Constipation: A Serious Health Concern

How often do you go to the bathroom and have a bowel movement? I realize that this question may seem odd, but it the most basic sign of good digestive health. Over 95% of health problems start in the digestive system and constipation is certainly a culprit in many of these maladies.

Bowel movements should correlate to how many meals are eaten in a 24 hour period. If you eat three meals in a 24 hour period, you should have three bowel movements. If not, you are constipated. The statistics show that over 65% of the American Population is constipated.

There are two different theories related to constipation. They are the traditional Medical Opinion as well as the holistic opinion.

Traditional Medicine defines constipation as the passage of small amounts of hard dry stool. However it also states that we have different levels of metabolism and because of this we all experience different frequencies of elimination.

Holistic Medicine believes that you should have one elimination for every meal you eat each day. The holistic practitioner would tell you that the healthiest digestive system is one that absorbs food and nutrition at meals and eliminates the toxic waste 12 to 18 hours later. If the food stays in your system for more than 18 hours it putrefies, accumulates toxins which get absorbed into the bloodstream and contributes to numerous other health concerns.

If you are constipated there are several things that you can do to bring your body back into balance.

1) DRINK more water. Ideally you should drink one ounce of water for every pound of body weight each day. This will help rehydrate the digestive system.

2) Exercise Regularly. This will increase the blood flow which will assist with normal elimination.

3) Supplement with a good daily fiber product that consists of ground flax.

4) Lubricate your digestive system with Essential Fatty Acids like Flax, Borage and Fish Oils which make it easier to have an elimination.

The reason that Constipation is a serious health concern is that we absorb whatever is put in our digestive system. If your digestive system is blocked and filled with waste you will absorb that waste and put the burden on your liver, lungs, lymphatic system, blood, skin, colon and kidneys to assist in getting those toxins out of your body.

It is always a great idea to see a naturopathic medical practitioner who can suggest great supplements, reading materials and healthy alternatives when confronted with poor digestive health.

Charles O. Palmerson is the webmaster for http://www.eConstipation.com an online Constipation Information Resource created to resolve poor digestive health.

Discover The Missing Key to Improving Your Health

Do you know the top ten causes for death? You will recognize them all.

Here they are?

1. Heart disease

2. Cancer

3. Stroke

4. Lower-respiratory diseases

5. Injury (mostly car accidents)

6. Diabetes

7. Flu and pneumonia

8. Alzheimer's disease

9. Kidney disease

10. Infection

Source: 1999-2001 mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Most of us want to live long, productive, pain free lives.

So, then, why are so many people dying from heart disease, cancer and strokes - most of which can be prevented through lifestyle changes?

***Health Is More Than Just Physical***

Health is defined in Webster's dictionary as "sound physical or mental condition". Did you notice this definition only includes physical health and mental health? What about emotional health and spiritual health? So many times I separate my life into different "file folders".

I have a folder for exercise and diet, a folder for my relationship with God, a folder for my social life, and another folder for my emotions?.can anyone else relate? I try to fix my exercise and diet without addressing my emotions. Or I try to overcome a difficult relationship in my "social folder" without addressing my relationship with God.

I try to separate myself -- my emotions, my mind, my spirit and my body into different parts. And it just doesn't work.

***Water, Ice & Steam - The Same Substance In Different Forms***

Let's take the example of water. It has different functions as water, ice and steam, but it is still the same basic molecular substance. H2O.

Similarly, I believe each one of us has different parts - our emotions, mind, spirit and body, but they all interrelate to one another. They can't be separated. Picture three circles. Now picture them all overlapping. I believe the three circles are your emotions, mind and body and where they all overlap - the core of your being - is your spirit. Your deepest beliefs and desires.

Have you ever noticed that when you feel depressed it is harder to exercise? Or if you suffer from physical pain it is harder to concentrate mentally on your work?

***Fitness Trends - Yoga, Pilates & Wellness***

I believe one reason Yoga & Pilates have become popular fitness trends is because they try to incorporate some form of spirituality. They realize the "key" to improved health is not just physical.

There's another popular trend called "wellness". Instead of only addressing exercise, wellness also addresses other aspects of our life, such as emotional and mental health.

"The concept of total wellness recognizes that our every thought, word, and behavior affects our greater health and well-being. And we, in turn, are affected not only emotionally but also physically and spiritually." -- Greg Anderson

***Unlock Your Potential With This Key - Spirituality!***

Our bodies "were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies?. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!.... Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:13, 15,19-20 (NIV)

What is the key to improving your physical health? Honor God with your body. It is as simple as that.

But, just because it is simple, does not mean it is always easy. How can you honor God with the foods you eat and the physical energy you have (or don't have)? You can honor God with your body with the choices you make each day. One of the main reasons I exercise is to have more physical energy for my daily tasks and to not feel so tired in the mornings.

Honor God with your body.

In closing, remember that "physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1Timothy 4:8 (NIV)

Written by Shelley Hitz, Licensed Physical Therapist and Certified NASM Personal Trainer.
Sign up for her free Exercise Advice journal at http://www.abs-exercise-advice.com/journal.html or read more of her articles at http://www.abs-exercise-advice.com. Get your free unbelievable abs ball workout here!

Taking Control of Your Health & Well-being

Taking Control of Your Health & Well-being

by Georgianna Donadio D.C., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Do you ever wonder why, in spite of all your good intentions, you just cannot seem to take control over your health and wellness the way you really want to? The answer to that question can be found in the words of Albert Einstein, who reminded us "you cannot correct a problem with the same thinking that created it". In other words, you cannot change old behaviors without new information.

The Institute of Medicine recently published a study that indicates ninety million Americans are "health illiterate", which means we do not know how to interpret or use health information to control or improve our health, or prevent chronic disease. Data compiled previously identified, "lack of information as the number one root cause of death". Understanding that there exists a cause and effect relationship between what we know and how we behave, we need a model of integrating this important information to change the behaviors that lead to chronic disease. According to a 7-year, 1996, Harvard Medical School study, approximately 70% of all cancers are preventable through lifestyle changes. Furthermore, our diseases and conditions are primarily a result of stress, food, environment, attitude, emotions or beliefs that keep us in behaviors that lead to illness. Which invites the question, are we consciously choosing to be unhealthy, or do we just not understand sufficiently the relationship between what we think, how we behave, what we put into our bodies and how we keep ourselves well or make ourselves sick?

In a world exploding with health information, especially on the internet, we are caught in the dilemma of having abundant amounts of information, without a context through which we can understand and utilize this information in a way that is appropriate for our own unique personal health needs. There is, however, good news - making its way into the mainstream of health care is an integrated model of health information and education that provides a "whole picture of health" perspective, allowing each of us to discern and create our own unique approach to taking charge of our health and well-being. Whole Health Education, developed over the past 28 years, in cooperation with Boston physicians, nurses and educators, is an approach to understanding the cause and effect our behaviors and choices have on our state of health. Demystifying the five major factors that influence how sick or well we become, Whole Health Education provides a perspective on human anatomy and physiology, bio-chemistry, psycho-social, environmental and spiritual aspects which allows for an authentic understanding of what we need know to resolve chronic health problems or to stay healthy. Integrating evidence-based information with the wisdom of various spiritual teachings and a whole-person overview of behavioral options, Whole Health Education offers each of us a tool for personal health management by providing personalized health information that explains the physical, emotional, nutritional, environmental and spiritual aspects of a health concern.

For example, Mature Onset Diabetes affects approximately 18.2 million Americans and is the leading health concern in our culture today. As all chronic conditions are, Mature Onset Diabetes is a multi-dimensional disease state and the unique Whole Health perspective, can facilitate the restoration of health for those with chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Physical/Structural

What happens on a physical and structural level with Mature Onset Diabetes? The specialized beta cells of the pancreas, which produce insulin, become incapable of producing adequate amounts of the critically necessary secretion. This happens over a period of years and can begin in our bodies, over time, by eating large amounts of insulin-provoking foods. These insulin provocateurs, which are sugars and starches in the form of complex carbohydrates, require the pancreas to produce more insulin so that the sugars can be carried over the cell membranes to all parts of the body. Serious disturbances occur when we do not have enough insulin to carry the sugar over the cell membranes. Insulin hooks onto the sugar molecule and acts like a lock and key mechanism to bring that sugar into the cell which is then used in the energy cycle of cell metabolism. The nervous system, brain and the lungs cannot function without the proper metabolism of sugars.

Emotional/Social

Just as diabetes is a lack of nourishment on a chemical/nutritional level, so is it a lack of emotional nourishment on an emotional/mental level. It relates to the "feel good" nourishment component of your body. What do we know about carbohydrates and serotonin? Carbohydrates provoke the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a neuro-transmitter that produces a feeling of well-being. There is a direct relationship between what our body is doing chemically and how we feel emotionally. When we crave or build our diet around carbohydrates, this can be a way of "self-medicating" our emotional needs by eating carbohydrates to provoke insulin production.

Sugar problems can affect us emotionally. Let's say you have a pancreas that is not working properly. What can happen somatic/psychically from the pancreas to the brain? If we are feeling the ups and downs of hypoglycemia, and its biochemical/neurological symptoms, it may undermine our sense of security, self esteem, and produce anxiety and fear.

What is the emotional component of diabetes and the pancreas? Often, it can be a poor sense of self-esteem and a fear of not being "good enough" or not belonging. These feelings, medicated by the serotonin foods, can lead us to not look deeply enough into what is causing our health concerns and allow the feeling/feeding cycle to continue.

Chemical/Nutritional

On the nutritional side, the treatment for people with Mature Onset Diabetes is to decrease the stress on the pancreas by making changes in their diet -- decrease starches and sugars and decrease calories. Eat less, eat right. What kind of a diet would be best for preventing Mature Onset Diabetes? Vegetables, vegetables, and vegetables combined with lean proteins such as fish, chicken, water, a little fruit and a little fat. In a hypoglycemic situation, it is wise not to eat grain or sugar, but sprouted grain bread, and other substitutes can be healthy and satisfying.

Because hormones are chemicals, diabetes and hypoglycemia are both hormonal-based problems. What we know about the hormone system is that it works as a balanced interdependent system. Diabetes is an endocrine-related, systemic problem. With a systemic problem like diabetes, you have a body system problem--you do not just have a condition by itself. It is known that the pancreas is related, through hormone interaction, to the adrenals, and the adrenals are in turn related to the reproductive system. It is known that these glands are related through hormone interactions to the pituitary and the pituitary is related to the thyroid gland, the thyroid is related to the thymus, and the thymus is related to the immune system.

Environmental/Internal & External

The environment that we work in, live in, walk through, live near -- how does that environment have an impact on the way that we feel and the way we feel about ourselves?

How do we learn to trust in the order of the universe? By behaviors that come from trusting the order inside ourselves. We do this by setting boundaries -- codes of conduct of how we are going to behave, eat, work exercise and live. If we don't violate our own boundaries, we are less likely to let anybody else violate our boundaries. We have to start with ourselves. Our experience of victimization can begin with our own self-victimizing behavior.

Spiritual/World View

A Hindu Vendata truth is that "the whole world is one family". It is said that there is only one disease, the disease of separateness, separating oneself from the awareness that we are one living organism. Competition creates isolation. The spiritual challenge presented by hypoglycemia and diabetes appears to be involved with over- or under-valuing the self: judgment of self and then others. Where are we in the process of getting to the truth that we are all equally important? The drama created by a one-up or one-down dynamic that we may allow to be part of our experience can lead to psychophysiology and the behavioral issues which can contribute to and create Mature Onset Diabetes.

Whole Health Education can transform our experience of taking care of ourselves. It can provide an understanding of our health concerns and conditions from this multi-dimensional perspective that makes sense in a way we can utilize the information directly and in a meaningful way. In addition, having the information provided in a mindful, respectful way that invites each of us to discern what we know about our health and condition, how to choose to resolve the problem and what kind of care we choose to have, allows each of us to experience whole-person health care through whole health information. Then, WE become the center of our health and healing process, rather than the doctors or practitioners we go to for guidance.

Georgianna Donadio D.C., M.Sc., Ph.D., has conducted a private practice in Whole Person Care since 1976. She is the Founder and Director of The New England School of Whole Health Education, the pioneer of Whole Health Education and a provider of patient and healthcare professional education since 1977. For more information, visit www.wholehealtheducation.org or call 1-888-354-HEAL (4325).