Constipation- High Fiber Foods ()

[Guest guest]

,

You wrote:

>I remember ginger and peppermint being discussed. He did admit,

>unfortunately, that he had yet to find any natural remedy that would

>help RSS/SGA kids with the following though: appetite increase,

>severe reflux or delayed gastric emptying. I talked to him

>afterwards about the constipation thing. Unfortunately for us, he

>felt that 's constipation was too severe due to her severe

>delayed emptying to be helped by natural remedies (although clearly

>he still recommended the high fiber, etc). I was bummed on that one.

Hopefully this will convince your doctor to change the way in which

he treats constipation. The following are exerts from a book written

by Cowan, MD called Fourfold Path to Healing. This is one of

several books my doctor recommended that I read. It has worked

wonders for us. This material is also covered in Life Without Bread

but Cowan goes into much greater detail that will help you to better

understand the logic behind the treatment. Many aspects in

Cowan's book apply to RSS children, he is a genius. I hope this

information helps and maybe even stirs up some discussion on a topic

that is central to successfully treating RSS.

Fourfold Path to Healing— " The first reason (Cowan is

referring to digestive disorders) is that most of what we put in our

mouths today is not really food, does not represent food as it is

supposed to be. Pasteurized, homogenized, skimmed, or low fat milk

from hormone treated, grain-fed cows, for example, is not really

milk. Our digestive systems do not recognize it as a food, it

cannot be properly broken down, and therefore we are allergic to

it……………..

The second reason that digestion is weak is that our glands and

organs are unable to supply a sufficient quantity of digestive

enzymes. This may be because our digestive organs--the pancreas,

liver, and salivary glands--are weak and overloaded; or it may be

because we lack certain trace minerals. Celtic sea salt provides

trace minerals and the fermented drinks provide enzymes to help the

body digest food…………..

Undigested food provokes the body into secreting more hydrochloric

acid, which leads to the symptoms of acid indigestion or heartburn.

Undigested or sluggish digestion often results in food " sitting

like a lead weight, " or gastric reflux (GERD), commonly referred

to as heartburn…………..

The third reason our digestion is weak has to do with ecology of the

digestive tract. Our intestinal microorganisms help digest our food

and are nourished by our food. They synthesize vitamins, especially

B vitamins, that are essential for our health. It is not fiber but

dead microorganisms that supply the bulk of stools, without which we

suffer from painful constipation…………..

Dennis Burkett, a British physician, spent most of his career

studying indigenous African populations…... Burkett's

conclusion—-which has become a gospel of modern bowel

health—-is that good health these people achieved was a direct

result of high fiber content of their diet. This led to the oat

bran fad and appearance of health claims on high fiber breakfast

cereals………..

Closer examination of Burkett's work, however, reveals that he

ignored some conflicting evidence that might have given him a fuller

picture and led him to different conclusions. The common thread in

all the groups studied by Burkett, Schweitzer, and Price is that

they consumed large amounts of lacto-fermented foods, the kind that

provide a steady supply of healthy bacteria to enrich the ecology of

the bowels……....

The treatment of stomach irritation (gastritis), reflux disease, and

even stomach or duodenal ulcers is fairly straight forward and

accentuates the above principle. That is, for a period of about 2

weeks the total carbohydrate content of the diet is kept very low,

under 20 grams per day. During this period no grains or fruit are

eaten. The relief from this dietary intervention is profound and

reliable. Usually the pain improves in 3-4 days, and is gone in 2

weeks. At that point fermented grains can be slowly added back to

the diet……..

Digestive disorders represent nature's plea for us to return to

real, whole foods, foods grown in healthy soil and from animals that

graze on healthy pastures. When we eat processed and imitation

foods, we are, in essence, polluting the finely tuned ecosystem of

the gut. Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and cultured milk, are

vital to any treatment of digestive disorders……Beet kvass, lacto-

fermented ginger ale and other enzyme-rich beverages should

accompany every meal. Bone broths make digestion easier, and Celtic

sea salt provides trace minerals needed for enzyme structure.

For constipation and hemorrhoids, use 1 tablespoon of freshly ground

flax seeds mixed into 1-2 cups of warm water every morning. This

drink softens the stool in addition to providing valuable omega-3

fatty acids so beneficial to our overall health. Coconut oil, taken

2 tablespoons as melted oil mixed with a little water, twice daily,

can have a very positive effect on constipation as the short- and

medium-chain fatty acids promote beneficial flora in the gut and

colon " .

There are some additional supplements that Cowan recommends but I

will not go in to them here, but a full description can be found in

his book.

Beth