Re: Fibre Intake

[Guest guest]

Hi Ralph,

My only arguement is that we were weren't designed for the sedentary

lifestyles that are lead today.

I understand that lifestyle factors and water play a major role in

constipation and other colon rectory problems. I know that if the body is

dehydrated that it will pull water out of the feces leading to a hard compact

stool regardless of the fibre. My arguement was to those who stated that high

fibre diet was the only constituent to a healthy bowel without taking into

account the individual, their genetic nutritional history, and their lifestyle.

Thank You

Kind Regards

Heldoorn

Sydney, Australia

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Ralph Giarnella wrote:

--- ryanheldoorn wrote:

> Hi ,

>

> In regard to fibre intake, I have a colon hygenist

> that I frequently

> collaborate with who states that people can become

> constipated on

> high fibre diets just as easy as low fibre diets.

, as a gastroenterologist one the most common

referrals I get is for the treatment of constipation.

Your colon hygienist is correct in part however

his/her conclusions are in my opinion incorrect.

I often see individuals who are on a high fiber diet

who are nevertheless constipated and there are several

reasons for this.

The most common causes are inadequate fluid intake

along with the fiber, sedentary lifestyle and poor

timing or bowel habits.

There is a second category of individuals with

constipation known as Irritable bowel syndrome with

constipation. This is not a genetic problem but a

motility problem which has multiple causes which need

to be addressed separately from the causes I cited in

the previous paragraph.

For those in the first group I usually put them on a

" potty training " regimen and for the most part their

condition is markedly improved in a few weeks.

For those with irritable bowel syndrome and

constipation there is a somewhat different approach.

> It all comes down an individuals genetic hereditary

> make up towards

> food. A simple example of this is Eskimoes. Eskimoes

> predominately

> eat 90% protiens, fats and oils, and they are

> generally not

> associated with colon rectory problems.

It is very interesting how often the eskimo's extreme

diet is often quoted without paying attention to the

other details of the eskimo's lifestyle and longevity

as well as their overall morbidity.

First of all does your hygienist have a references

that details the eskimos bowel problems?

If they have no problems with their bowel movements

there are several plausible reasons. First they don't

have to look for a bathroom when they have the urge to

have a bowel movement. Secondly they are very

physically active. Sedentary lifestyle itself is

conducive to constipation.

Another reason that the eskimos may may not have a

problem is the high fat content of their diet. Our

intestines can only digest a limited amount of fat.

The rest is passed on to the colon and acts as a

cathartic. There is a dietary product on the market

that blocks the absorption of fat resulting in

diarrhea and oily stools. You may have heard the ads

on TV.

Several years ago when the eskimo's diet was cited as

a proof that a high fat low carb diet was good I did

some research and came up with some very interesting

facts.

Again when applying the eskimo diet to western

civilization they did not take into account the

conditions under which the eskimos worked as opposed

to the sedentary western lifestyle.

The average lifespan of the eskimo was about 40 years

and the common cause of demise was heart disease.

I did the research about 10 years ago when

participating in a online discussion group known as

Training Nutrition (Mel Siff often contributed to the

discussions).

Unfortunately I do not have the references handy at

present.

> In short the old this for that approach is flawed.

> What is good for

> one person will have no affect on another and make

> the 3rd person

> feel worse.

In my experience very few patients are intolerant of

high fiber diets as long as you are able to pinpoint

the proper causation of the problem.

Some patients are intolerant of gluten (protein in

certain grains) this is known as Celiac disease. In

the case of celiac disease you need to avoid those

grains that contain the protein gluten. Some have

problems because of bacterial overgrowth or others

because of altered bacterial flora, both conditions

can easily be corrected, in some cases by adding the

proper biologicals to the diets and in other cases

correcting the bacterial overgrowth.

Many have problems with constipation just because of

poor time management and bowel habits.

In my 35+ years of treating bowel diseases I have

rarely found an individual that could not be helped

and my recommendation is that a high fiber diet should

be the norm not the exception.

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