Friday, September 28, 2012

The Wheat You're Eating Isn't What Grandma Used to Make

Your wheat is genetically modified.  Avoid the burger bun.  Avoid the breakfast toast.  Avoid the dinner roll.  Skip the bread. What's disturbing is that if mainstream media is covering this it tells me that this is not the only protein that is known to cause an unnatural increase in appetite.  The fact that this is on the radar at all tells me that the problem is more extensive.  What other proteins are we consuming from other GMOs that are begin touted as health foods?  The story is here.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Bristol Stool Chart

I thought that this was important.  It's important to learn that stools are categorized into shapes and densities with each one indicating constipation or the ideal stool or the least ideal.  I though that this was useful.

BOWEL HEALTH AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT
This description of how to manage a healthy bowel was the best description that I could find on the internet.  It is quite good, logical, and reliable.  It comes from The Free Dictionary

Bowel training reestablishes the bowel's normal reflexes by repeating a routine until it becomes a habit. Naturally the patient must be able and willing to cooperate. Some patients are so convinced they need daily laxatives that they are afraid to do without them. It takes time for a changed diet to effect the bowels and for the bowel to regain its normal rhythm. Trust and patience are necessary.

After gaining the patient's cooperation, the next step is to optimize the diet. Healthy bowel movements require ingestion of a large amount of liquids and bulk foods. The patient should drink two to three quarts of liquids every day, with liberal inclusion of prune juice and perhaps coffee for their natural laxative effect. Bulk comes from unrefined foods. Oat bran, wheat bran, brown rice, green vegetables, apples, and pears are a few examples of high residue foods. Many patients will benefit from adding bulk preparations of psyllium. Constipating foods like bananas and cheese should be avoided until a natural rhythm is well established.

To assure that stools are soft enough to pass easily, it is a good idea to add a pure stool softener like DOSS (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate), two to four per day as needed. DOSS also helps prevent impaction.

There is usually a time of day when bowel movements are more likely to occur. In anticipation of this time, the patient should participate in activities that stimulate a normal bowel movement. Walking, eating unrefined foods, and drinking prune juice or coffee, encourage natural evacuation. It is acceptable to use lubricants such as glycerine suppositories or oil enemas at this time. For severe constipation, water enemas may be needed to initiate a movement.

It is also important for the patient to recognize the urge to defecate and to respond right away to that urge. The longer stool sits in the rectum, the more water the rectum will absorb from it, making it harder and more difficult to pass.