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#1
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Bowel Movement regularity question
I have successfully lost over 25 pounds on the Atkins diet, from 196
to 170. I love it and intend to continue with this WOE. Among the other things I've noticed while on this diet is that I dont' go to the bathroom (BM) as often as I used to go. Sometimes I go for a few days before I get the urge to have a bowel movement. I even take Metamucil once a day in the evenings to help the process, but to no avail. Will flax seed oil or something else help me become regular again, or is it part of the program to extend the time between BM's? I should also mention that I am an athlete and exercise about 1-2 hours every day. Any advise will be appreciated. |
#2
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Bowel Movement regularity question
"Athleticman89" wrote in message om... I have successfully lost over 25 pounds on the Atkins diet, from 196 to 170. I love it and intend to continue with this WOE. Among the other things I've noticed while on this diet is that I dont' go to the bathroom (BM) as often as I used to go. Sometimes I go for a few days before I get the urge to have a bowel movement. I even take Metamucil once a day in the evenings to help the process, but to no avail. Will flax seed oil or something else help me become regular again, or is it part of the program to extend the time between BM's? I should also mention that I am an athlete and exercise about 1-2 hours every day. Any advise will be appreciated. I think you'll find quite a few people who have had similar experiences. I am one of them. More than likely there is nothing wrong with your digestive system. I probably go about a 1/3 as often as I used to before low carb. As long as you're not constipated and your waste is a normal color, I wouldn't worry about it. Chris |
#3
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Bowel Movement regularity question
I have the same problems, but I don't give them much thought. When I
have to go I have to go and I go. Simple as that. Doesn't matter if 2 or 3 days pass in between. Less ass wiping for me. -- B-D_ Atkins since 11/24/03 199/188/165 |
#4
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Bowel Movement regularity question
Found wheat germ (low carb naturally) seems to work for this little problem!
B-D_ wrote: I have the same problems, but I don't give them much thought. When I have to go I have to go and I go. Simple as that. Doesn't matter if 2 or 3 days pass in between. Less ass wiping for me. |
#5
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Bowel Movement regularity question
When I did the Atkins it used to bother me that I didn't go everyday let
alone for 4 days! I didn't like the thought of food waste being in my intestines for a while so I went off it as I wasn't losing much weight anyways... by the way, I only have 10-15 lbs to lose so I just opted for loads of exercise and low GI carb foods plus lots of protein and enough unsaturated fats from fish oils. "Athleticman89" wrote in message om... I have successfully lost over 25 pounds on the Atkins diet, from 196 to 170. I love it and intend to continue with this WOE. Among the other things I've noticed while on this diet is that I dont' go to the bathroom (BM) as often as I used to go. Sometimes I go for a few days before I get the urge to have a bowel movement. I even take Metamucil once a day in the evenings to help the process, but to no avail. Will flax seed oil or something else help me become regular again, or is it part of the program to extend the time between BM's? I should also mention that I am an athlete and exercise about 1-2 hours every day. Any advise will be appreciated. |
#6
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Bowel Movement regularity question
Reality check is that BM are highly personal, and vary from individual to
individual. I personally would be real worried if I did not have one on a regular basis, as that would be unusual for me. I do take flax seed oil capsules (for other reasons), and generally eat at least one of the LC bars every day with sugar alcohols in it,, along with 3 grams of Vit c. All of these things tend to make you go, but are ingested for other reasons. "Reality Check" wrote in message ... When I did the Atkins it used to bother me that I didn't go everyday let alone for 4 days! I didn't like the thought of food waste being in my intestines for a while so I went off it as I wasn't losing much weight anyways... by the way, I only have 10-15 lbs to lose so I just opted for loads of exercise and low GI carb foods plus lots of protein and enough unsaturated fats from fish oils. "Athleticman89" wrote in message om... I have successfully lost over 25 pounds on the Atkins diet, from 196 to 170. I love it and intend to continue with this WOE. Among the other things I've noticed while on this diet is that I dont' go to the bathroom (BM) as often as I used to go. Sometimes I go for a few days before I get the urge to have a bowel movement. I even take Metamucil once a day in the evenings to help the process, but to no avail. Will flax seed oil or something else help me become regular again, or is it part of the program to extend the time between BM's? I should also mention that I am an athlete and exercise about 1-2 hours every day. Any advise will be appreciated. |
#7
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Bowel Movement regularity question
On 11 Dec 2003 17:40:24 GMT, Ignoramus5005
wrote: My advice is to eat plenty of vegetables, not supplements. i That's too broad a statement for those doing Atkins. 3 cups a day MAX is what my book says. PJ |
#8
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Bowel Movement regularity question
Wheat germ also helps
Ignoramus5005 wrote: My advice is to eat plenty of vegetables, not supplements. i Northeastern Missouri |
#9
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Bowel Movement regularity question
PJx wrote:
On 11 Dec 2003 17:40:24 GMT, Ignoramus5005 wrote: My advice is to eat plenty of vegetables, not supplements. That's too broad a statement for those doing Atkins. 3 cups a day MAX is what my book says. Induction restrictions are only two weeks. Even staying at 20g/day after Induction, one can easily fit in 5 or 6 servings of LC vegetables and stay within 20 net grams, if you're not spending much of your carbs on dairy, dessert, and sweetener. -- jamie ) "There's a seeker born every minute." |
#10
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Bowel Movement regularity question
Athleticman89 wrote:
I have successfully lost over 25 pounds on the Atkins diet, from 196 to 170. I love it and intend to continue with this WOE. Among the other things I've noticed while on this diet is that I dont' go to the bathroom (BM) as often as I used to go. Sometimes I go for a few days before I get the urge to have a bowel movement. First of all, let me quote several authorities on "regularity", after which I have a lengthy canned post about your question. (The short answer is that there is a lot less volume of waste on a lowcarb diet.) Boston University Medical Center http://www.bu.edu/cohis/nutrtion/dis...ptn/whatis.htm "The frequency of bowel movements among healthy people varies greatly, ranging from three movements a day to three a week." The American Gastroenterological Association http://www.gastro.org/constipation.html "The frequency of bowel movements among healthy people varies from three movements a day to three a week." THE CENTRE FOR DIGESTIVE DISEASES - SYDNEY http://www.cdd.com.au/sheets/5_1.htm "The normal range varies greatly but most people will move their bowels between 3 times a day and 3 times a week." James A. Clifton Ctr for Digestive Diseases, U. Iowa Hospitals and Clinics http://www.vh.org/Patients/IHB/IntMe...stipation.html "Normal bowel habits among healthy people vary greatly from three times a day to three times a week." [end quotes] Studies published within the last year or two have indicated that fiber does not protect against colon cancer, and the biggest risk factor for colon cancer is abdominal overweight, combined with high blood glucose and high levels of insulin. See http://www.upmc.edu/newsbureau/science/vatstudy.htm regarding these risk factor conclusions. (I didn't save a link regarding fiber not protecting against colon cancer, but I'll tack on a saved newspaper article at the end of the post.) Some people do get constipated, but more beginners confuse needing to go less often than they did on a carby diet with constipation. The medical definition of constipation is difficult and/or painful elimination. "Daily regularity" was a phrase made up to sell laxatives, and according to various gastroenterology association sites, "normal" elimination is anywhere from 3 times a day to 3 times a week. Some people become needlessly alarmed if they don't have the urge to go every day when starting low carb. There's less volume of waste in a low carb diet. Now, this is just my personal opinion, but I think that typical fiber recommendations for ordinary high carb diets may not be as much needed on low carb. High carb diets create a lot of paste-like waste that needs to be pushed through by fiber. People who are eating mainly fresh low carb foods, with little or no lowcarb candy or packaged lowcarb imitations of carby foods, have often mentioned how, shall we say, quick and clean elimination is, and pretty much gas free. (LC products sweetened with sugar alcohols, though, tend to create gas for most people, and some ingredients in LC specialty products also create paste-like waste.) I've been lowcarbing 5 and a half years, (3 and a half years maintaining goal weight) and I can count on one hand the number of times that I've needed to take psyllium as a laxative. But if I decide to have a blender protein shake as a quickie meal, I'll usually put a rounded teaspoonful of psyllium in to add fiber and as a thickener, so it's handy to keep around. I generally get my fiber from lowcarb vegetables and nuts, and a little ground flax seeds sprinkled on some foods, like salads. A lot of folks here enjoy ground flax seed made as a hot cereal. Personally, I don't care for flax alone as cereal, but I sometimes make a hot cereal of a a crushed Wasa brand Fiber Rye cracker or two, some crushed pecans or almonds and some flax meal, with cinnamon and sweetener. Flax seed can usually be found in the bulk bin section of supermarkets and natural foods grocery stores. You can grind it in a coffee grinder to make flax meal. Packaged flax meal, typically "Bob's Red Mill" brand, can often be found either in the natural foods section of supermarkets that have an expanded natural foods and supplements section, or sometimes among the bread mixes and unusual flours in the baking aisle. (Flax meal has about a half gram of usable carb per tablespoon, and almost 3 grams of fiber.) ----saved newspaper article------ October 12, 2000 Study: Fiber Doesn't Prevent Cancer By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:02 p.m. ET LONDON (AP) -- Evidence is mounting that fiber might not prevent colon cancer after all, with a new study suggesting that one type of supplement might even be bad for the colon. The theory that a high-fiber diet wards off the second-leading cancer killer has been around since the 1970s, but the evidence was never strong. The concept began to crumble last year when the first of three major U.S. studies found it had no effect. In the latest study, published this week in The Lancet medical journal, European researchers found that precancerous growths, or polyps, were slightly more likely to recur in those taking a certain fiber supplement. The findings demonstrate the difficulty of trying to figure out the relationship between nutrition and disease, said Dr. Michael Thun, who heads epidemiological research for the American Cancer Society. Fiber is particularly complicated, he said, because there are various types and they all could act differently. ``The concept of a healthy diet continues to be the recommendation for overall health,'' Thun said. ``But the painful process of clarifying which ingredients in food do what will take us decades to sort out.'' Thun said the American Cancer Society will revisit its recommendations on fiber and colon cancer in light of the growing body of evidence eroding support for the theory that it wards off the disease. Experts recommend a low fat, high-fiber diet rich in fruits and vegetables and whole grains because it has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and some other cancers. ``There is definitely something dietary going on with bowel cancer, but we haven't really been able to fix on what it is,'' said Dr. Tim Key, a cancer researcher at Oxford University who was not connected with the study. ``The cause of colorectal cancer is very far from understood.'' The latest study, conducted by scientists at the University of Bourgogne, France, does not address the effect of a high-fiber diet, but of supplements of one type of fiber -- ispaghula husk, a compound similar to psyllium that is not part of the average diet. Psyllium, a grain grown in India, is found in some over-the-counter laxatives and fiber supplements. The study, involving 552 Europeans who previously had precancerous growths in the bowel, found that 29 percent of those receiving the supplement got at least one new tumor within three years. That compares with 20 percent of those given fake granules. The findings may or may not be related to the role fiber in general plays in bowel cancer but, considered together with other recent studies, the plausibility of a protective role looks less likely. ``This does produce more evidence for the negative side,'' said Dr. Lesley Walker, a scientist at the London-based Imperial Cancer Research Fund, which was not connected to the research. ``But we still haven't got the totality of the evidence we want,'' Walker said. ``There are still some important ongoing studies under way on the fiber question that should give us some solid answers.'' Sorting out the influence of genes, food, pollutants, living habits and other factors requires drawing together information from many different scientific approaches. Those include lab experiments, rat studies, observations of large groups of people and human experiments. Information from all of these kinds of science went into the rise and fall of the idea that fiber prevents colon cancer. It started when scientists noticed that Westerners get more colon cancer than poor people in rural Africa. While the differences between these two populations are too numerous to count, an obvious one was the Africans' higher consumption of fiber. Over time, many lines of evidence seemed to support the theory. People see their risk of colon cancer rise when they move from places with low rates to areas where it's more common and they adopt the local eating habits. Furthermore, the idea made sense. Fiber makes the stool bulkier and perhaps more likely to dilute cancer-causing substances. It also causes them to flow more quickly through the digestive system. The data seemed convincing enough for health agencies to recommend high- fiber foods as one way of preventing colon cancer. Then last year, the first major study putting the theory to the test, in which researchers based at Harvard School of Public Health studied 88,757 nurses for 16 years, concluded fiber doesn't help. ---- end newspaper article ---- -- jamie ) "There's a seeker born every minute." -- jamie ) "There's a seeker born every minute." |
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