I have a lot of trouble with my bowels. Each day I eat high-fibre cereal and often add extra bran to my food but I still don’t seem to manage to have a regular ‘once-a-day’ bowel movement. I feel tired and bloated and know that I’m carrying extra weight as a result of it. I don’t want to take laxatives but sometimes feel it’s the only solution.
Jacqui, Ipswich
There are two types of fibre: soluble and insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre, found in most vegetables and fruit, helps slow down digestion and reduce cholesterol, while insoluble fibre is mainly from the outer husk of grains and some veggies. Insoluble fibre is added to high-fibre cereals and is completely indigestible, passing through the digestive tract like a broom to bulk up stools and clean the intestines of trapped waste. The problem, however, is that as it picks up waste, it also takes with it some essential minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc, necessary for bone strength, energy, wound repair and sexual function. Therefore, while some insoluble fibre is beneficial, too much can leave you feeling tired, depleted and blocked up.
There are a number of considerations when it comes to a healthy bowel:
Eat between 30-35g fibre each day.
Eat both soluble and insoluble fibre.
Don’t rush your meals.
Sit at a table to eat.
Allow time to rest after eating.
Drink six to eight glasses of water a day.
Exercise.
Imagine how our hunter gatherer ancestors lived and what they ate. Food was necessary to survive and used to fuel the body. They ate the food nature provided — unprocessed, unrefined plant foods that were naturally high in fibre. Another extremely important factor is water — the only liquid our hunter gatherer ancestors would have drunk was common H2O. Water helps to loosen and soften the stools, helping them to pass more easily through the bowel. Also, when we’re stressed, the systems in our bodies contract and shut down, interfering with the digestion and excretory process.
Finally, of course, our ancestors were out there hunting and gathering and getting lots of exercise. In our world, where hunting and gathering involves a drive to the shops and a quick spin around the supermarket with the shopping trolley, most of us don’t get enough exercise. For our bowels to move, we need to move.
The table below is a great example of one day’s food intake that meets the recommended daily intake (RDI) of fibre and kilojoules for weight loss. It highlights how important it is to consciously add vegetables, beans and salad at all times possible to meet the daily requirement and how adding any unnecessary foods can blow out the kilojoule allowance.
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