Does the Acai berry supplement and colon cleanse thing really work?

I have heard the Acai berry and Colon cleanse “diet” works really well. I am iffy on taking these supplements – do they work? what kind of effects will it have? If I take this am I going to be in the bathroom all day and night?

When I was interested in this, I read the reviews on Amazon.com (that’s where I was buying it from since I didn’t want to give my debit information to some site I didn’t trust).

Basically, what I got from that was that the acai berry supplement energizes *some* people, but doesn’t really contribute to weight loss at all.

The people who were pleased with the Colon Cleanse were using it to become regular and not to lose weight. Some people said that they had lost a few pounds from removing all the waste that had built up in their intestines. Generally, the people who were trying the acai/colon cleanse combination did not lose weight, or did not lose enough weight to be satisfied.

If you read the directions, you have to adjust the number of pills you take so that you are having 2-3 bowel movements per day.

Side effects include cramping, bloating, and diarrhea.

How do you cure bad constipation?

I have bad constipation and I’ve been using ducolax pills to cure my problem. I used them four days in a row and now I’ve become immune to them. I tried curing it naturally but it was making it worse after 2weeks. What should I do to cure my constipation? Also does citrucel work better than ducolax and should I used that instead if I should cure it with pills?

There are many home remedies and natural treatment to cure bad constipation such as these:

Home remedies
- Eat a medium-sized pear after dinner or with breakfast.

- Drink a glass of hot water with sour lime juice and half a teaspoon of salt.

- Swallow a teaspoon of linseed with water before each meal.

- Eat a slide of raw papaya early in the morning.

- Take 3 small beets, scrub them, clean and eat them raw in the morning.

Natural treatment
Change diet.
It is important to increase the amount of fiber in the diet with raw fruits and vegetables, brown wild rice, flaxseeds, bran and whole grain cereals.

Add exercise.
Exercise such as walking, swimming and jogging, can help regulate the bowels. It can be as simple as walking 20 minute every morning of evening.

Keep hydrated.
People who suffer from constipation are usually dehydrated. For that reason, it is important to drink 6-8 glasses of water daily.

Check medications.
Some medications cause constipation. Check with your physician.

Be aware of laxatives.
It is better to avoid laxatives. It can cause more problems with constipation because create habit can cause, in addition, diarrhea, bloating, dehydration and damage to the intestinal lining.

It is important to go to the bathroom as soon as the person feel the urge and never hold in a bowel movement because this contribute to have constipation

For more info, check this site:

http://www.nature-medicine.info/Constipation.html

Is it normal to have constipation after diarrhea?

I usually experience constipation after a diarrhea. Although it does not happen often but everytime there is a diarrhea, constipation will follow suit. Is it normal?

Yes normal, you get dehydrated form the runs and then your body hoards fluid after. One of lifes bummers. Do try to drink as much water as you can when you have the runs and after. It helps a lot.

Is it normal for metformin to cause constipation?

I read that metformin causes diarrhea but I have constipation. Doe's anyone have the same problem and what do they do?

Metformin doesn't cause constipation… poor diet does. Eat more fruits and vegetables. I promise, everything will come out fine.

How many bowel movements should a person have who is on a diet colon cleanse?

I have conflicting information as to how many bowl movements is good or normal. What is the normal amount for a person with a healthy cleansed colon or is on a regular colon cleanse regiment?
Please site your source for the answer to this question. Thanks!

It’s basically impossible to predict. Many of these ‘cleansing’ procedures are not particularly healthy – in addition to having no actual health benefits. For some people it is normal to have a bowel movement only two times a week, for others, daily. Either is completely normal, and there’s nothing pathological about either.

Many ‘cleansing’ regimens severely disrupt the internal flora and absorption processes of the GI tract. This can result in a slowing of bowel movements and constipation all the way to constant runny diarrhea. That’s of course for those regimens that actually do anything to the GI system at all.

Basically, it’s impossible to gauge health or normalcy from bowel movements. There’s a huge range, and despite what the charming evangelist selling laxatives on the TV at night says, you can’t claim any particular number as what everyone should be having. It’s not very productive to focus a lot of energy on this, as the medical data is quite clear about the above.

Enzymes – the Key to Optimal Digestion

 

Several folks have spoken with me lately regarding digestion problems. We all have suffered at one time or another from the pains of improper digestion – heartburn, nausea, constipation, diarrhea. However, many of the medications that we are given to correct a problem in another area of our body can cause an unpleasant reaction in the digestive system.

The most common problem that I am asked about is constipation. I feel that much of the cause of this digestive upset stems from improper diet. Secondary causes include the dehydrating effects of certain medications, such as pain medications, antidepressants, and others. The dilemma of constipation is that it sets up the body for illness as a result of the retained stool in the bowel. The body continues to try to absorb nutrients from the waste products. The process actually reintroduces toxins to the body. Much of this disturbance in digestion can be helped by taking supplements that contain high levels of digestive enzymes.

These enzymes are vital to the proper breakdown and absorption of foods. They are classified in three categories – amylases, lipases and proteolytic enzymes. Amylases assist in carbohydrate digestion, a process that begins with the saliva in your mouth. Lipases help the body dissolve and absorb fats. Proteolytic enzymes are those which aid the body in assimilation of proteins. As you can see, each group of enzymes plays a substantial role in achieving overall nutrition. A shortage of any one enzyme can lead to problems.

Many times, our fast-paced lifestyle helps generate the digestive dilemma. Eating too quickly, not chewing your food enough times (Mom was right about that), or a diet lacking in fresh foods can cause inadequate levels of enzymes to be ingested or produced by our body. A diet high in fruits and vegetables can go a long way toward correcting trouble with digestion. For example, pineapple and papaya contain bromelain and papain respectively, two key enzymes for protein absorption. Most foods contain the enzymes necessary to digest them. However, refining, processing and cooking foods at high temperatures destroys these vital substances. Therefore, it may be very helpful to use a supplement to aid in the digestive process.

A complete digestive aid needs to contain ingredients which will digest all types of food. To ensure that a supplement is complete, it should contain the following:

Betaine Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) – a pH balancing enzyme derived from beets used to digest meats and animal proteins.
Pepsin – the natural enzyme that breaks down proteins and whose function depends on the contents of HCL.
Bromelain and Papain – powerful enzymes found in pineapple and papaya that act to break down the proteins into amino acids.
Pancreatin – a collection of enzymes secreted by the pancreas into the part of the small intestine closest to the stomach. Pancreatic enzymes break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Lipase – aids in fat digestion, while complex carbohydrates are digested by a combination action of mylase and mycozyme.
Amylase and Protease – two potent digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas, that digest carbohydrates and protein.
Ox Bile – improves fat digestion and combats constipation through the stimulation of the bile flow and improves functioning of the gallbladder.

If you would like more information on any topic discussed in this article, you can contact me through my website address at www.JerryRyanPhD.com or email me at DoctorRyan@JerryRyanPhD.com with your questions.

Jerry Ryan, Ph.D.

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/enzymes-the-key-to-optimal-digestion-140840.html

Discover The Benefits Of Soluble Fiber

 

Soluble fiber represents one half the team known commonly as fiber. Together with insoluble dietary fiber, it has many important functions. We’ll cover some of the benefits of soluble dietary fiber in this article, how it works in our body, the importance of good bowel bacteria in relation to it, and some surprising sources of insoluble fiber.

Fiber has been studied well enough in relation to disease prevention that the FDA has approved health claims about its’ benefits for heart disease prevention. Foods or products that naturally have 0.6g of soluble fiber per amount referenced qualify for this claim. This highlights how crucial soluble fiber is in relation to insoluble.

Other benefits of soluble fiber are that it may help lower blood cholesterol levels, assist those with non-insulin dependant diabetes, as well as people with inflammatory bowel disorders (such as colitis), or diarrhea, and constipation. Whilst it may seem contradictory that one thing can help with the opposite problems of constipation and diarrhea, soluble fiber does this by acting as a regulatory mechanism. It forms a gel in the body, including the colon, and when a person has diarrhea the gel adds bulk and slows the transit time. When a person has constipation, the more liquid nature of the gel makes the hardened stools softer, provided enough fluid is drunk.

Soluble fiber has an interesting characteristic in that it is fermented in the colon. This occurs through the activities of the beneficial bacteria that naturally exist there. Problems can potentially arise if the population of beneficial bacteria is depleted. These bacteria produce gas and short chain fatty acids from soluble fiber, and it is the short chain fatty acids that provide some of these considerable benefits. Fortunately, soluble fiber helps increase the population of good bacteria in the bowel.

The short chain fatty acids are the reason soluble fiber is helpful in stabilizing blood glucose levels. They also reduce levels of the ‘bad’ cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, both implicated in heart disease. And they provide additional benefits by lowering the rate of cholesterol synthesis by the liver.

Most people do not consume enough dietary fiber – either soluble or insoluble. And whilst legumes, grains, fruit and vegetables are well known sources of fiber, scientists are turning up some surprising sources. Recent research revealed that a cup or coffee is a source of soluble fiber, despite previously being believed to have none. It contains 0.47 to 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per 100ml, so there are richer sources. However, the results are very interesting, especially when you consider that most people drink a cup with at least 200ml, or more likely in the range of 250ml, per drink. At 250 ml, that puts a cup of coffee in the range of 1.16 to 1.88 grams of soluble fiber. Depending on how much coffee you drink in a day, that does add up.

Instant coffee came out a winner as well, as it’s a greater source than filter or brewed coffee.

Soluble fiber is important for the maintenance of health, as well as being a credible, natural treatment for those troubled by some forms of diabetes, cholesterol, and bowel problems. Unfortunately, most healthy people don’t take enough fiber in their diet, which potentially increases their risk for illness later on. And whilst soluble fiber has many benefits, insoluble fiber is still a critical part of our diet as well. Fortunately, there are many known sources of fiber, and coffee can now be added to that list!

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (ibs) – A Sensitive System

 

More likely to affect women than men and most common in patients ages 30-50, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a disorder in which the colon is extremely sensitive and is disorder which is characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. It is believed that IBS may affect approximately 1 in 10 adults or more than 5 million Americans.

Irritable bowel syndrome is often referred to as a nervous stomach, spastic colon, spastic colitis, mucous colitis, or even an irritable colon.

This malady is a complex motility disorder impacting the entire digestive tract and is one of the most common conditions treated by gastroenterologist today. IBS causes a variety of symptoms including abdominal pain constipation, diarrhea or even a combination of both. It is often a distressing and embarrassing condition and one of great frustration since its precise cause and best treatment have yet to be determined.

It is important to seek early treatment if you suspect you have irritable bowel syndrome since the symptoms of this condition often mimic the symptoms of many other medical conditions.

After your physician has confirmed a diagnosis of IBS, you will work together to structure the best treatment options for you. The primary goal for any treatment plan is to simply reduce symptom and to restore normal bowel function.

Treatment options can vary from simply avoid certain trigger foods which produce symptoms, acupuncture, herbal therapies or even prescription medications. One such medication is Zelnorm® is a serotonin 5-HT4 receptor partial agonist and is used short-term for women who have irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.

It is important to remember that no one treatment for IBS works for everyone and there is no single treatment for coping with irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder of the colon characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea or even a combination of both diarrhea and constipation. Although it may be troublesome, frustrating and at times embarrassing, IBS is not contagious, inherited, or even cancerous.

Seeking help from your physician is important to maintaining a happy, healthy and active lifestyle.