Constipation

The first question on most people's lips when they hear the term IBS is, what is it? The most important answer is that IBS is unlikely to be life-threatening. If you are in the unfortunate situation of experiencing pain in your digestive system, then you must see your medical practitioner/doctor to confirm that you do not have a serious condition i.e. the pain in your gut may be symptoms of something serious. This confirmation process will probably require a series of tests e.g. Barium Meal, Blood Tests to name but a few. Barium Meal will involve the patient drinking a white/cream coloured liquid followed by X-rays taken of the stomach area to see how the Barium progresses through the digestive system.

Here is how to build a natural smoothie that can stop constipation, relieve acne, improve your skin and give you more energy. The smoothie base is liquid slurry that can be used to add more natural ingredients.
The liquid base can be made from various fresh juices or rice, oat, or almond milks. I stay away from milk since milk creates mucus along the gastrointestinal lining.

Constipation refers to any irregularity in, or absence of, bowel movements. The slow movement of food through the large intestine and the amount of time the waste remains in the colon are factors that contribute to constipation. More and more water is absorbed while the waste is in our body and the stool becomes drier and bulky thus more difficult to pass. Home remedies can help in relieving constipation.

Constipation is no fun. Sometimes it can be painful. But the cause of your sluggish bowels is often easy to find. It may include a lack of fiber in the diet, insufficient liquid intake, stress, medications, lack of exercise, and bad bowel habits, says Paul Rousseau, M.D., chief of the Department of Geriatrics at the Carl T.

Constipation may be defines as a common disturbance of the digestive tract. It is difficulty with irregular bowel movements, or passing hard and dry stool. Constipation is the major cause of many diseases as it produces toxins which find their way into the bloodstream and are carried to all parts of the body. Appendicitis, rheumatism, arthritis, high blood pressure, cataract, and cancer are few of the diseases in which chronic constipation is an important predisposing factor.

The stomach churns and mixes food so it can be digested. The near-liquid food then enters the small intestine which extracts calories, minerals and vitamins. The small intestine ends in the right-lower abdomen where it enters the colon. The colon, or large bowel, is 5 to 6 feet long.

Constipation is a major problem for millions of people around the world.

The culprits are widespread and well known: Not enough water and exercise -- too much junk food.

Constipation or irregularity, is a condition of the digestive system where a person (or animal) experiences hard feces that are difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in severe cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. It can also be referred as irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis. Constipation is associated with having bowel movements less often then every three days. Most often related to decreased colon activity. Constipation is an abnormally delayed or infrequent bowel movements. When a bowel movement occurs, the feces are often dry and hard. Constipation may occur during pregnancy or after delivery.

Some people go three times a day. Others, three times a week. Fine. But what if the person who goes three times a day suddenly can't go even once a day?

Now that's what you call constipation. In other words, whether or not you're constipated depends on how often you normally move your bowels. True, 83 percent of Americans go at least once a day, according to one survey. But that doesn't mean the remaining 17 percent are constipated.

"There's nothing sacred about the daily bowel movement;" according to pharmacists Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D., coauthors of The People's Pharmacy books. "Everyone is different.

Emphasize fiber. "You don't see much constipation in countries with high-fiber diets," observes Marion Nestle, Ph.D., chair­person of nutrition and food studies at New York University in New York City. "You see it in countries like the United States, where many people eat a low-fiber diet."

To increase your fiber intake, Dr. Nestle recommends eating whole grains, beans, fruits, or vegetables at every meal and as snacks. Wheat bran, the leading constipation preventive, is an ingredient in dozens of breakfast cereals such as All-Bran and Bran Buds. Popcorn makes a satisfying high-fiber snack. Enjoy bean soups and bean burritos, or munch on low-fat tortilla chips with bean dip.

Get moving to get things moving. Exercise stimulates peristalsis. There's no need to run a marathon, Dr. Pizzomo says. A brisk walk for 1/2 hour each day usually does the trick.

Biofeedback

Relax to release. At the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, researchers taught biofeedback to 29 children who had trouble with chronic constipation because they couldn't relax their anal sphincters. After an average of five biofeedback sessions, 90 percent of the children had learned how to relax their sphincters, and their constipation was considered cured.

Herbal Medicine

Let psyllium be your salvation. The best herbal treatment for constipation is psyllium seed, says James A. Duke, Ph.D. It contains mucilage, a soluble fiber that expands when it absorbs water.

According to the 1996 National Health Interview Survey, about 3 million people in the United States have frequent constipation. Those reporting constipation most often are women and adults age 65 and over. Pregnant women may have constipation, and it is a common problem following childbirth or surgery. To understand constipation, it helps to know how the colon (large intestine) works. As food moves through the colon, it absorbs water while forming waste products, or stool. Muscle contractions in the colon push the stool toward the rectum. By the time stool reaches the rectum, it is solid because most of the water has been absorbed.

Homeopathy

Seek a homeopath's advice.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder characterized by reoccurring abdominal pain and intermittent diarrhea, which often alternates with constipation. IBS most commonly affects people between the ages of 20 and 30 and is twice as common in women as in men. IBS is known by a variety of other terms: spastic colon, spastic colitis, mucous colitis, nervous diarrhea, nervous colon and nervous or functional bowel.

Causes and natural treatments of irritable bowel syndrome is a gastrointestinal motility disorder for which there is no organic or structural cause.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a very common condition. It affects as much as 20% of the global population. No one knows the exact cause. There in no
abnormality in the gut and there is no cure. In addition, there is no one
treatment that works for everyone.

Although we do not know a cause, stress is an important trigger. Most
sufferers with Irritable Bowel Syndrome will recall a time when their IBS was
severe and link it to a bout of stress. They will also tell you that their
Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms settled down once the stress eased. It,
therefore, makes sense to control stress. Control stress and you are less
likely to have severe bouts of symptoms.

There are various options available to IBS sufferers.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is also known as irritable or spastic colon, and there is no real understanding of why it exists, although it seems to occur when the muscles that line the walls of the intestines and the colon, go into spasm. The muscles contract for no apparent reason, causing pain and diarrhea alternating with constipation. Other symptoms include a cramping pain in the abdomen, swelling, general malaise and lethargy, back pain, and often, excessive wind. Symptoms can subside and even disappear for long periods of time, but many sufferers continue to experience symptoms recurrently throughout their lives.

Constipation

This is usually caused by insufficient fiber in the diet. However, lack of fluid, too little exercise, and too much stress can also contribute. Symptoms of the condition include difficult, irregular, and infrequent movements of the bowel. Consult a physician if constipation persists, or immediately if it is associated with vomiting, fever, or abdominal pain

Treatment

Herbal Medicine

Camomile, hops, fennel, and a natural laxative such as linseed, will ease constipation. Drink herbal teas rather than coffee.

Reflexology and Massage Both can be helpful.

Consult a qualified practitioner/therapist for:

Acupuncture This can help to relieve stress.

Diarrhea

Intolerance of certain foods, a virus, or bacteria can be responsible for diarrhea.

There are many things that can cause indigestion! Your digestive tract can not only be upset by underlying disease but it can also be influenced by emotional disturbances and stress. Some of these would be fear, worry, anxiety, anger, frustration and not taking the time required for elimination when you feel the urge to do so.

However there is another element that can contribute to indigestion and stomach pain, and that is the foods we consume. Food or drink can be broken down into two categories (1) Alkaline, and (2) Acidic foods. A normal diet should consist of 75% alkaline foods and 25% acidic foods.

Foods help control the pH of our bodies which is very important if we want to live a long healthy life. The ideal range of our bodies pH should be around 7.3 to 7.4.

Irregularity amounts to constipation. Constipation is related to the digestive system. It is a condition that affects the individual by a hardening of feces, which experience biological difficulty in egesting. Extreme discomfort and outright pain is inflicted upon the afflicted. If not treated, in its early stages by home remedies for constipation bowel obstruction can develop. Dietary, hormonal, anatomical, side effects of medications, illnesses or disorder are the major causes of constipation.

Amid the process of considerations towards home remedies for constipation is for the ailing individual to initially identify the circumstances of their respective condition.