If your bowel is not functioning correctly, it is your body's way of telling you that something is not right. Whether it is diet, lack of exercise, stress or maybe a follow-on from food poisoning, you need to start listening to your body.
Essentially you may be constipated or have diarrhoea.
One [healthy] approach to constipation is to drink more water. The figures say that we ought to drink about 8 glasses. This equates to a minimum of 2 litres – if you not doing any exercise. If you are on an exercise programme then you will need to increase your intake of water to more than 2 litres. Notice that this is an intake of water rather than fluids. So caffeine and alcohol intake has to be monitored as they are both diuretics i.e. they force water out of the body.
If you eat food with a high water content e.g. fruit and vegetables then this will add to your daily water intake as will all foods. There seems to be a popular school of thought of not to drink water with your meal – it may hamper the digestion process.
Most people would probably resort to increasing their fibre intake to remedy a sluggish bowel. However what form should you take? Most people would probably try wholemeal bread. It may be worth balancing you consumption of bread with eating grains e.g. Porridge oats. The wholemeal flour [wheat bran] can lead to an irritation of the intestinal lining.
All the best,
Alex
Most people can remember a time when they did not have IBS. Click here to claim back your life.
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