By Dean L. Jones, C.P.M.
Product promoters have been aiming and paying a lot of attention to the effects gained from eating more fiber. The concept that product advertisers want to get across is that fiber will help get those bowels moving again and then everything will go back to normal. With a little luck, those people inflicted by constipation will benefit from this highly touted extra fiber remedy model. Unfortunately, for a significant percentage of those like sufferers the challenge is more serious.
The problem I have with advertisers on this important subject is that they do not address the originating causes, which can be difficult to find. The main thing to note is that constipation is a symptom and not the disease where advertisers do not mention to their target audience. The complexity of modern lifestyles elevates the number of possible causes, from toxic environments, medicines, processed foods all the way to lifestyle changes yield so many different areas to review.
At its root is a high blood sugar level that causes constipation, not constipation causes a high blood sugar level. Accordingly, by addressing or treating the cause you can remedy the symptom or its effect. Treat the high blood sugar and your chances of experiencing constipation decreases tremendously.
For starters, it is imperative to significantly reduce and hopefully eliminate refined sugar from your diet, because eating the profusely available refined processed sugary-filled products will bring about a constipated body system most of the time. Especially for people who are diabetic, where they must stay away from refined sugar and flour enriched products. Roughly, 60% of all diabetics suffer from constipation due to elevated blood sugar levels causing the nerves in the intestines that control the length of time waste stays in the body to be seriously damaged.
These nerves are called the vagus nerves, which are needed to properly help food waste pass through and when they are inhibited waste begins to build up in the intestines. High blood sugar damages the actual blood vessels that carry oxygen and essential nutrients to the nerves of the stomach and intestine, or the vagus nerves. With the necessary nutrients and oxygen severely reduced, or stopped from reaching the vagus nerves, the digestive system goes into a state of shock. The food waste backs up and it can cause terrible complications.
Basically, any constant eating of processed foods will damage the intestines. Generally speaking, a crusted layer of incompletely digested food-remainders stick around long after having digested a meal, whereas nutrients from this crust of food-remainders still are absorbed into the blood and lymph. As we work toward having clean bowels, we can expect to burn extra body-fat for 2 hours, every night, while we are fast asleep.
Dean L. Jones is a marketing strategist with the Southland Partnership Corporation, a public benefit organization. He has published a series of articles prompted by his discomfort with how food/beverages are marketed to the community.
