1. INTRODUCTION
Constipation is a common gastro-intestinal (GI) disorder, which sufferers from the malady usually define as straining, having difficulty in passing stool, hard stool, infrequent bowel movements, discomfort with defecation and feeling of incomplete evacuation. Chronic complications can be very uncomfortable, causing cramps, bloating and stomach pain. In contrast, constipation may be clinically defined by medical professionals based only on the frequency of bowel movements, specifically, having fewer than three bowel movements per week.
Statistics
The results of a survey done in 2008 in seven countries are shown in the table below.
Key: US, UK, Germany (GE), France (FR), Italy (IT), Brazil (BR) and South Korea (SK), T = % of study population; C = % of group reporting constipation.
All figures are percentages.
Demographics of study population and respondents self-reporting to have constipation (2008)
Category Criteria US UK FR GE IT BR SK
T C T C T C T C T C T C T C
Gender
Female 51.8 62.9 52.1 73.8 52.0 70.4 52.2 72.9 52.1 70.4 52.0 75.5 50.0 68.0
Male 48.2 37.1 47.9 26.2 48.0 29.6 47.8 27.1 47.9 29.6 48.0 24.5 50.0 32.0
Age (years)
<29 20.1 15.3 23.6 17.9 25.0 21.8 19.7 5.6 26.8 19.5 36.4 30.2 34.5 37.4
30–44 29.1 31.4 26.9 26.9 27.5 24.3 27.0 21.5 26.2 22.6 31.5 32.6 32.3 30.2
45–59 28.0 27.8 23.1 24.1 22.9 15.4 22.8 23.4 22.6 25.2 20.7 24.0 25.5 25.8
>60 22.3 25.2 26.4 31.0 24.7 38.9 30.5 49.5 24.5 32.7 11.6 13.2 7.8 6.6
Work status
Yes 61.7 54.4 53.7 43.5 56.0 46.4 46.9 34.6 49.1 41.5 84.3 84.7 89.8 91.6
Education
Secondary 47.7 51.1 51.8 46.8 56.6 52.5 75.9 77.4 46.1 47.1 44.4 40.4 35.3 35.4
Higher 46.3 40.5 20.6 1...
... middle of paper ...
...igestive system. Staying active and doing 3 hours of exercise a week may help keep people regular.
Yoga can also help to relieve constipation. Yoga practitioners advocate certain yoga positions help to massage the digestive system and get energy into it.
Exercise is also good for stress management as it stimulates the production of neurohormones like norepinephrine, serotonin and endorphins that are associated with improved cognitive function, elevated mood and learning.
Conclusion
This article has shown that constipation is a common complaint which varies from a few days of mild constipation to severe chronic constipation which is very uncomfortable and can have negative spin-offs into other more serious conditions.
Nevertheless it is a manageable condition if one leads a healthy lifestyle, particularly by managing one’s diet and doing regular exercise.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease. It is a fairly common disease that affects a large population causing abdominal pain, frequent bloody stools, and fatigue
In the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain by Dr. John J. Ratey, MD (2008), Ratey discuses how exercise can help treat many mood disorders and how it can help strengthen our brains. This book is divided into ten chapters all with five to ten subsections in them. The chapters include: Welcome to the revolution: A Case Study on Exercise and the brain, Learning, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit, Addiction, Hormonal Changers, Aging, and the Regimen.
Irregular bowel movements or constipation is quite a major and common concern in adults and babies as well. The condition becomes more challenging when it comes to babies. Parents of infants worry when their infant’s bowel movement is not regular and clear as that causes formation of gas and stomach pain.
Crohn’s disease is a disease that causes inflammation, swelling, and irritation to any part of the digestive tract which is also known as the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract. The disease most commonly targets the ileum which is a part in the small intestine. The digestive tract is organs that connect your mouth to your anus and it releases hormones and enzymes for the digestion in food. The inflammation caused by the disease goes deep into the lining of the digestive tract. It creates a stricture in the small intestine which is a narrowing of the pathway that can slow the movement of food through the intestine. The stricture can then move to large intestine which can cause many problems for absorption. When the disease causes the intestine to swell it can also be very problematic because the large intestine wouldn’t be able to function properly. Crohn’s disease is considered as an inflammatory bowel disease.
Through time, most renowned practitioners of alternative medicine have claimed that an unclean colon is the most dominant cause of all kinds of diseases. Without regular and proper bowl movements, the waste material that is supposed to be driven out of the body remains inside. They in turn produce toxins which are slowly absorbed by other parts of the body including the organs. This in no way can be something good for the body. In fact the toxic waste can
There are quite a few differences between Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Both of which have symptoms ranging in severity, which vary widely from person to person. In Crohn’s Disease, these symptoms and complications can include abdominal pain and cramping. Others include frequent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, feeling of need to move bowels, and constipation.
Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pent-up stress and tension.
It's not known exactly what are the causes of the IBS but a different of factors play a major role in the development of the IBS. The walls of both small and large intestines are lined with layers of muscle that relax and contract in an arranged rhythm as the food move from the stomach through the intestinal tract to the rectum. In the case of the IBS, the contractions may be stronger and last longer than normal. On the contrary, with weak intestinal contractions slowing food passage and leading to hard, and dry
Some hypothesize that moderate levels of exercise will decrease the symptoms of mental health conditions (Blumenthal et al., 2007; Diaz & Motta, 2008; Motta, Kuligowski, & Marino, 2010; Rosenbaum, Nguyen, Lenehan, Tiedemann, van der Ploeg, & Sherrington, 2011) and therefore be used as an alternative or complimentary treatment option for mental health (Libby, Pilver, & Desai, 2012).
Get yourself moving. There is power in perspiration that can defeat stress. A few push-ups, curl-ups and an hour or two of jogging can make a difference in your emotional state. Meanwhile, as you perform different types of physical activities, bad elements that are causing your stress are gradually reduced. It burns away your anger, frustration, and tension, especially at work.
Therefore a person must develop stress management skills to maintain their own stability and yoga can be a part of the solution. In the book, Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, by Cyndi Lee, the author talks about fight-or-flight, a condition where the body relates to emergencies then responds by activating the adrenal glands allow the heart to pump quicker, raise blood pressure, increase muscle tension, and produce sweat. However, if you are constantly in a fight-or-flight mode then it leads to stress. Health problems can arise from not learning how to balance good stress which can have survival value and bad stress that can lead to insomnia, headaches, and even more serious conditions such as heart attacks (Lee
Life is full of troubles, demands, pressures and hassles—these are all factors related to stress. Stress is a state of mental or emotional tension resulting from adverse or difficult situations (Merriam-Webster). When you are in potential danger, your body responds with a “fight-or-flight” response to protect you from any harm. Situations like being robbed at gunpoint or studying last minute the night before the test can activate stress in your body. Although situations in life can increase stress, there are plenty of methods to diminish it. Methods like meditating, talking to family/friends, drinking tea, or even taking a quick nap--all of these methods are proven effective (The Franklin Institute). One method that is prominent to many is physical exercise. Exercise is considered to improve physical conditions and strength, but maintains mental fitness in the process. Although many assume that exercising is healthy, some may not be familiar of how it relieves stress in detail. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise, the pros and cons must be considered. Some pros are: managing the levels of stress in your body, boosting your self-esteem, and improving learning and memory. The cons are: being time consuming and tedious, being costly and expensive, and risking injury while exercising. Let’s look at the pros of physical activity.
It is understandable that friends, family and a social life exists and that also needs to be taking care of. Exercise reduces stress, improves your sleep and from it allows you to gain a social aspect consider as new friends. If exercised daily or even when there is time during the week it will improve and change your life allowing you to not fall asleep or be tired all the time. It will reduce stress by being distracted on productive activities like playing tennis, going hiking, running at the park or even walking around the neighborhood. This activities when applied are best rather than thinking about work all the time, even on days off, this activities will have a positive impact on depression, anxiety and help your body use oxygen more efficiently to improve breathing. As you pick up the pace, the body, like any engine, produces heat — and needs to cool off. The blood vessels in the skin dilate, increasing blood flow to the skin. The heat then dissipates through the skin into the air.
Beginning with exercise affecting people emotionally, exercise can improve people’s moods. Anytime anyone is in a bad mood, exercising can put them in a good one. Mercola tells how people gain happiness from exercising: “According to a 2012 study published in the journal Neuroscience, the “secret” to increased productivity and happiness on any given day is a long-term investment in regular
Improving your mood and boosting your energy also comes from exercising. The physical activity activates different chemicals in your brain that makes you happier and more relaxed. When exercise is done regularly, it can also lead to making a person gain more self-esteem and being more confident in appearance. Also,...