Healthy Living and the Bowel
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A healthy diet is the key to good function of the bowels. It has been shown in
many studies that a diet which is rich in vegetables, fruits and fibre and low in
fat promotes bowel health and decreases the risk of bowel problems.
Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended, although
Mediterranean populations with an average of nine servings daily have less
bowel problems than Northern Europeans.
Fibre helps the bowel contents move faster through the bowel lumen and
allows less time for bowel bacteria to act on the food constituents. Prolonged
action of bacteria on the bowel contents has been shown to result in production
of carcinogenic substances. Also fibre gives bulk to bowel contents and helps
the colon to expel stools with minimal effort, in other words to avoid
constipation. Constipation is the underlying cause of many troublesome
anorectal conditions such as haemorrhoids, anal fissures, rectal prolapse etc.
All fruits and vegetables qualify as a source of fibre apart from potatoes which
provide mainly carbohydrates.
Fibre can also be found in brown bread, bran, musli, cereals.
Fruits and vegetables are not only a source of fibre but also vitamins and other
important anti-oxidants which have a protective effect against cancer of the
bowel.
Adequate drinking of water is important. One of the functions of the colon is to
absorb water, so people who are dehydrated are likely to develop problems
with constipation.
Regular consumption of "live" yogurt (only the one with bio-cultures such as the
traditional Greek yogurt!) which contains organisms called "probiotics" has
been shown to have a beneficial effect on a number of bowel conditions
including Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
It has been shown that physical exercise helps the bowel keep a normal level of
movements and function. A sedentary lifestyle predisposes to constipation and
problems such as haemorrhoids.
Smoking has a negative impact on many systems of the body and bowel is no
exception. People with Crohn's disease do worse if they smoke and at King's
College we have shown in a study that people with Diverticular Disease (a very
common condition) have an increased risk by 2.8 times (or 280% !) to develop
complications of this condition than those who don't smoke.
Although moderate consumption of alcohol is not harmful, heavy use of alcohol
has been associated with an increased risk of cancer of the colon.
All parts of the bowel are very sensitive to stress. This is partly due to the fact
that the same molecules that are used to trasmit information and actions within
the brain (the "neurotransmitters" such as acetylcholine, GABA, serotonin, etc.)
are also used by the body as neurotransmitters within the bowel. This results in
the phenomena we have all observed occasionally: anxiety, depression and
generally stress can provoke attacks of severe diarrhoea, abdominal cramps,
secretion of mucous etc. Also it is well documented that stress plays a major
role in the exacerbation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome but also Inflammatory
Bowel Disease such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease.
Therefore, last but not least, a state of internal peace and psychological well
being is necessary in order to have bowel health as well as health of the whole
body and mind.