Potty Talk

Did you flush?

Time for a bit of potty talk. Children of alcholoics more commonly have issues related to the bowels than do other people, and women are slightly more likely to have bowel-related issues.

Nobody enjoys talking about bowel movements, but hey, everybody has this bodily function in common, and it's a key part of your overall health! So, here goes.

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First, let's define a couple of common bowel issues. One type of bowel issue is constipation.

Constipation is not being able to have a bowel movement, or bm (i.e., you can't poop). The normal rate of bowel movements is one time each day, though, some people have a bm twice a day, and some have a bm every other day. (The more physically active you are, the more frequent your bms will be.) When you have the feeling that you'd like to have a bm and it's been a day or two (three at the most), but you can't make it happen, you're likely constipated. Similarly, if the result of all your efforts appears like something that usually comes out of a rabbit (i.e., pellets), you're constipated.

These are common causes of Constipation:

you're not drinking enough water every day
you're not eating enough fiber-containing foods
your routine got disrupted (travel)
you're not getting enough physical exercise
you have an eating disorder
you're eating massive amounts of dairy
you're over-using laxatives
you are resisting the urge to have a bm (holding it)
anxiety and the lack of the ability to relax

Another type of bowel issue is IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Most of the sufferers of this are women. Emotional stress, acute anxiety, and/or psychological issues can be related causes to IBS. The symptoms of IBS are often painful: bloating, cramping, gas, diarrhea, or constipation. The disease often persist for weeks at a time, and when IBS involves diarrhea, people can spend lots of time racing to the bathroom, or worrying that they'll need to do so at any minute.

What's a Chakra? A chakra is an epicenter of biophysical energy in the body, and there are seven chakras in our bodies from the top of our head down to the tip of our spine. Each of the seven chakras relates to various bodily, spiritual, and emotional aspects.

I wrote about chakras when I wrote about back pain and the adult child. Chakras come into play when thinking about the bowels, too. Why? The first chakra is located at the base of your spine, the tip, called the coccyx. It's considered the "tribal" chakra, related to your relationship to your tribe, acceptance of your self, and to your ties to family and community. The primary fears associated with it are "tribal/family identity, bonding, and the tribal honor code; the support and loyalty that give one a sense of safety and connection to the physical world" (Carolyn Myss, "Anatomy of the Spirit"). Self-pity is often an issue when this chakra is out of balance.

The organs associated with the first chakra are the base of the spine, legs and bones, the feet, rectum, and immune system. The mental and emotional issues associated with it are your physical family and group safety and security, our ability to provide for life's necessities, ability to stand up for yourself (not self-pitying), feeling at home, and social law and order. Some of the associated physical dysfunctions are chronic low back pain, constipation, colitis, cold hands/feet, sciatica, varicose veins, rectal diseases, depression, and immune-related disorders. You can read more about chakras here Chakras!

So what should we do to keep our bowels in healthy order? Number one: exercise (even just a brisk, uphill walk). And, drink more water -- warm liquids in the early part of the day. Plus, eat fresh fruit and leafy vegetables. Feel free to eat good ole prunes, and add other fiber to your diet (bran cereal). The key elements, though, are the exercise and the water.

Here's a quick checklist toward healthy bowels and, not coincidentally, for good health in general:

Become relaxed and stay relaxed

Take the time to move your bowels, make it a routine so that your body knows when it's time

Drink plenty of water, stay hydrated

Eat fresh (organic) fruit and vegetables (organic)

Move! Exercise. Daily.

Be good to yourself.

Read more here Constipation!