By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
There’s an Igorot term for constipation and this is “natube”. In Ilokano, “natabbel”. So it must be a condition that has existed since a long time ago because we have developed local terms for it. It is not a disease but it causes discomfort and maybe a symptom of a disease.
Bowel movement or pooing is a cleansing mechanism and if your body has not been cleansed, you will not feel good, of course. Somehow, our bodies were not designed to absorb everything we ate or drank. This shows the mind-boggling design of nature – imagine, even without our conscious thinking, our intestines will absorb what it is designed to absorb and, with its own peristaltic movement, will pass on those that cannot be absorbed (“pespesana”) until this is excreted in the anus. In transit to the anus, these non-absorbable material sweeps the bowels clean. Imagine it as a broom that passes through our gut. So bowel movement is an important function of our digestive system.
How often are we supposed to poo? For newborns, they will poo soon after they feed. As they grow older, we train them. Observant mothers and fathers would anticipate correctly when the baby will poo and as early as 6 months (or even earlier?) the baby can be “ma-islang”. This means you hold the baby by both legs and place him or her in your lap and tell him or her to poo or pee. It will take time for the baby to take your cue. My first apo was trained early but the second seems to resist it yet. Young children will also poo as often as their intestines get filled. Somehow, we are able to train ourselves to poo once a day every morning. But as we are diverse in looks and habits, some people do it more often and some less. Wikipedia says that three times a day to three times a week is the usual bowel movement. Some authorities say that we should poo as often as we fill our stomachs- this means, if you eat 3x a day, then you poo 3x a day. There is logic in the theory that the more the waste material stays in your intestines, the more chances of your body absorbing toxins.
So what causes constipation? Just remember these three main causes – 1) lack of fiber in your diet, 2) lack of physical activity and 3) lack of water intake. Let us discuss these one by one.
Fiber is the magic ingredient in whole foods that is very important for our health. It is not absorbed in our intestines but we need it to provide bulk in the stools and to sweep the poisons away from our intestines. Fiber is present in unpolished rice and is absent in white rice so choose your rice well. Fiber is also present in all other plants – camote, cassava, amti, beans, etc. Just don’t refine these. The problem with refined foods is that this fiber and vitamins and minerals are removed. Why should we remove life-giving substances? Crazy.
Eating foods like meat, eggs, dairy (milk, cheese, etc) and refined sugar will cause constipation. These have no fiber. Many people are surprised that meat does not have fiber because meat is tough. Well, the truth is that meat, eggs and dairy and refined sugar have NO fiber.
Physical activity moves all parts of our body including our intestines. So if you have been sitting in the bus for 6 hours travelling from Besao to Baguio city, then you might be constipated the next morning. Physical activity is one requirement for healthy living. For those who are not ambulatory, you can massage your tummy from the top going left and down and around your tummy and your navel to stimulate bowel movement. Exercise does not only make you slim, it is also important to make your bowel movement easy.
Of course, it is easily understandable that lack of water intake causes constipation. What will moisten your stools if you don’t drink enough water. Drink as necessary.
Aside from these three main causes of constipation, there are other causes. Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, meaning they induce urination which will lead to relative dehydration. So since there is not enough fluid in the stool, these can cause constipation. So avoid these or minimize. And if you drink alcohol or coffee or Coke, you have to drink additional water. Take note that beer contains alcohol.
Some medicines also may cause constipation like antacids containing aluminum hydroxide, antispasmodics, antidepressants, iron tablets, diuretics, painkillers and narcotic-containing drugs.
If constipation persists, then it can cause hemmorhoids and anal fissures because of all that straining. Moreover, it can lead to more serious problems because as we discussed earlier, the longer the stools stay in our intestines, the more chances of toxins being absorbed or being stuck in the walls of the intestines. These toxins can trigger tumor formation, like polyps, as your body tries to contain them from spreading. These toxins can also cause colon cancer. One symptom of colon cancer is chronic constipation with stools like bolintik or the stools of the kambing.
Constipation is easy to remedy. We don’t recommend laxatives because your body may keepdepending on those. Just eat organic and whole foods and drink enough water and be active. What is good for your overall health is good for your bowel movement. Nothing new.***
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“But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.” 1 Corinthians 12:18
