Improper diet, insufficient exercise, stress, overeating and ignoring the call of nature can all lead to bowel problems. Fibre-rich food is not the complete answer. Some people eat lots of bran (usually wheat bran, and 30 per cent of people are wheat intolerant); wheat scours the delicate lining of the bowel, and if the person is constipated it will make the condition worse by achieving nothing other than an irritable bowel and lots of flatulence.
Fibre is the bit that is left behind once the food is digested. It is considered good for us because it helps to provide bulk to otherwise watery wastes in the colon, and absorbs toxicity; but it is no good if the colon is already prone to blockage. Like the rest of the waste, some types of fibre will become stagnant and add to the congestion.
Better alternatives to bran are roughage from other vegetable bases, such as oats and rice. These tend not to be so abrasive and to swell into a mucilaginous gel which acts as a gentle detoxifier.
One common sign of trouble, dense sticky bowel movements, indicates an excess of mucus in the system. This is usually the product of mucus-producing foods such as dairy products, flour and meat. Meat is extremely contaminating to the bowel and prone to putrefaction, and in a short time creates a great strain on the elimination system.
Mucus stools are the most difficult to eliminate. They leave behind the glue-like coating on the wall of the colon which accumulates layer upon layer into a hard rubbery crust. This is carried for the duration of the person’s life as a toxic burden.
*170\326\8*
Archive for Gastrointestinal
Joyce had been off her sleeping pills (temazepam) for eighteen months. During the early months she had suffered a lot of sleepless nights but had coped well. When she rang a tranquillizer support line she was embarrassed by how distressed she was, but as she explained, she felt she had gone back to square one, and was feeling as ill as she had in early withdrawal. To make matters worse she had some strange symptoms and her husband said she was being silly: she felt sick and dizzy when she was near strong perfumes; cleaning products she had always used made her feel ill. She had always enjoyed shopping but she now found she felt headachy and sick in
certain department stores. She had suffered panic attacks in early withdrawal and knew these feelings were different. Eating was also a problem; her pulse raced and she had hot flushes after certain foods. It was such an odd collection of symptoms she wondered if she was imagining them and was greatly reassured when she was told about Candida and food and chemical intolerance. Because she had lost a lot of weight and was by now confused about which foods upset her, she decided to see a clinical nutritionist. Here she had a cytotoxic test (a sample of blood is looked at under the microscope after it has been in contact with various foods to see whether the white blood cells react or not), and was then given an exclusion diet and supplements. The first three weeks were a struggle and she did not feel she was getting very far, then she started to feel stronger and gained two pounds in weight. Six months later she felt well and was working full time.
While the post-withdrawal problems of tranquillizer use are not yet widely medically accepted, particularly with regard to Candida and food intolerance, the dangers of long-term use of these drugs are well known.
*87\326\8*