Good To Go

By Dean L. Jones

Regularly going is good, even great, yet constipation can seem an awfully difficult subject to bring up, even though more than 4 million Americans suffer from having three or fewer bowel movements a week.  Less than half of those who have this serious digestive disorder go to the doctor each year to seek a remedy.

Long ago my grandmother’s constipation led to colon cancer, which unfortunately occurred before the current advancements in cancer treatments.  So, while watching an episode of Doctor Oz this week when a woman spoke of her infrequent and often times difficult bowel movements I related to her misery.  Before Dr. Oz suggested a doctor’s visit he immediately recommended that the sufferer review their respective eating habits as digestive health depends on what is being ingested.

Part of this television discussion shared how processed sugary-filled foodstuff items and beverages can worsen constipation.  Firstly, drinking plain water makes it easier to pass waste from the bowels as it gets absorbed by the stool; however, too many people think that any liquid is the same as drinking water.  In contrast, caffeine or alcohols are diuretics, the substances that pull more water out of the body than they provide, which coincidently were the very two liquids that my grandmother drank daily.

Foodstuffs that are low in fiber such as ice cream, cookies, cakes, etc enable constipation.  When I used to routinely eat yogurt, I learned that it contained an insoluble protein called casein, plus some hidden sugar.  These ingredients slowed my digestion, where they were extending the time to dry and harden the waste in my intestines.  So, you live and learn and some other ingredients to avoid for this reason include white or brown sugar, aspartame, sucralose, glucose, dextrose, sucralose, sorbitol, saccharin, Splenda, corn syrup, cyclamate, sucrose, dextin, lactose, maltodextrin, ribose, Nutrasweet, high fructose corn syrup, crystalline powder, polysaccharides, monosaccharides, carob powder, and disaccharides.

Although, there is at least one exception to ingesting sugar and that occurs in the case of honey that has fructose in it as a natural sugar.  When it reaches the human colon it draws water into the stool and thereby becomes a natural laxative.  Similarly, eating fresh whole fruits are high in fiber, which draws water into the waste making it easier to go, especially pears, watermelons (all melons), and berries.

Processed sugar is the number one enemy of the bowel movement as it increases the concentration of bile acids and bacterial enzymes in the colon that can produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.  In view of that, it is always good to go and when nature does not call just know that it is not a disease, but it is a symptom that needs attention before it turns into something chronic, or more serious.  When all is said and done, eat SugarAlert!
As a strategic alliance strategist, Dean shares his best viable practices on behalf of a public benefit organization named the Southland Partnership Corporation.