Stomach and digestive problems and preventive care

 1. LUMINATION

 Choose a time, shortly to defecate whether or not you have "the urge." Allow ten minutes. Relax, be comfortable, read if you like-the important thing is not to feel tense or hurried. Prop your feet on a footstool so your knees are close to your chest. If you choose to go before breakfast, it will help to drink a glass or two of fluid upon getting out of bed; it can be warm or cool water, fruit juice, tea, or coffee. Teaching your bowels to move regularly is a little like training yourself to wake up at a given hour every morning; it can be done, with patience, and once acquired the habit persists.

 2. DIET. 

The residue of foods you eat is easier to eliminate if it contains some roughage in the form of fibers, lubricants in the form of fats or oils, and fluid. These should be included in the diet of healthy people. (In some disease states, there may be an inability to tolerate roughage; in such cases, a physician will so advise.) To cure or prevent constipation, make certain your diet includes: For breakfast: 1/2 to 1 glass of tomato, grapefruit, prune, or orange juice. 

Also include one item from each of the following, (a) through (e): (a) Mixed dried or stewed fruits-prunes, apricots, figs (b) Cooked, whole-grain cereals with milk-barley, brown rice, oats, wheat (c) Margarine (d) Whole-grain bread (e) Beverage For lunch, dinner or supper, some of the following: Green leafy vegetable--beet greens, spinach, escarole, lettuce, turnip greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens Baked potatoes (eat the skins) Margarine, salad oils Dried or stewed fruits-especially for dessert at evening meal Take two glasses of fluid between meals and at least eight all told during the day. 

Drink an extra amount of water in summer because part of it is lost in perspiration.

3. EXERCISE. 

Strong abdominal muscles help elimination. If you do not have a firm, well-toned abdominal wall, start the exercises described on page 89. If your job requires much sitting and very little physical activity, you should indulge in regular sports or other forms of exercise. You will feel better generally as well as have fewer tendencies toward constipation.

 4. LIVE SENSIBLY. 

Try as much as you can to avoid the stresses and strains of modern living. Get relaxation to help temper those stresses and strains. Don't worry about constipation. If your physician gives you a clean bill of health on your regular visits, and you follow our suggestions for home checkups (page 33), constipation is not going to harm your health. Usually, these suggestions are enough to prevent or cure constipation. If they are not, and failure to move the bowels causes real discomfort, you may:

5. TAKE AN ENEMA. 

Use a pint of warm water containing a level tea- spoonful of table salt. If you use an enema bag, hold it about two feet above the toilet seat; if you use a bulb, do not press it too hard-the water should flow under gentle pressure. This should help soften the stool so it can be passed easily. You may take an enema every day-but remember that this is a crutch and the sooner you discard it, the better. If an enema does not help, your physician can show you how to insert olive oil into the rectum at night through a catheter, which will soften the stool and make it easier to pass in the morning.

6. LAXATIVES. 

If you cannot take an enema, use a mild laxative such as petrolatum and agar, aromatic cascara sagrada, or milk of magnesia. Do not do this until you have given your bowels a chance to work by themselves. An important step in curing constipation may be to stop taking all laxatives and cathartics. Strange as it seems, laxatives are frequently the cause of constipation and seldom are necessary in its cure. As noted above, mineral oil may be of value. A final warning: Don't give a laxative to a child, and don't take one yourself, if there is any fever, nausea, pain, or general feeling of illness associated with the constipation. It can cause fatal consequences if the condition is caused by appendicitis.

Examine the stomach with an instrument called the gastro scope

 Examine the stomach with an instrument called the gastro scope

Such tests, and others that sometimes may be needed, are well worthwhile. Almost every disturbance of the gastrointestinal tract that makes itself known by indigestion can be helped if identified in time. It is reassuring to know that tumors are rather rare causes of the tremendous number of cases of chronic indigestion. On the other hand, a disease can progress to a serious, even fatal stage while you are engaged in "treating" your indigestion-for example, if you take a cathartic for indigestion which is caused by appendicitis. 

Let your physician decide whether or not you should take any medicine. Realistically, we know that few people will consult a physician for every mild stomach upset.

If it is, indeed, only a mild upset, we recommend one of the following remedies: a level teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in water or, if you prefer, in fruit juice; or 10 to 20 drops of essence of peppermint taken either on a lump of sugar or in a teaspoonful of sugar, and chewed slowly; or a teaspoonful or two of iced creme de men the, or other liqueur or brandy, sipped slowly; or a little wine such as sherry. 

For nausea or cramping, tincture of belladonna is helpful. Adults require 15 to 20 drops in water. Each person must find his proper dosage. Usually, an effective amount will cause some dryness of the mouth or slight blurring of vision. The dosage can be repeated in four to six hours. For more intense abdominal cramps, one to two teaspoonsful of paregoric may be used (see Appendicitis, page 531). 

Lomotil, two tablets four times a day, is prescribed by many physicians for tourist cramps and other gastrointestinal complaints. A persistent "nervous" stomach may be helped by mild sedatives such as phenobarbital, especially if given in combination with tincture of belladonna. However, this medication should be prescribed only by a physician. Aspirin, taken for headache, cold, or rheumatism, sometimes produces stomach distress. 

Digestive system and tension-Ulcer

Those of us who are victims of chronic tension can, and should, take the tension problem to a physician who practices preventive medicine. It's a problem that usually can be solved, quite frequently with simple measures. You can protect your digestive system by precautions against infectious disease. Habits of cleanliness by all members of the family should be encouraged. 

The washing of hands after going to toilet-and especially before eating or handling food-should be a habit as automatic as breathing. Cleanliness is all the more vital because contamination can be spread by people who are not themselves ill. All milk that comes to the table should be pasteurized. In most cities, water coming from the faucet is safe to drink.

 But if you live in the country or go there on vacation, check on the safety of the drinking water. Pork, it must always be emphasized, should be thoroughly cooked since it may contain the parasite that produces trichinosis. Dangers may be lurking in bakery goods, especially those with custard fillings, such as eclairs, on which bacteria thrive. It is important to buy pastry from a clean, reliable bakery and to put it in the refrigerator as soon as you reach home. Make sure the pastry has not been standing, found in the bakery for a long time.

Perhaps no less important in guarding the health of your stomach and intestines is to leave them alone. Don't indulge in enemas to "clean out the colon and get rid of germs." The germs belong there and many people would have far better digestions if they had never heard of the term, "autointoxication." You will do best to remove it from your vocabulary; it is a meaningless, and potentially harmful, concept. 

So, too, are the terms "acid stomach," "alkaline stomach," and "heartburn." You can't cure these nonexistent diseases by taking stomach "sweeteners" or "aids" to digestion, which can do real harm. It is unfortunate that there are so many so-called simple remedies for indigestion on the market. Indigestion is by no means a simple disease. 

In fact, it is not a disease at all but a condition or group of symptoms which can be caused by any number of problems, ranging from migraine (page 582) and heart disease (page 585) to impending influenza or a dinner bolted when you're tense and tired. Even a skilled physician often finds it a long and difficult task to determine the cause and hence the proper treatment, of chronic indigestion. If you have the problem, don't object if your doctor asks you to have a complete set of x-rays so that he can determine whether the indigestion is caused by gallstones, ulcer, or tumor. He may need to examine the stomach with an instrument called the gastro scope. 

Stomach and health problems- Digestive system

The one problem:

The stomach wound refused to heal completely. St. Martin refused any kind of operation that might close the stomach wall, preferring instead to get along with bandages in place of an intact wall. He did get along remarkably well, and cooperated with Beaumont, who decided to take advantage of the unfortunate situation to make some observations. It was this work that led to the isolation of hydro- chloric acid in the stomach. And from it came many other findings. Beaumont was able to note, for example, that the stomach became flushed with blood when St. Martin became angry and that it also moved about with considerable energy during anger.

Organic diseases-including ulcer, cancer, virus infection, food poisoning, and many otherscan, of course, affect the digestive system. You can protect the digestive system by taking many simple, sensible pre- cautions. For one thing, you can be sensible about the food you eat. If you know that some particular food does not agree with you, you should avoid it. If you happen to be a person with a sensitive colon, it may be that raw vegetables or fresh fruits trouble you. Some people are bothered unduly by such gas-forming foods as radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, and eggs. 

Alcoholic beverages may cause great difficulties for some sensitive people, leading to diarrhea or cramps in some and belching in others. Excessive smoking can upset the stomach.

The list of possible trouble- makers is long; individual sensitivities vary greatly. You need to, and can, be your own "alimentary tract detective." You should, of course, eat a balanced diet. Since such a diet will contain well-proportioned amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, without an excess of any, it will put less of a strain on anyone particular digestive function. 

Avoid rapid eating; the stomach works overtime in trying to handle a meal you did not take time to eat properly-and it may start sending out distress signals. None of us can be entirely free of tension. We're all subject on occasion to "nerves." But we can see to it that we make mealtime a reason- ably pleasant, relaxed time, as an aid to both enjoyment of food and its better digestion.