Sometimes people worry too much about bowel movements. Bowel movements vary greatly for us all. There is no right or wrong number of daily or weekly bowel movements. For some people a bowel movement everyday is normal, for others a bowel movement every three to four days is normal.

Older people are more likely than younger people to get constipated due to several of the reasons mentioned below. However young people can also get easily constipated and babies may get constipated when they start solids or become dehydrated.

Some questions you can ask yourself to see if you are really constipated:

If your answers are yes to some of these questions, you may be constipated.

Symptoms

With recurring constipation and straining to pass motions, some people may also develop haemorrhoids (piles).

Likely Causes

Not Eating Enough Fiber
Elderly people may tend to eat more soft food if they are losing their teeth and thus not get enough fiber in their diet. Eating too many refined or processes foods can also contribute to constipation because these foods are low in fiber.

Not Drinking Enough Fluid
It is easy to forget to drink enough fluids during the day. Water and other fluids soften our stools and make bowel movements easier. Sometimes babies who are given incorrectly prepared baby formula or babies who have started on solids can get constipation.

Lack of Exercise or Activity
Poor mobility (especially in the elderly), long periods of immobility, like, recovery from illness or injury. Sitting for long periods when traveling by air or changing your job to a less active one, can all cause constipation.

Failure to Answer Your Natural’s Call
Failure to answer your bowel movement call can cause constipation or more serious problems.

Medicines
Some medicines, both prescription and over the counter ones can cause constipation. Some examples are antidepressants, diuretics, anti Parkinson’s medicines, antacids containing aluminum or calcium and antihistamines.

Pregnancy
Pregnant women may become constipated due to hormonal changes. Increasing dietary fiber, fluid intake and mild exercise such as walking can help. Eating kiwifruit everyday may help to prevent constipation.

Others Possible Reasons

Choices of Treatment

Self Care

Eating More Fiber
It’s recommended that we eat up to 30g of fiber per day. Whole grain cereals and breads, fresh fruit and vegetables all contain dietary fiber, which helps keep bowel movements regular. For some people a small addition of fiber each day will relieve constipation, however, some may need much larger amount of fiber.

Increase fiber in your diet slowly over a few weeks to avoid wind. add bran to your daily diet such as in cooking or as cereal. Bulk fiber laxatives are available from your pharmacist. They work by adding extra fiber to the diet. These need to be taken with 1 to 2 large glasses of water.

Drink at least 6-8 glasses of fluid of water a day. Increase water intake of breastfed or bottle-fed babies for a short time until the constipation is gone.

Have More Exercise
Having regular exercise like walking, particularly in the elderly is often effective in relieving constipation.

Laxatives

Constipation causing real discomfort may be relieved more quickly by laxative medicines. Laxatives come in different forms, such as, tablets liquids, suppositories or enemas. There are also many different types of laxatives including stool softeners, fiber products and bowel stimulants. Depending on the severity and duration of your symptoms, your doctor will advise you on the type of laxative best for you.

Some people who need to stay on medicines that cause constipation, will also be prescribed laxatives at the same time by their doctor to help control constipation.

Important caution need to be adhere on some laxatives as it can be habit forming if taken regularly, hence, they should only be used for short-term relief of constipation. Laxatives should not be used for weight loss. Overdose of laxatives can cause serious medical problems. Please ask your doctor for advice before taking laxatives.

When To See A Doctor

A change in bowel movements may be a signal of another illness. See your doctor if:

People who catch, kill and clean bats must take precautions to protect themselves from being infected by the Nipah virus, said Prof Dr Tan Chong Tin, the leader of the Nipah Encephalitis Investigating Team during the 1998/99 outbreak.

“They also need to be careful because bats are believed to transmit the SARS virus,” he said during his Merdeka Award Lecture Series “The Saga of Nipah Encephalitis: An Update” yesterday.

Asked if eating bat meat could pose a danger, he said that should not be a problem if it was properly cooked.

However, Dr Tan, said he would not want to create an anti-bats sentiment because bats had a positive ecological contribution.

Bats are also believed to benefit those suffering from asthma. According to an online website, a community in Thailand eats the meat believing it to be good for the libido.

Dr Tan said that the Nipah virus was still a global concern because it had been discovered in many areas of the world like Ghana, Madagascar, India, China and various parts of South East Asia and Australia.

Asked if the virus can still be found in Malaysia, Dr Tan said this was not known because no tests had been carried out since the 1998/99 outbreak.

The outbreak began in vilages near Ipoh and took more than 100 live.

source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/27/nation/6344789&sec=nation

Researchers have long proven the heart-health benefits of red wine but a study published on Jan 28 in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry shows drinking cranberry juice can lower blood pressure.

Roger Corder, author of the Red Wine Diet and professor at Queen mary University of London, indentified oligomeric procyanidins, which prevent blood vessel constriction that leads to heart disease, in cranberries.

“We’ve now indentified oligomeric procyanidins as the specific compound in cranberries that can boost the health of blood vessels, helping to prevent blood vessel constricition,” said Corder.

At a panel discussion on War and Banned Weapons at the Criminalize War Conference, American radiation expert Dr Leuren Moret said based on her study on the average annual population rate in the world, the global average population declined when bomb testings were completed – more in developed countries than in less-developing countries.

She explained that the low, high and medium air currents from the areas where bombs are dropped travel to areas as far away as Punjab, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia and enters the environment and rivers in the region through rain. The effects will be felt globally, she said.

Moret said among the proven effects of uranium on the reproductive system are an increase in endometriosis and ovulation disorders in addition to causing changes in chromosomes that, in turn, will result in more instances of gender disorders, including hermaphroditism (having both, male and female sexual organs). This has already been detected in wildlife, especially fish which is an indication of the effects of water pollution.

She said the effects of uranium on diabetes has been known since studies on the effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Similarly, in December 2006, there was an increase in diabetes cases in northern Israel two months after bombings in the area. There were also negative effects on unborn children, especially in countries with poor healthcare facilities as there was a higher risk of autism.

Moret said there has also been a 40% drop in sperm quality among Israeli men over the past 10 years as a result of the use of depleted uranium weapons given to them by Americans. “You cannot use nuclear weapons without nuking yourself,” she said. “Israelis are actually sterilising themselves,” she said, adding that Palestinians are also affected, and that in time to come, artificial insemination will become much sought after as a result of depleted uranium poisoning.

A team of scientists claim they have identified a gene that regulates the optimum amount of human sleep each individual needs, explaining why after six hours of slumber one person may awake reborn, while another is like the living dead.

The study, published in the journal Science, identified a mother-and-daughter pair who needed well below the eight-and-a-half hours of sleep that doctors say is a must for long-term well-being. Blood tests from the easily-rested pair showed a mutation in their DEC2 gene, which has previously been implicated in the control of circadian rhythms – the cycles that regulate the daily patterns of human behavior.

Lead scientist Ying Hui Fu, a professor of neurology at the University of California, said her team then tested their findings on genetically-modified mice and fruit flies. The animals were observed scampering around in the dark more and sleeping less.

Lu said the observations “could provide an explanation for why human subjects with the mutation are able to live unaffected by short amounts of sleep throughout their lives”. But it is still unclear whether the mutation affects sleep quantity alone or also wakefulness.

Researchers studying the statistical impact of migraine headache and academic performance presented their findings at the 84th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International in Vancouver, British Columbia recently. The researchers analyzed data on sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health as well as reports from parents identifying siblings in the same household with different experiences of migraine – ruling out the possibility that socioeconomic factors could affect migraine headache and academic performance.

Migraine headache was associated with 5% lower GPAs, a 5% less chance of graduating from high school and a 15% less chance of attending college, the study found. “We know that migraine headaches can profoundly impact quality of life. Our study offers evidence that they are an important obstacle to long-term academic success,” said Joseph Sabia, professor of public policy at American University’s School of Public Affairs and one of the authors of the study. “Our results show that migraine sufferers have trouble attending school and have trouble concentrating on the days they do make it to school.”

Absences from school, difficulty paying attention in class, and difficulty completing homework were attributed to 30-40% of the reduction in academic performance. Sufferers of typical headaches or tension headaches showed no difference in academic performance, the researchers noted.

A sign of the disorder is when people cross their arms in order to rub their upper arms with their hands, said Prof Bernhard Manger of Erlangen, Germany, in an article in a German magazine for physicians.

Steroids are suitable in the treatment of the disorder. The anti-inflammatory drug is taken daily, and patients must reckon with long-term treatment lasting years because recurrence of the disorder is relatively high.

The disorder also is often accompanied by arterial inflammation, for example of the temporal artery, making it more problematic. When the temporal artery is affected, it causes pain when chewing, and it also must be treated.

“Earlier, people thought that sleeping disorders were the result of other diseases. Today, we know that it’s the opposite and many diseases get worse or exist because the patient sleeps poorly,” says Geert Mayer, head of the DGSM. “Cardiological and circulatory problems are often precipitated by unsound sleep lasting for a longer period.

We’ve also established a significant connection between sleeping disorders and diseases like dementia or Parkinson’s,” added the neurology professor. According to one study, 69% of Parkinson’s patients have had sleeping disorders in the past which often start in childhood. “About 40% of all small children have sleeping disorders. They usually disappear over time, but it’s not unusual for older children to suffer from daytime sleepiness.

About one third of pre-teens and teens are affected,” said Alfred Wiater, the head of a paediatrics clinic in Cologne. Wiater recommends reducing a child’s media consumption to promote sleep. “An hour a day in front of the television or a computer can be enough to lead to sleeping disorders.” But timing is also a key factor. “An exciting movie or video game right before bedtime delay tuning out. The contents of the show or the game are also important as they could lead to nightmares.”

And exhaustion in children is no small matter. “Most children with sleeping disorders have some kind of mental disturbances, like fears, depression or hyperactivity.” Napoleon Bonaparte’s take on sleeping requirements was “four hours for men, five for women and six for idiots”. He is believed to have survived on even less sleep. “There are no hard and fast rules. Not even a rule of thumb,” says Mayer. “We often get old people who want their eight hours of sleep.

But their body doesn’t need that much. “Others complain that they only feel well rested after nine hours of sleep, which is also completely normal.” People who try to impress others by getting away with as little sleep as possible can soon find themselves in dangerous territory. “Everyone needs his sleep. And we have no proof that people can train themselves to get by with less sleep.” Nonetheless, in the industrialized world, the amount of time spent sleeping has dropped by 1.5 hours.

To ensure that sleep is recuperative, researchers recommend a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. Fresh air and exercise contribute to healthy sleep. But it is best to take things easy before bedtime. “Exercise and other stimuli sends out hormones that keep the body awake internally,” warns Mayer. Though there is one exception to the rule – sex. “We suspect there are positive benefits because the body gets stimuli, but then relaxes.”

Metabolic balance sounds like a meditation programme or the latest health trend from the US. In fact, it is the name of a wellness programme developed by German nutritionist Wolfgang Funfack. “A well-balanced metabolism is the basis for the harmonic progression of all bodily functions,” says Funfack.

Few scientists dispute his statement, but the means of achieving it remains contentious. “A metabolic diet is in fact a synthetic term. Diets always have something to do with metabolism,” said nutrition scientist Achim Bub of the Max Rubner Institute in Karlsruhe, who adds it’s sufficient to gear dietary intake around simple rules.

To begin with, a diet should be varied. It also should contain as little fat as possible and what fat there is should be plant based as opposed to animal fat. In addition to following these rules, people who remain active and drink enough liquids can lose weight without a special diet, according to Bub. Funfack sees things differently. “Every person requires different basic components to bring his or her metabolism into tune.

“People who want to make an enduring change need an individual nutritional plan.” A blood analysis determines which basic nutritional components the patient needs. The main goal of Funfack’s metabolic balance programme is to keep the insulin and blood sugar level as low as possible. This helps maintain a feeling of fullness for a longer period of time.

Funfack stresses that participants in his programme lose weight with pleasure. Before they reach that point, however, they must strictly follow the plan. This includes three meals a day and a five-hour wait between meals. Little snacks in the course of the day are forbidden. Prof Kurt Widhalm of Vienna’s Medical University is critical of the scientific basis of Funfack’s claim.

He says Funfack’s statements can’t be made with such certainty. “I know of not a single study or publication that examines the scientific basis of metabolic balance.” Funfack says his method promises to heal other illnesses such as neurodermatitis. Participants’ skin often looks younger and their general wellness improves, he claims. It also ends the yo-yo effect some people experience when trying to lose weight. Therein lies the problem, according to Widhalm. “It would all be nice and a true achievement, but there is just no proof.”

People who are very overweight require a treatment that is tailored to their individual
needs, Widhalm says, adding that in normal cases, fruit and vegetables three times a day
along with 20 to 30 minutes of activity are what’s needed as opposed to an expensive
programme.

This is particularly true, it said, in cases of lower-back pain around the lumbar vertebrae and sacrum. The pain sometimes extends to the groin and anterior abdominal walk.

Women experiencing such symptoms should see a gynaecologist, the BVF advised. If the source of the pain lies in the reproductive organs, other problems often occur as well, including a sensation of pressure on the bladder, urinary urgency, and pain during urination, defection or sexual intercourse, BVF said.

Abdominal and back pain that occurs regularly or no the days preceding menstruation could be due to benign proliferations of tissue in the uterus.