Let's Talk About Poop!

     If you are squeamish about poo, don't read any further!  LOL  It's a part of life, or at least it should be!  Okay, this is where it's going to get personal.  How often do you poop?  Once a day, once every other day?  Two to three times a day?

     Before I started this lifestyle, it was maybe once every three days for me, and now...... 3-5 times a day!  And when it was so infrequent, it was so hard to pass!  Yeah, I told you if you can't handle the subject, just don't continue reading.

     In all seriousness though, pooping, bowel movements, are important!  I work at a local hospital, and when a patient doesn't have a bowel movement, stool softeners, prune juice are given and then if that doesn't work, they give a suppository or do finger stimulation!  YIKES!

     A lot can happen if we don't consistently have a BM.  Cancer for one is a big concern for many Americans.  According to Dr. Michael Gregor breast cancer in woman is cut in half by having a normal daily BM.  He says that chemicals that are in the colon can get into the blood stream and then reach the breast tissue.  He goes on to say that the acids that are not flushed out of our colon with plant foods can be absorbed and enter the blood stream.  Watch the complete video.
 https://nutritionfacts.org/video/breast-cancer-and-constipation/

     Have you ever heard that if your gut is healthy, everything else is healthy?  This is what Dr. McDougall says about our guts, and this is so fascinating to me.
Approximately 28 feet of digestive tube, known as the gut and intestine, processes our foods into life giving nutrients. The first 23 feet, which include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small intestine mechanically divide the foods we eat, mix them with digestive enzymes, and then break them into microscopic particles ready for absorption into the body. The last five feet, known as the large intestine, or colon, works as a microbial factory. More than 400 different species of bacteria have been identified living in a single person. These bacteria are not distributed randomly throughout the intestinal tract, but are found in different numbers and kinds in different regions of the gut. The stomach and small intestine contain low numbers, the last part of the small intestine contains many more organisms. Within the colon their concentration reaches 1,000,000,000,000 (a trillion) per milliliter of feces. On the typical American diet one-third of the dry weight of the feces is bacteria. (On a healthy diet, dietary fiber dilutes the concentration.) Although the bacteria are the predominant microflora, protozoans, yeast and other microorganisms are also present.
https://www.drmcdougall.com/newsletter/july_aug.99.1.html

     WoW!  From the time we put something in our mouths to the time it exits our bodies it either nourishes our bodies for good or bad.  Here are some reasons to have a healthy digestion.

Benefits of a Healthy Gut Microflora
  • Increase the natural resistance to infections from bacteria, yeast, and viruses
  • Prevent traveler’s diarrhea
  • Speed healing from diarrheal diseases and relapsing colitis
  • Improve digestion
  • Relieve constipation
  • Stimulate the immune system
  • Lessen symptoms of inflammatory arthritis
  • Suppress cancer development and growth
  • Reduce sex hormones
  • Reduce cholesterol and triglycerides
     Since eating this way, I don't get sick as often.  I remember every winter before becoming plant based I would get a horrific cold.  I sometimes now get a feeling of a cold coming on, but it will only last a day.  I had a super bad sore throat a couple of weeks ago, and thought oh boy here it comes, so I bought cough drops and such.  I woke up the next morning with not even a sniffle or a memory of a sore throat!  I know how we eat can help our immune systems.  I work with many very sick patients, and between washing my hand off, drinking a ton of water, and eating a stellar diet is why I'm relatively a healthy person.  I have had my challenges with kidney stones, blood clots, and arthritis, but since going plant based the kidney stones are non existent, I take an aspirin every day and am active to ward off a clot, and now I have really cleaned up my diet to hopefully help my arthritis.  I have also reversed my diabetes.  Life is good, and so is a good poop!  

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