imperative to take immediate action as constipation has many damaging effects on the body including:
** Raising the risk of colon cancer.
** Being 4 times more likely to develop breast cancer.
** Causing pressure in the bowels which can stimulate the growth of cancer cells.
** Causing psychological distress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction.
** Causing autointoxication (when toxins are absorbed from the bowels into the bloodstream), which can severe health consequences.
Healthy bowel movements are essential to a healthy body. The bowel is like a sewage system which, unless you cleanse out daily, will back up and enter the bloodstream and harm your body.
Naturally, as children, we generally have natural, easy bowel movements – food goes in and waste comes out. But as we grow older, our bowel habits become regulated by school bells, work schedules, and travel commitments.
Ignoring the “urge” in order to fit bowel movements into your schedule is the first step in creating a life full of bowel problems. Your doctor may define such problems by the infrequency of your bowel movements but he/she may fail to point out that the description of your stool is also very important.
For instance, those who suffer from constipation often complain that their stools are dry, hard, or lumpy; that they strain to have a movement; that there is incomplete elimination; or that they suffer from hemorrhoids.
So, How Does Constipation Create Poor Health?
Well, we’ve already touched on a few concepts, but let’s now elaborate.
Constipation slows down your transit time. This is the amount of time it takes for food to enter your mouth and the remains to exit your rectum. Ideally, transit time should be between 18-24 hours.
A slow transit time indicates that putrefied materials can stay in your colon for a longer period of time, allowing toxins to enter the bloodstream through the intestinal wall. This autointoxication can lead to several different states of disease ranging from headaches to autoimmune disorders.
Additionally, slow transit time can lead to a build-up of toxic material along the intestinal walls. Not only does this impair the absorption of needed nutrients but also, with time, this build-up can cause irritation, which causes the widening of the pores within the intestinal wall.
This is known as “leaky gut syndrome,” and it poses a big threat to the integrity of your digestive tract and the entire health of your body. The wider the pores, the more porous (and less selective) the intestinal walls become. This means that undigested food particles, toxins, and microorganisms can readily seep out of the intestinal tract and into the bloodstream leading to allergen-mediated immune responses, and other nasty events.
The irritation of the intestinal walls caused by being backed up can eventually lead to chronic inflammation of the intestines. Medically this is termed as inflammatory bowel disease and may take the form of Crohn’s disease (inflammation of the small intestine) or colitis (inflammation of the colon).
What Causes Constipation?
There are many factors that can lead to the clogging of your pipes. The most notable factor is the intake of CRAP, as colon expert Dr. Brenda Watson terms it. CRAP stands for coffee, refined sugars, alcohol, and processed food.
Without going into excessive detail, all of these “non-foods” irritate your digestive system and impoverish its ability to function normally.
Furthermore, growing up on a diet of low fiber and an abundance of processed foods sets the stage for constipation. Even if you’ve improved your diet in the last few years, it will still take time to retrain your elimination system and improve the integrity of your digestive system.
Another dietary cause of constipation is a lack of essential fatty acids (EFAs). Aside from their numerous health benefits, EFAs also provide the lubrication needed for normal bowel movements and a healthy intestinal system. Omega-3 should be the focus of your EFA intake. Good omega-3 sources include sunflower seeds, flaxseed oil, fish oil, and walnuts.
Yet another factor that can bring on constipation is a lack of exercise. A study in Germany found a reduction in symptoms of constipation among women who engaged in frequent physical activity, while a Japanese study also found that walking, along with dietary fiber helped maintain regular bowel function.
And it just makes sense to exercise as it helps “unblock” your body’s stagnant energy and improves the circulation of the lymphatic system (your body’s sewage system), helping to remove waste from your body.
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Yuri Elkaim and Amy Coates are the creators of Total Wellness Cleanse, a 30-day food-based cleansing program. You Should Sign Up for Their Program Here.
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References
1. Blanke, B. et al. (2001). An exercise program for women suffering from constipation. Fortschr Med Orig; 119 (3-4): 99-102.
2. Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. Constipation http://www.cag-acg.org/patinfo/constipation.htm.
3. DiMarco, D. (1999). Natural Relief from Constipation. Los Angeles, CA; Keats.
4. Sugawara, K. (2002). Relationship between lifestyle factors and defecation in a Japanese population. European Journal of Nutrition; 41(6):244-248.
5. Walsh, M. et al. (2004). Extracellular pressure stimulates colon cancer cell proliferation via a mechanism requiring PKC and tyrosine kinase signals. Cell Proliferation, 37(6):427-441.
