Diarrhea and Constipation
ConstipationDiarrhea
The main problem in diarrhea is that food is forced through the body so rapidly that few nutrients can be absorbed. Not infrequently, diarrhea occurs when we are unconsciously trying to get rid of something we do not like about ourselves. A variety of nutritional deficiencies can result in diarrhea, however, particularly a lack of niacin amide.
A lack of folic acid, vitamin B6, or magnesium also results in diarrhea, which can be quickly overcome when the missing nutrient is supplied. Because a high calcium intake causes magnesium to be excreted, diarrhea brought on by a magnesium deficiency is common in bottle-fed babies, persons on conventional ulcer diets, and individuals who take an excess of calcium. As little as 1/4 teaspoon of magnesium oxide daily, added to milk, prevents or corrects such diarrhea, and should probably be given to all bottle-fed infants, particularly if they are wakeful or irritable.
By forcing food through the body so quickly that digestion and absorption cannot take place, persistent diarrhea can cause deficiencies of almost every nutrient. An acute potassium deficiency is a frequent result, which physicians rectify by giving tablets of potassium chloride several times daily. A magnesium deficiency is also often produced and may bring on tremors, muscle spasms of the arms, hands, legs, feet, and eyes, or epileptic-like convulsions; and fluids given to relieve dehydration dilute the already under supplied magnesium, thus making these symptoms worse. Such a condition has been corrected in a few hours by giving 500 milligrams of magnesium, or about 1/2 teaspoon of a magnesium salt.
The diet taken during severe diarrhea should be unusually adequate. When the amounts of nutrients absorbed by persons with diarrhea have been compared with the losses in the urine and feces, it has been found that far greater quantities of all nutrients are retained if large frequent meals are eaten instead of small ones, even though hearty meals may make the diarrhea temporarily worse. The foods need not be smooth or low in residue, but merely as rich as possible in vitamins, minerals, oils, and proteins, Diets high in fats slow down the passage of foods through the body. When different fats have been radioactively labeled and given to persons with severe diarrhea, the absorption of oils has been virtually complete whereas solid fats have not been digested.
The starting point. Recovery from no disease can be rapid until both digestion and absorption are efficient. At first vitamin and mineral supplements, which need no digesting, and yogurt or acidophilus, largely digested during the culturing process, should be heavily relied upon. Digestive enzymes with bile, hydrochloric acid, and lecithin should be used temporarily, and the amounts increased if bloating is noticeable. Gas distention indicates that putrefactive bacteria are being fed rather than one's own body.
When a completely adequate diet can be taken without difficulty, digestion and absorption usually become efficient in approximately a month.
Constipation
Because the purpose of the large intestine is to conserve water, any deficiency that decreases the motility of the intestinal muscles allows too much water to be reabsorbed; hence the stools become dry and firm. Constipation, which is defined as a hard stool rather than an infrequent one, can be relieved by increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables, the natural sources of B vitamins, especially of B1 and pantothenic acid, and of yogurt or acidophilus milk or culture. Acidophilus culture taken with milk sugar is particularly laxative.
Inadequate bile flow frequently causes constipation by allowing undigested fats to react with calcium and/or iron to form hard soaps. Lecithin, oils, and the use of bile tablets rectify the condition temporarily, but permanent correction lies in increasing bile production.
Spastic constipation, characterized by spasms in the large bowel, occurs when deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and/or vitamin B6 are superimposed on other deficiencies which result in faulty elimination.
Constipation in itself is not harmful or "autointoxicating." Far more harmful is the use of laxatives and cathartics which irritate delicate intestinal membranes and interfere with digestion and absorption. Mineral oil, probably the most damaging of all laxatives, decreases the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and itself absorbs vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotene from the' foods in the intestine; it passes into the lymph and blood, picks up more fat-soluble vitamins from liquids and tissues throughout the body, and is then excreted in the feces. The persons for whom mineral oil is most often recommended are ill ones, who can least afford this drastic loss of vitamins.
Though for more than 20 years the American Medical Association has urged physicians to discontinue its use, it is still prescribed.
Much constipation is psychological in origin. Branches of the same nerve go to both the rectum and the sex organs; hence when sexual expression is so unsatisfactory as to cause anxiety, general inhibitions and Puritanical background often force this concern to be diverted to worry about elimination. Constipation is also at times an unconscious "holding back" characteristic of frigidity.
Hemorrhoids
Bleeding hemorrhoids (piles) have been produced in volunteers deficient in vitamin B6 and corrected when the vitamin was given. Every person with whom I have worked who has had hemorrhoids has reported a "miraculous recovery" after adhering to an adequate diet supplemented with 10 milligrams of B6 after each meal. Since pregnant women are notoriously deficient in vitamin B6, a lack of this vitamin may prove to be the cause of the hemorrhoids so common during this period.
In cases where surgical removal of hemorrhoids is necessary, particular attention should be given to the prevention of scar tissue. The shriveling and inelasticity of such tissue can cause serious problems in elimination for years afterward.
David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a Male Enhancement Products company known as Male Enhancement Group which is dedicated to researching and comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the market. Copyright 2010 David Crawford of http://www.maleenhancementgroup.com. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.