- Keep in mind that a high-fiber diet may tend to improve:
- Chronic constipation
- Coronary heart disease
- Hemorrhoids
- Diabetes mellitus
- Diverticular disease
- Elevated cholesterol
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Colorectal cancer
- Try to double your daily fiber intake.
- Average American intake: 10-15 grams per day
- Recommended intake: 20-35 grams per day
- Understand what fiber is, where it comes from:
- Insoluble fiber
- Cereals
- Wheat/wheat bran
- Whole grains
- Soluble fiber
- Brans
- Fruit
- Oatmeal/oat bran
- Psyllium
- Vegetables
- Insoluble fiber
- Substitute high-fiber foods for high-fat and low-fiber foods.
- Keep your daily fiber intake stable. Consider a fiber supplement if you:
- Travel
- Eat away from home often
- Find it difficult to get enough fiber through food choices alone
- Don’t shock your system: Increase fiber levels in your diet gradually.
- Always increase fluids (water, soup, broth, juices) when you increase fiber.
- Add both soluble and insoluble fiber, from a variety of sources.
- Compare fiber content of foods:
Grams of Fiber Bowl of thick vegetable (minestrone) soup 1 - Choose foods high in fiber content.
Fruits and Vegetables
Highest in Fiber Per ServingFruits
Artichokes
Apples, pears (with skin)
Berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries)
Dates
Figs
PrunesVegetables
Beans (baked, black, lima, pinto)
Broccoli
Chick-peas
Lentils
Parsnips Peas
Pumpkin
Rutabaga
Squash (winter)Other Good Fiber Choices
Eating high-fiber foods is a healthy choice for most people. If you have ever received medical treatment for a digestive problem, however, it is very important that you check with your doctor to find out if a high-fiber diet is the right choice for you.
Tags: Diet
What is the appropriate diet for a person recovering from a mild attack of diverticulitis?
Answer
Diverticulitis occurs when small, bulging pouches (diverticula) in your digestive tract become infected and inflamed — causing severe abdominal pain, fever and nausea. Treatment of diverticulitis depends on the severity of your symptoms and whether this is your first attack. Mild cases of diverticulitis can be treated with changes in diet, rest and antibiotics. Severe cases may eventually require surgery to remove the diseased portion of your colon.
During a mild attack of diverticulitis, your doctor may recommend a clear liquid diet or a low-fiber diet. This helps the area of infection to heal.
Foods allowed on a clear-liquid diet include:
- Plain water
- Fruit juices without pulp
- Broth (bouillon or consumme)
- Gelatin
- Popsicles without bits of fruit or fruit pulp
- Tea or coffee without cream
Foods allowed on a low-fiber diet include:
- Enriched white bread
- White rice or plain pasta, noodles or macaroni
- Low-fiber cereals
- Most raw, canned or cooked fruits without skins, seeds or membranes
- Fruit juice with little or no pulp
- Canned or well-cooked vegetables without seeds, hulls or skins
- Tender meat, poultry and fish
- Eggs
- Smooth peanut butter
- Milk, yogurt or cheese without seeds or nuts
- Desserts without seeds or nuts
Once your symptoms improve — often within a few days — you can gradually increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Start by adding about 5 to 15 grams of fiber a day to allow your digestive system to adjust to the higher fiber intake.
To prevent attacks of diverticulitis:
- Eat more fiber. High-fiber foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, soften waste and help it pass more quickly through your colon. This reduces pressure within your digestive tract. Aim for 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. If you have a difficult time consuming this much fiber every day, consider using a fiber supplement, such as psyllium (Metamucil, Nature’s Way) or methylcellulose (Citrucel).
- Drink plenty of fluids. Fiber works by absorbing water and increasing the soft, bulky waste in your colon. But if you don’t drink enough liquid to replace what is absorbed, fiber can be constipating.
- Exercise regularly. Exercise promotes normal bowel function and reduces pressure inside your colon, decreasing your chances of forming diverticula.
Tags: Diet
Colonoscopy is used to visually examine your entire colon and rectum for abnormalities. Colonoscopy is generally considered the procedure of choice for colon cancer screening. During the exam, a colonoscope — a long, flexible tube about the thickness of an adult finger — is inserted into your rectum. A tiny video camera at its tip allows your doctor to view the inside of your colon.
In some cases during colonoscopy, if a polyp or abnormal tissue is found, your doctor may remove it at that time. Alternatively, a tissue sample (biopsy) of the polyp may be taken for lab analysis to determine whether subsequent surgical removal of the tissue is needed.
How do you prepare?
For the colonoscopy procedure to be accurate, your colon must be well prepared. It must be clear of stool and fluids that obscure the view of the colon and rectal lining.
What you do the day before the exam directly affects how well your colon can be examined. To prepare your colon, you’ll likely be asked to do the following during the 24 hours before the exam:
Stop taking iron pills or medications containing iron, as iron can alter the color of your colon lining.
Take laxatives and sometimes enemas prescribed by your doctor.
Avoid eating solid foods and opaque liquids.
Drink only clear, nonalcoholic liquids such as black coffee, tea, water, or clear broth and juices. Eat only soft foods such as Jell-O — but not red Jell-O.
Avoid liquids that are red in color, as they can look red in the colon and be confused with blood.
Take a five-minute walk every 10 minutes during the time you’re drinking the laxative, but stay near a toilet.
During this preparation time, you may have a frequent and urgent need to use the toilet, due to the laxatives.
On exam day you may be asked to fast. In some cases your diet is again restricted to clear, nonalcoholic liquids up to four to six hours before the exam. At this point you stop ingesting anything, including any medications, until after the procedure.
If you have diabetes or take blood thinners, including aspirin or other pain relievers, your preparation for colonoscopy may be slightly different. Remind your doctor of either of these factors at least seven days ahead of the test, to see if you need additional instructions.
In rare instances phosphate-based colon-cleansing solutions have caused kidney damage in certain groups of people. These groups include healthy older adults, those taking medication for hypertension, arteriosclerosis or heart disease, and those with chronic kidney disease. You may be given a different type of laxative solution if you fit in one of these categories.
How is it done?
A colonoscopy can be relatively painless when performed by an experienced practitioner. However, the exam can cause sufficient anxiety and pain, so people generally tolerate the procedure better when they have some form of anesthesia. Most often you’ll receive a mild sedative either alone or with an opiate pain medication administered intravenously to minimize any discomfort.
During the exam you’ll likely lie on your left side. Your doctor inserts the colonoscope into your rectum. Colonoscopes are disinfected between procedures, so the risk of transmission of infection is extremely low. The colonoscope is long enough to allow your doctor to view the entire length of your colon. It contains a fiber-optic light and a channel that allows your doctor to pump air into your colon, inflating it to get a better view of the interior lining. You may feel some abdominal cramping or pressure as the air is introduced.
The colonoscope also contains a tiny video camera at its tip. The camera transmits images to an external monitor so that your doctor can look closely at the inside of your colon. Your doctor can insert instruments through the colonoscope’s channel to remove polyps, take tissue samples, inject solutions or destroy (cauterize) tissues.
If a polyp or abnormal tissue is found, your doctor may choose to remove it with a snare or destroy it with cautery. Or he or she might take a biopsy or advise surgical removal, depending on the size of the mass.
A colonoscopy exam usually takes about 20 minutes to an hour.
After the procedure
After the exam is over, it takes about an hour to partially recover from the sedative. You’ll need someone to take you home because it can take up to a day for the full effects of the sedative to wear off. Rest and don’t drive for the remainder of the day.
You may feel bloated or pass gas for a few hours after the exam. You should feel better as you pass the gas. Walking may lessen your discomfort. If you have persistent pain after the procedure, tell your doctor.
You may also see a small amount of blood with your first bowel movement. Usually this isn’t cause for alarm. See your doctor if you continue to pass blood or blood clots, have persistent abdominal pain, or have a fever of 100 F or higher.
These signs and symptoms may result from bleeding when a biopsy is taken or, rarely, from perforation of the colon wall. Although they’re rare, be alert for these signs and symptoms, as they can indicate the need for medical attention.
Results
Frequency of follow-up exams depends on the findings as well as the quality of the exam performed and should be discussed with your doctor. If a polyp or abnormal tissue was found during your colonoscopy that couldn’t be removed, your doctor may recommend subsequent surgery.
Negative test results. If no abnormalities are found, you can probably wait several years before repeating the exam, depending on your doctor’s recommendations.
Positive test results. If the colonoscopy reveals adenomatous polyps, you may have to adhere to a more rigorous screening schedule in the future, depending on the size and number of polyps. If your doctor finds one or two small polyps (less than 1 centimeter in diameter) you should undergo colonoscopy again in five to 10 years, depending on your other risk factors. If you have larger polyps, a greater number of polyps or polyps with certain cell characteristics, your doctor may recommend colonoscopy again in three to five years, depending on your other risk factors.
Consider asking your doctor if it was a good-quality exam. If your colon wasn’t completely empty of stool at the time of the exam, parts of the colon may have been obscured. If so, abnormalities may not have been seen. Your doctor may even recommend that you have another colonoscopy in a year’s time or even sooner.
In some cases, your doctor may not be able to advance the colonoscope far enough to examine your entire colon. This might occur, for example, because of an obstruction or a spasm of your colon. If so, your doctor may schedule a barium enema or virtual colonoscopy to complete the exam of your colon.
Tags: Colonoscopy
Most people have small pouches in their colons that bulge out through weak spots. A pouch is called a diverticulum, and multiple pouches are called diverticula. This condition is called diverticulosis. When pouches become infected or inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis. The cause of this disease is unknown, but it is believed that the association of a diet not containing sufficient fiber which contributes to constipation, makes the muscles strain to move stool that is too hard, causing increased pressure in the colon. This pressure instigates the weak spots in the colon to bulge out and become diverticula. Symptoms for diverticulitis and diverticulosis differ. Most people with diverticulosis do not have any discomfort or symptoms. However, symptoms may include mild cramps, bloating, and constipation. The most common symptom of diverticulitis is abdominal pain, with tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen. Diverticulitis can be a source of rectal bleeding. If an infection is the cause, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation may occur as well. The severity of symptoms depends on the extent of the infection and complications. Diverticulitis can lead to complications such as infections, perforations or tears, blockages, or bleeding. These complications always require treatment to prevent them from progressing and causing serious illness. Treatment may include open or laparoscopic surgery. A colostomy is infrequently needed unless it is an emergency.
Tags: Pouches
By Susan Rand
The cleansing of the colon using copious amounts of water was a common procedure in the era 1930-1950s. The first instance was recorded in 1500 B.C., in the Ebers Papyrus, a medical instruction book. In the fourth and fifth centuries B.C., colon hydrotherapy was used to treat fever, and Galen in the second century A.D. advocated its use. In recent times, colon hydrotherapy has suffered from a bad reputation, due to the many unskilled and untrained practitioners, but is now enjoying a resurgence.
Common sense would seem to indicate that cleanliness is beneficial to the body – why would the colon not benefit? Like a sink drain, if the colon is clogged with waste it will not work efficiently, and we will simply not feel good – we are victims of self-poisoning, with such toxic substances as: Sugar According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture reports that the average American eats 150 lbs. of sugar and 566 cans of soft drinks – “liquid candy” equal to “52 teaspoonfuls of added sugars per person per day.”
Would you be willing to sit down and eat 52 teaspoons of white sugar – every day? “Why, I’d be sick,” you may reply, and that’s exactly the point. Junk Food Americans are now eating more junk foot than they have for decades. “Dietary degeneration” begins with the 45 large bags of potato chips we consume each year (an increase of 78% over 1981); 120 servings of french fries (up $130%); 120 pastries or desserts (up 95%); 190 candy bars (up 80%); 150 slices of pizza (up 143%).
What are the long-term effects of such a diet? Does anyone know? The New York Post reported on January 22, 2004, the case of Morgan Spurlock, a filmmaker, who decided to find out by eating all his meals at McDonalds. “Scores of cheeseburgers, hundreds of fries and dozens of chocolate shakes later, the formerly strapping 6-foot-2 New Yorker – who started out at a healthy 185 pounds – had packed on 25 pounds. But his supersized shape was the least of his problems. Within a few days of beginning his drive-through diet, Spurlock, 33, was vomiting out the window of his car, and doctors who examined him were shocked at how rapidly Spurlock’s entire body deteriorated. “It was really crazy – my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days,’ Spurlock told The Post. His liver became toxic, his cholesterol shot up from a low 165 to 230, his libido flagged and he suffered headaches and depression.”
Toxins
Junk food, including soft drinks, contains harmful chemicals and additives, and may be infused with excitotoxins, found in monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame (NutraSweettm), cysteine, hydrolyzed protein and aspartic acid. These substances literally blast and excite neurons to death, resulting in brain damage. Our basic well-being arises from the choices we make day-to-day.
Toxins affect every cell in the body. When they build up in the nervous system, we may feel depressed and annoyed. If they back up into the heart we feel weak; if they reach the stomach we feel bloated, and if they reach the lungs we have bad breath. We may look pale and wrinkled or develop rashes and discolorations of the skin. If the glands become infused with toxins we tend to look older than we are. We may also suffer fatigue, lethargy, and decreased or absent sex drive. Our health depends not only on what we eat, but on how much of it, and on what happens to the body’s waste. Regular cleansing/detoxification of the colon assists in the efficient removal of this waste.
Some signs that you may need a cleansing:
Food intolerance Constipation Foul – smelling gas and stools Congestion, colds, viruses Intestinal disorders Unexplained headaches Migrating aches and pains Intolerance to fatty foods Low energy Lower back pain Oversleeping Pain in liver or gall bladder PMS, breast pain, vaginal infections
A Word About Constipation – Constipation is the most common sign of a toxic colon. This happens when feces become tightly packed together, resulting in infrequent bowel movements with much straining. Portions of the dry, hard feces stick to the colon walls, where they absorb toxins. Parasites live and thrive in this rich breeding ground. Having infrequent bowel movements (every 3-4 days), during which you are forced to strain to produce small, hard pebbles that do not float is to court serious trouble.
Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis – Small pouches exist in the colons of many people; each one is a diverticulum, while the condition is called diverticulosis. Of Americans over 40, some 10% have diverticulosis, while of those over 60, half have the condition. Diverticulitis refers to pouches that have become infected or inflamed. Most cases of diverticular disease is caused by low-fiber diets. The Importance of Fiber Fiber is critically important in keeping the colon healthy. A high fiber diet creates fast and easy elimination two to three times per day, which is optimal. Fiber softens stools and moves the waste along by relaxing pressure inside the colon. A fiber supplement is indicated in cases of constipation. The supplement works quickly, freeing the fecal matter on the walls of the colon. You may be astounded to see what else comes out. One person reported seeing something the size of their hand – resembling a rubber glove – in the toilet. You may also see (if you are not afraid to look), mucus, pieces that resemble cooked liver, twisted pieces of what looks like rope and parasites. Parasites Are you serving as a home base for parasites?
Chances are, you are. According to data gathered by the UN, about 1.5 billion people support roundworms, one billion whipworm, 1.3 billion hookworm, and 265 million schistosomes. The incidence of pinworms is over 200 million worldwide. In America and in Canada pinworms are found in 30-80% of children.
Our colons are vulnerable to 100 + types of parasites, from small ones only visible under a microscope to tapeworms several feet long. Nor are parasites restricted to the area of the colon; they can also be found in the muscles and joints, the lungs, liver, brain, blood, the esophagus, the skin and in the eyes.
But how do we get them? From water, soil, poorly cooked meat, dirty fruits and vegetables, from pets and other contaminated people. Along with a fiber supplement, you may want to consider employing herbs such as Black Walnut hulls, garlic, pumpkin seed, false unicorn, grapefruit seed extract and prickly ash bark.
Weight Loss Colonic cleansing has the added benefit of weight loss. Proponents claim that when our colons are dirty, we become fatigued – our energy level drops – to the point that we can’t rid ourselves of fat even with diet and strenuous exercise.
Nutritionist Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald, in her book The Detox Solution, lists these further benefits of a successful detoxification program:
o Prevents illness
o Aids in weight loss
o Better physical appearance
o Emotional well-being
o Increase mental capabilities
o Enhanced digestion
o Eliminates food addictions
o Minimizes the effects of aging
o Promotes spirituality
Risks
According to some experts, there are risks. They say the significance of “regularity” has been inflated over thousands of years, and that the basic concept of autointoxication is simply wrong. “In 1919 and 1922,” reports Stephen Barrett, M.D., “…it was clearly demonstrated that symptoms of headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite that accompanied fecal impaction were caused by mechanical distension of the colon rather than by production or absorption of toxins [3,4]. Moreover, direct observation of the colon during surgical procedures or autopsies found no evidence that hardened feces accumulate on the intestinal walls. “Today we know that of the digestive process takes place in the small intestine, from which nutrients are absorbed into the body. The remaining mixture of food and undigested particles then enters the large intestine, which can be compared to a 40-inch-long hollow tube. Its principal functions are to transport food wastes from the small intestine to the rectum for elimination and to absorb minerals and water. Careful observations have shown that the bowel habits of healthy individuals can vary greatly. Although most people have a movement daily, some have several movements each day, while others can go several days or even longer with no adverse effects.”
According to Dr. Barrett, some naturopaths, chiropractors and food faddists believe that “death begins in the colon,” and that up to a staggering 90% of illnesses are caused by improperly functioning colons. They recommend “fasting, cleansing of the intestines, and colonic irrigation.” Fasting, they say “purifies” the body, and “natural laxative products” can clean the intestines.
The process itself is dangerous, according to Dr. Barrett. A rubber tube is passed through the rectum, in some cases, up to 30 inches, and 20 gallons pumped in over a period of time. An ordinary enema uses about a quart of fluid. And remember, a gallon of water weighs seven pounds! That means you’re adding 140 lbs to your body, in a matter of hours! One of these practitioners claims that toxins are behind all disease, and offers a “comprehensive in-depth colon therapy” that costs $985 for in-clinic training or $295 by correspondence.
Some alternative practitioners promote plant enzymes, homeopathic cures and other “intestinal cleansers.” The risk associated with the above remedies lies in the probability of overkill. Why 20 gallons? Prolonged fasting can kill you. Herbs and dietary fiber can be costly.
Experts shake their heads over claims that people have shed large accumulations of feces – it is more likely, they say, that this material consists of “casts” formed by the extra fiber. Some laxatives (containing cascara or castor oil) can damage nerve cells in the colon wall, increasing incidents of constipation. Colonic irrigation is potentially very harmful. The tube may cause cramps and severe pain. The equipment may not be adequately sterilized between treatments, risking the transfer of germs from one person to another. There is a danger of bowel perforation. You may experience heart failure caused by the excessive fluid absorbed into the blood.
The California Health Department has recommended that colonic irrigation “by chiropractors, physical therapists or physicians should cease. (It) can do no good, only harm.” Colon hydrotherapy is used by Mark Groven, a naturopathic physician in Seattle, Washington. He advocates its use for chronic fatigue, sinus problems, asthma, arthritis, and constipation, but cannot point to any research proving it to be at all beneficial. There appears to be none.
It is up to the individual person to decide whether colonics are right for them.
Talk it over with your doctor before taking this step.
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