Constipation

[Guest guest]

HI LAMAR. PAOLO HERE.

I have occasional problems with constipation. My mother, grandmother, one

aunt, and two great aunts with CMT appeared to loose all peristalsis in

their colon and required repeated enemas to literally " wash " the stool out,

having frequent fecal impactions.

All of them also became unable to urinate

and required indwelling catheters for several years. All of their

physicians said that they felt there was a connection with their CMT.

I TOO THINK SO, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAD TYPE 2.

UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC STUDY ABOUT THIS UNPLEASANT PROBLEM.

CIAO.

PAOLO

[Guest guest]

I joined this list some weeks ago, and then spent several days trying to

read the older posts. I was interested in the liver /gall bladder cleanse

for myself, my husband, and our 14-1/2 year old Miniature Pinscher,

Roseanna.

On a tangent note, has anyone ever tried the cleanse on their dog? I would

imagine that their livers can be in as much trouble as their peoples',

particularly if they're being fed a commercial diet. There is no real

regulation on what goes into petfood, and the stuff that is actually put

into the food would curl your hair and/or really chap your rearend.

Because of the focus of this group, most of the attention is spent on the

liver and gall bladder. However, another area of the body that is just as

crucial, and easier to clean up is the GI tract. Cleaning up the GI tract,

doing things that will help it to function properly, would probably be of

some use to those of us who are also focused on getting our livers back into

good shape.

From what I have been reading, the GI tract must have a healthy population

of what is called the beneficial bacteria in order for it to function

properly, e.g., in the digestion of foodstuffs and the elimination of

wastes. In fact, it is speculated that these bacteria are just as important

in the proper breakdown of foodstuffs into the nutrients that the body needs

as are enzymes.

The health of the GI tract also has a direct impact on the functioning of

our immune systems. The good micro-organisms will keep the " bad " ones in

check, such as Candida and other fungal-type creatures, parasites such as

hookworms, etc., and infectious things such as viruses.

A couple of years when I was searching for products and ways to help my

Miniature Pinscher, Roseanna, I stumbled upon a probiotic product called

Primal Defense. Actually, an acupuncturist told me about it. He swore by

its effectiveness, and since he was someone I trusted, I got on the net and

did a little research - as much research as you can do. Since we're not

hanging out in anybody's GI tract, observing what is going on, and being

able to accurately interpret that which we are seeing, all that we can do is

to read, reason, and try to do that which makes sense to us at the time (and

of course, that changes as we learn more).

Primal Defense was developed by a young guy who was dying from Crohn's

disease. You can read a part of his story, and about the product at this

website:

www.gardenoflifeusa.com

Primal Defense is comprised of 14 different kinds of " homeostatic soil

organisms, " and it has done a fine job of helping to improve her health -

and mine too, though I've never had a problem with constipation.

However, one of my sister's has had a problem with constipation for years

and years. She was only able to eliminate once a week, and even then she

had to use some OTC fiber product. I gave her some of the caplets of Primal

Defense, and within a couple of days, she was eliminating once or twice

daily, without straining or pain. I wasn't expecting such quick results,

but that is indeed what happened.

The same thing occurred when I gave a bottle of Primal Defense to a friend

of mine who has MS. She was even more constipated than was my sister, but

within a couple of days was able to eliminate easily and regularly.

I know...It sounds like one of those glowing testimonials that abound

throughout the net, but I give you my word that this two things did happen.

In addition, my sister's 10-year-old daughter had been suffering with a

Candida problem for over a year, complete with discharge and the terrible

itching and burning that accompanies an overgrowth of Candida. My sister

had taken her to a naturopath, who gave her a bottle of Acidolphilus (one of

the kinds of micro-organisms that we need), but it hadn't helped. After

three or four days of taking Primal Defense, all of the symptoms, the

itching and burning, and the discharge, disappeared.

Another effect that can occur when taking Primal Defense is that you might

feel calmer and more energetic. Didn't someone in this list (or was it the

Bowel Cleanse list?) say that some of the B vitamins (such as B12) are

synthesized in the intestines?

Good bowel health is a critical as a healthy-functioning liver, and getting

the GI tract back into shape will undoubtedly take a good bit of the burden

off of the liver and the kidneys. The toxins that get stuck in the

intestines get put right back into the bloodstream, and then are

re-circulated throughout the body - including the liver, and this poor guy

is supposed to try and detoxify all of these bad things.

I purchase all of my Garden of Life products from www.iherb.com. Iherb.com

has consistently given me good service, and has the best prices for most

supplements on the net. They, as do other net companies, sell the GOL

products for 30% or so off of retail, but Iherb.com will give you an

additional percentage off (as much as up to 20%) at checkout. For any order

over $60, they give you free shipping as well.

I have zero financial or any other kind of ties to Garden of Life or

Iherb.com. I make no money, get no benefits at all from recommending them.

For those of you who do take supplements, consider checking out the other

GOL products. They are all made from real foods, herbs, grains, grasses,

etc., which are also organic, and they're put through a fermentation process

which not only keeps the enzymes intact, but also the beneficial

micro-organisms.

We used to get these micro-organisms on the food that we ate from our

gardens. It is these same micro-organisms that are needed for good soil

health. In fact, it is these micro-organisms that break down the nutrients

in the soil and then feed them to the plant roots. In turn the plant's

roots will exudate a simple sugar which feeds the micro-organisms. It's a

great process, but one that is disrupted by today's modern agricultural

practices.

It is also these same micro-organisms that keep soil viruses and " bad "

bacteria in check, which helps the plants to stay healthy.

I wonder how many other parallels there are between us and nature?

One more thing: there's a really good parasite cleanse called Parablast.

It's in liquid form and uses herbs such as sage, thyme, hyssop, gentian

root, and chenopodium. This product was designed to get rid of parasites

throughout the body, not just deal with the intestinal bugs. You can have

parasites in any part of your body, e.g., heart, lung, liver, brain.

There are two drawbacks to using this product: it is an MLM product, sold by

a company called EYI, and it also uses juniper berries in it. Because of

the juniper berries, it can taste like you've just swallowed some pine

needles - it's a very strong taste.

However, it is one of the easiest on the body and effective parasite

cleanses that I have ever tried, and I give it to my cats, my dogs, and my

geese as well as take it myself. I have actually grown kind of fond of the

way that it tastes as well. There must be one or more of those herbs that

my body really needs; it has a kind of tonic effect for me, giving me energy

and a nice sense of well-being.

I've rambled on long enough. Adios for now,

Carol Lively

Fort Worth, Texas

[Guest guest]

I was getting really scared as on a Natural Hygiene site they were talking about constipation being an indicator of ovarian cancer

I had to force myself to stop reading all that stuff. Anything little thing could be a symptom of something really serious or of something minor. I don't like scaring myself!! I think fear and stress can make us much sicker and kill us faster than any food we eat.

Gloria

[Guest guest]

I agree Gloria and so does self talk. "Well that's probably cancer, well that's probably MS." I will convince myself I've got something subconciously if I keep talking like that.

And that's also the main reason I won't go for "check ups".

Shari