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If you are having trouble with constipation, please take the following step-wise measures to overcome it; I don't agree with the prevailing sentiment that it is OK to go several days without a bowel-movement, or even more than 24 hours. 1-3 movements a day should be considered ideal, as it has always been in Africa, where there has traditionally been hardly any bowel cancer, appendicitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis and other results of our Western diet.
(1) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and real whole-grain cereals/ breads/ pastas (and avoid the white versions of these grains); and drink plenty of non-caffeine, non-alcohol liquids. Take regular exercise, as vigorous as your body can easily stand.
(2) Take Perdiem, Citrucil, Fiberall, Metamucil, Fiber-Con or similar fiber supplements.
(3) Take 2-3 1200mg soy- or egg-lecithin capsules after each meal (3x/day) and at bed-time. This is a B-vitamin that breaks down into choline (therefore also countering the anti-cholinergic side-effects of many antidepressants and other meds, including their constipating effects). This natural substance is available over-the-counter at either a healthfood store or a pharmacy, and is quite inexpensive. It also helps memory, which is partly mediated by the acetylcholine system, and in lowering 'bad-cholesterol' levels. Its only side-effect is loose stools and, very rarely, someone may be allergic to it.
(4) Take a mild laxative/ stool-softener like aloe vera, a vegetable or herbal laxative, or senna extract (e.g., Senokot). Or docusate sodium with casanthrenol (generic Peri-Colace) or calcium docusate with casanthrenol (Doxidan), or Correctol, once or twice daily, after brkfst and supper. And/ or a glycerine or Dulcolax suppository. When medical causes of constipation, such as hypothyroidism and vitamin-B12 deficiency, are treated, there is no such thing as 'addiction' to these laxatives.
(5) If supplemental iron, or other mineral, or any other necessary substance or medication, is causing the constipation, please do not stop or even cut back on the necessary supplement or medicine; rather use the above harmless, non-habit-forming measures to overcome the constipation.
In my native SouthAfrica, the Afrikaans-speaking people have a humorous/ tongue-in-cheek well-wishing goodbye-greeting, "Gelukkige opelyf!", which translates into English something like "Happy regular bowel movements to you"! I wish the same for you!
John V DOMmisse, Medical Director
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