Laxative Dependency, Constipation Relieve Risk

Insight on How Laxative Works

Those who suffered from constipation usually rely on laxatives, but what we don’t realize is that laxative has dangerous potentials to our digestive systems. A friend of mine recently complains about how worse his colon condition was. It was continued even after he changed his diet to high fiber foods. His only resort is laxative and it was turned okay for a while. However, after a long exposure, his condition was getting worse. As gross as it might sounds, his feces was all liquids and extra painful after relying on laxative for three straight weeks. After asking from an ND (naturopathy doctor) friend of mine (he was too shy to ask himself), I finally get all the answer.
The liquids came from the foods and drinks plus digestive substances like bile and pancreatic enzymes. Normally, intestine will absorb 90% of those liquids so when feces enters the colon, it will become solid. The liquids are useful to provide easier nutrition absorbtion.

The laxatives however, reduce the original function directly. You see the laxative mechanism is usually to stimulate our intestine’s peristaltic pump, makes our stomach aches and force our colon to push our feces out, including all the ions and enzymes that happen to be unabsorbed by our intestines. That is why feces are mushy and watery.

Long term usages of laxative could interrupt electrolyte balance in our blood, causing dehydration, infections, indigestion, and continous cycle of diarrhea and constipation. In short, using laxative is not as useful as you may think.

Eating high fiber foods will not solve constipation problem overnight if your colon condition was already occurred for a long time. Chronic constipation could make your colon deformed, causing constriction and prolapses, disturbing the sewage flow in your large intestines. Stoppage could also be caused by tumor, infection, polip, or worms.Check your condition to your internist specialist before handling your constipation problems.

While undergoing treatment, healthy diets should be maintained. For a while avoid fatty foods like deep fried or red meats. Also avoid wheat and high fructose foods. Continue your high fiber diet up and try to consume your fruits and vegetables raw. Consume a lot of water and chew your food a little while. Those were what my ND friend recommended for those dependent to laxatives.

Prevent Flu

Ten Foods that Could Prevent Flu

There is a quote that says “prevention is better than cure” meaning that it is better to keep our body healthy than curing a disease. As for flu, it is the best maneuver. Flu is hard to keep track off because it has so many strain, from the dangerous swine flu to our everyday cold. Flu virus is notorious because they evolved easily, so inventing a vaccine is trivial. The only way to avoid flu is to keep our condition as healthy as possible and here are ten foods to keep yourself away from flu.

• Red bell peppers. Red bell pepper contains vitamin C as much as a glass of orange juice. Beside that, pepper also contains capcaisin, natural irritant to increase metabolism. Vitamin C and capcaisin could reduce flu symptoms and improve our immunity.

• Carrot. Yellow/Red vegetables like carrot contain beta-carotene (vitamin A), great nutrition for T-cell. T-cell is important for immunity, protect our body from virus and pathogen bacteria.

• Almond. Almonds are famous for its vitamin E contents, a good anti-oxidant that could repel infection.

• Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes contains a lot of vitamin A and vitamin C, they also have a unique protein called glutathione, which might be a potent antioxidant. Though further research is needed for this area, its healing properties is good.

• Chicken Soup. Chicken soup is famous as anti inflammatory foods and reducing mucus production in our body especially in our throat and respiratory tract. Hot food helps our body balance its temperature and raise metabolism level. That is why mom always gives us a hot chicken soup when we catch cold.

• Garlic. Sulfur compound in garlic is scientifically approved as a virus killer and prevent diseases asides from its vampire repellent property.

• Ginger. Ginger have a unique compound called gingerol. Gingerol. Gingerol functioned as a natural antiseptic, helps repel unnecessary infections.

• Salmon. Salmon is a major source of Omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 have many benefits, including increase one’s immunity against infection.

• Mushrooms. Almost all kind of shroom contains selenium. Selenium helps white blood cells produce cytokines which cure infection. Shrooms also contains beta-glucan, anti-mycobacteria.

• Dark chocolates. Eating dark chocolates helps T-cells development. T-cells as we know is important for our natural immunity.
  

Connection behind mind and heart, Meditation to help your heart

As cliché as it sounds, I wasn’t gonna give you any lesson in poetry, or whining like an emo. I mean about heart, the important lump of independent muscle in your chest, and mind, fat and nerve cells in your head. Heart attack is actually blood failing to give nutrition to your heart, while some would say this is an acute disease, developing a heart condition is not as easy as flipping your middle finger providing you live the way a human should live.

What’s its connection with our mind then? You see stress, is considered the main cause of hypertension and heart attack. Thankfully, Herbert Benson, MD, and his colleagues from Harvard Medical School found positive connection between heart disease treatment and mind consoling after watching a group of people who practicing Trancendental Meditation.

Any kind of meditation, praying, or breathing exercises are important in healing process in those who have heart condition. It is considered an adverse effect from stress, instead giving more workload to brain, it help our mind relax. These relaxing effects reduce blood pressure, breath rate, heartbeat, and oxygen consumption, blood pressure to head muscles, sweat, and general muscle tension. Hypertension journal even said that relaxation effect is as good as effects from drugs.

How do we do this relaxation then?

First step to total relaxation is meditation. There are so many variants of meditation, but importantly, do it in secluded and quiet place where you can sit still without any interruption. Do it as comfortable as possible for 15-20 minutes.

While meditating, focus attention on one thing that makes you aware of the existence at that time. You can try focusing on wind noise, water, or your chanting, sentences, or constant praying, you could also focusing on how you do your breathing process, feel every elements in it. If you lose your focus, return it slowly until you re-focused.

Second step can only be done when you are in total focus state. Try to move your focus on part of your body, begin from your toes. Breath as you are breathing for your toes, do about ten second and proceed upwards to another part of your body. Do it until you reach your brain, breath, and keep focusing. Other alternatives are to imagine part of our body as something else, for example as ice, where each of our breath melts it. After you complete all the steps, open your eyes slowly and breathe normally. Consistency is the key to gain maximum healing from this relaxation method, try to do it regularly in constant interval.