Tag Archive for: constipation

Coffee to Go

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The health benefits of tea are substantial, and in some ways, coffee is even better. They both have substantial amounts of  phytonutrients, but this isn’t about the benefits to your heart, your liver, or your brain. This is about the comparative benefits to your digestive system of coffee and tea. While the fiber approach wasn’t really significant, one of the nutrients in both drinks was.

While I’ve never given it much thought, some people feel the urge to defecate shortly after drinking a cup of coffee, and to a lesser extent, tea as well. With all those phytonutrients, researchers selected a nutrient common to both to test: caffeine. That appeared to be the only study done to directly test the impact of caffeine on bowel movements.

The subjects were required to insert an anorectal manometer into their rectum to test the pressure of the anal sphincter muscles. (Let’s pause here to say a thank you to all the people who volunteer as subjects in these health studies.) There was no response to drinking plain water, but after caffeine ingestion there was a significant increase in pressure at 10 minutes and even greater pressure at 15 minutes. In short, the increase in pressure indicated the ability to “go” once the muscles relaxed.

The only issue I see is the amount of caffeine: the researchers tested at 3.5 mg/kg body weight. For a 180-pound person, that would be almost 300 mg caffeine in one dose, or almost four cups of coffee at one sitting. It would have been nice to see the lowest dose that worked, because not many people would tolerate that much caffeine in one dose. Then there is the issue of genetics, comparing fast metabolizers versus slow caffeine metabolizers.

The Bottom Line

That’s the scoop on poop from a coffee versus tea perspective. You probably never thought about it, but that morning cup of Joe just might help you go. Enjoy the Super Bowl—or not. But if you only watch it for the half-time show, you might want to consider your timing on what you drink, when you drink it, and how much caffeine you get.

Remember, the Aging with a Vengeance: Managing Pain webinar is in two weeks on February 25. Information will be coming soon.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Dis Colon Rectum. 2008 Jun;51(6):928-31.

Knowing Your Health Patterns

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The reason it’s important to track health variables is to find any patterns in the results. Remember the study on hs-CRP and cancer? Paula immediately looked up her CRP levels and found two things. First, it had gone down consistently over several years. Second, she hadn’t had it tested every year, but she will from now on.

Remember my blood pressure? I tracked it from that point (five weeks post-surgery) through today. From 177/107, it has come down appreciably though not in a consistent way; it’s consistently around 130/80 before exercise and 110/70 after exercise. That’s two patterns.

There are some other patterns that may be more relevant. For example, perhaps you’ve had heartburn after eating. Tracking what you eat may show a pattern that the higher the fat content, the worse the heartburn seems to be; the same may be true with constipation.

In short, you may find that one thing leads to another, but only under certain conditions. It’s knowing which conditions that’s most important to finding an answer to your health issue.

Patterns for Disease States

Many conditions have patterns of events that can be predictive of disease. For example, as bone density declines, your risk of a bone fracture increases. As blood pressure goes up, so does the risk of stroke. For type 2 diabetes, as blood sugar and HbA1c rise, so does the risk of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and all the accompanying complications.

Those types of patterns can be predictive of disease. Or they may not. As we’ve learned in the Memos, risk factors set the odds but they’re not cause and effect. But there’s another reason.

Your Pattern

The reason tracking to establish patterns of response is important to you is that it may just be your unique pattern—because while we’re all the same in many ways, we all have our unique variations. You may not know what’s unique about you because you haven’t tested it or tracked it to find your pattern. But whether it’s your blood pressure, your blood sugar, your response to foods, or some other variable, it simply may be your individual pattern and may be indicative of nothing.

That doesn’t mean you don’t get the issue checked out by a healthcare professional, but it may mean you don’t have a disease or condition as a general response would indicate. And since you know your pattern, you can track the results of any medication or other intervention your doctor prescribes.

The Bottom Line

Tracking variables to detect patterns is useful to us all. While it won’t help everyone who tries it, the goal is to know yourself better. You won’t have to do it forever, but if you’re concerned about a specific condition, this is a way to help yourself.

And it won’t necessarily be bad news; Paula was relieved to find her hs-CRP had been going down, and you may find an encouraging pattern as well. Even if the results are not what you’d hoped, better to know than not know, right? Because now you can take action.

If you have no idea where to begin, become an Insider or Member at DrChet.com. You’ll have exclusive access to me by email or phone, and I can guide you in checking out whatever factors could be related to the health issue you’re concerned about.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

The End of Constipation

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I had a question recently about the difference between a laxative such as Miralax and fiber. While they’re both safe, there are similarities and there are differences.

They are similar in that they draw fluid into the intestines. Miralax uses chemicals while fiber uses plant sources; both draw fluid into the gut to soften the stool.

Where they’re different is that fiber can help two more ways. It can add bulk to the stool to aid in transport and be used as a prebiotic and feed the probiotics or good microbes. And if those microbes are fed better, they work better.

If you have a chronic issue with constipation, time to check in with your healthcare provider. If it’s an occasional issue, as can affect us all, check out this Health Info titled The Constipation Solution. It has worked well for both adults and children.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Keto: Clearing the Air and Your Colon

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The next keto diet issues are still related to the digestive system: excessive gas and constipation. Let’s address the issue of gas first so that maybe the next time you bend over, you won’t have to worry about challenging the strength of your anal sphincter muscles.

The protein content of the revised keto diet may be lower than prior versions, but the body still has to break it down. If you don’t make enough digestive enzymes to breakdown the protein, it produces gas as it ferments in the microbiome. A lot of it. The simplest thing to do may be take a digestive enzyme that contains proteases to breakdown proteins before every meal. Taking a probiotic may also be a good idea, but we don’t know the specific strains of bacteria that will work on protein.

On the other hand, probiotics in general may help ease the constipation that can occur while on the ketogenic diet. The problem is this: the colon doesn’t have enough to do—waste products from foods are simply not there. Fats don’t have anything left after digestion; almost all protein sources don’t have much residue either. But your digestive system still has to repair and rebuild the digestive system on a regular basis. In addition to the probiotics, soluble fiber may again be the solution for the same reason as with diarrhea: it adds bulk to the stool.

I’ll wrap this up on Saturday with the topic that seems to still be making headlines: the odors associated with going keto.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Getting Rid of Constipation

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Adults, children, even infants get constipated, and no one likes it. Over time, I developed a combination of nutrients that seems to work for many people—not every person but most. Is it based on absolute science? I would be hard-pressed to say that the research on occasional constipation is definitive. There are over 22,000 citations in PubMed for every type of cause and medication for many types of constipation, but there’s no solid research on occasional constipation. I developed this combination based on the physiology and biochemistry involved, combined with years of experience.

The solution I . . .

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Why You Need Fiber

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One of the questions I get all the time is: What’s the big deal with fiber and why is it so important? In Real-Life Detox, my book that helps you naturally detoxify your body, I talk about the use of fiber during the fasting and detoxification process but didn’t cover it in great detail, so let’s take a closer look.

Fiber is the indigestible parts of plants. Because most Americans eat a diet very high in refined carbohydrates that have had the fiber . . .

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Question Time: The Scoop on Poop

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Spending the past two weekends on the road, I got asked a lot of questions, and in some cases, I’m asked the same questions several times. This week, I’m selecting the top three questions and answering them for everyone. Let's begin with this question: how many bowel movements per day are normal?

The question came from people who were concerned they’re eliminating too many times or not enough. I know some television doctors and websites talk endlessly about bowel movements; not to be indelicate, they talk on and on about frequency, color, floating or not, and . . .

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If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.