Hi all,
I did a recent lecture for the hawaii vegetarian society which is now recorded and on youtube. It is titled “Avoid a Visit to the ER with a Healthy Vegan Diet”. The link is :
Check it out!
Synopsis: I talk about some of the common complaints I see as an Emergency Physician, and talk about how these diseases can be prevented with diet. I also talk about medication side effects. Some topics include Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack. Lastly, I address constipation and afflictions that can occur as a result of constipation including hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, diverticulitis, and rectal prolapse.
I am going to address constipation in this blog, since it is easily preventable by some changes in your diet. You will see results relatively quickly when you make dietary changes. Constipation is a common problem I see in the Emergency Room. On any given day, I may see about 1-2 patients with constipation. There are probably countless others that have less severe constipation that do not make it to the emergency room as well! In the lecture I talk about how 90% of Americans do not eat 30 grams fiber daily which is the recommended daily intake. Fiber consumption is about half the daily recommended amount.
I go over the fiber content of different foods. In summary, animal products such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy have NO fiber. If you are eating these products and have constipation, you are setting yourself up for misery. Only plant products such as beans, nuts, veggies, and fruits contain fiber. I recommend at least 4-6 servings daily for my patients. The processing of food takes out their fiber content. Processed foods include rice, pasta, cookies, crackers, chips, and noodles. You should limit your intake of these when you are constipated. However, processed foods listed above still have more fiber than animal products which have none. Even a cup of white rice has 0.6 g of fiber. The less processed version (brown rice) is always preferable in terms of fiber content. You will likely lose weight when you increase the fiber in your diet as the bulk will cause earlier satiety. The weight will come off slowly, but weight that comes off slowly is more likely to stay off!
Other agents that can cause constipation include medications, such as diuretics and especially narcotics. Exercise is also important to prevent constipation and drinking water helps as well. I recommend patients drink half their weight in ounces of fluid unless they have limitations due to heart failure or kidney failure. For instance, if you are 100 pounds, you should be drinking 50 ounces of water at least daily. You may need more if you are sweating due to exercise or excessive heat. How about juicing? I prefer smoothies because juicing takes out the fiber in the fruit or vegetables. I also recommend that patients stay away from diuretics, such as soda with caffeine, coffee, or tea, since that may cause frequent urination, causing the stool to be more dry and hard.
If you are really desperate, they do have many over the counter laxatives and enemas at Long’s or whatever pharmacy you prefer. You can ask the pharmacist. However, some patients become dependent on these laxatives for a bowel movement. Some patients add metamucil to their food. I am not against this practice, but it would probably be better to add something with nutrients such as fruits and veggies which are also delicious to your diet; instead of using metamucil. I hope after reading this post, you will never be constipated again, and not need to resort to these practices!