Constipation and Its Correction by Exercise

Part 1

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by underscores.

Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.

LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1435 Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius

Constipation and Its Correction by Exercise

C. O. Benson

(Instructor of Physical Education, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.)

HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS GIRARD, KANSAS

Copyright, 1929, Haldeman-Julius Company

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

Page

Causes of Constipation 7

Exercises for the Prevention and Correction of Constipation 20

CONSTIPATION AND ITS CORRECTION BY EXERCISE

Constipation or dyskinesia is one of the important influences in making people old before their time. The breaking down of the faculties and functions supposed to be due to old age is in reality due to the accumulation of waste and bacteria in the intestines. A habit of life which keeps the bowels clean will set “old age” back to the time when men will enjoy perfect health to the utmost limit of a normal span of years (at the present time the normal span is fifty-eight years).

There are many people who think they are quite normal, though they never had a regular daily movement of the bowels without the aid of laxatives in years. Yet, these same persons will not let the gasoline line on their automobile stay clogged one day.

The body is a very delicate organism and it must be taken care of in a thoughtful fashion. A poisoned night is spent if a day is missed without a bowel movement, for the body cannot carry waste a great length of time without serious injury to it. Under a normal life the bowels should move at least once a day without artificial aid.

Results of Constipation

When food remains too long in the body it decays, putrefies, and develops into very active poisons. With this decaying comes a depressing feeling caused by these wastes being absorbed into the blood. Then, to make matters worse, this putrification retards the bowel action, thus keeping the poisons in the body. Thus, constipation results. Some of these poisons are not so harmful, yet others are very capable of infecting the body, and these enter the blood stream via the intestines and reach other organs where they may cause a chronic disease.

Constipation brings many other ills besides that of poisoning and infecting the body. If this decay occurs too frequently, very serious infections may develop. Frequently diseases associated with old age, such as rheumatism, kidney trouble, and disturbances of the gall bladder are the result of a constipated condition which has run for years. The retained masses of putrefied food in the digestive tract many times displaces and distends the bowels with the ultimate result that it reacts on the nervous system and the circulation of the liver, and causes much suffering. Appendicitis is often traced to the continuous constipated condition.

Other results of constipation can be dizziness, offensive breath, headache, loss of pep and vitality, bad temper, poor complexion, stomach disorders, skin eruptions, sleepless nights, loss of appetite, stupor, and piles.

CAUSES OF CONSTIPATION

Lack of Exercise

One who leads an inactive life must expect to have a flabby body. Lack of exercise lowers the tone of the whole body and especially the abdominal viscera. This is an unhealthy way to live, for it offers no incentive to the stomach and intestines for the vigorous digestion of food. A good workout daily will stimulate and tone the intestines for better functioning.

Unless your work involves a great deal of outdoor walking, a daily walk cannot be over-estimated in the treatment of constipation. Learn to stride along with the head and chest up, breathing deeply. Walking in this fashion will do as much good the last ten minutes as the first ten. This exercise will stimulate the appetite and increase the physical and mental tone of the body. It is a life-enriching as well as life-purifying habit.

Learn to take a few workouts in the gym every week, that is, if you are physically able. However, before you plan your workout have your health doctor plan your program and limitations and what it should include.

In the back of the book will be found exercises that will aid in the correction of constipation. These exercises will be found very beneficial if used daily.

Part 2

Improper Diet

One of the chief causes of constipation is improper diet. Correct feeding alone may cure constipation. Even this rule has its exception, for there is a form of constipation associated with proper diet. This brings out the point that it is essential to have a health examination frequently by your family doctor, for he will give you correct knowledge of the condition of your body immediately.

Before taking up the matter of food, it must be remembered that the purpose of this book is to give exercises to cure constipation and not to plan a diet. Your doctor will give you a correct diet. However, it is essential that the food should be chewed until it is almost a pulp before swallowing. This will aid the stomach and whole digestive tract in assimilating the food.

The spirit of happiness and cheerfulness is important when eating. It cannot be over-emphasized. In fact, laughter during the meal time is very good for the digestive tract in digesting the food. This buoyancy of the mind will aid a great deal in the correction of constipation. It is the only exercise that can be used successfully while eating. Do not be downcast while eating, as this will prevent normal digestion.

The typical breakfast is usually orange juice, eggs, toast or rolls and coffee. This breakfast will satisfy hunger and supply energy, but it does not meet the demands of health. It is true that this breakfast includes the necessary nutriments, but it does not contain bulk or roughage, which are sometimes desirable in order to give the bowels something to work upon.

In order to give the body foods with roughage bran may be used in moderation. However, bran does not agree with everyone. The indulgence in this food should depend upon the advice of your physician.

Fruit will cure constipation quicker than any constipation remedies ever advertised. Oranges, orange juice, figs, dates, and prunes are very good for the prevention as well as the correction of constipation. It is a very excellent idea to have some form of fruit for every meal. It cannot be over-emphasized.

Vegetables are an absolute necessity in everyone’s diet. Nature gives us food values that cannot be estimated in importance. They clean the interior of the body and act as a broom in the digestive tract, that is, if they are eaten twice a day. They are a mechanical necessity to the intestines. Their bulk is absolutely needed to stimulate the intestines to activity.

Foods which contain no mechanical stimulation such as purées and gruel are open to objection. Pastries are very constipating due to the pasty element, for the secretions of the digestive tract cannot assimilate them. The psychic effect of a monotonous diet may cause poor digestion resulting in constipation. Such foods as eggs, milk, cheese--particularly cottage, pot smearcase and cream, white rice, tea, chocolate are said to be constipating because they seem to slow up the action of the intestinal tract.

On the whole, eat foods that originally gave the human race its vigor, and you will get all the food values, the sunshine, and fresh air, which that food has absorbed during the days of its growth.

Laxatives

Laxatives do not cure constipation. They may serve to make it chronic. Yet one fourth of the people use them regularly. They only give artificial stimulation to the bowel movements. Every laxative, no matter how innocent in itself, is a habit forming drug for the bowels. They lash the bowel into action once or twice or a few times. After that the bowels will refuse to work without a laxative administered. The dose becomes larger and larger until heroic doses are consumed. NO LAXATIVE OR ANY FORM OF BOWEL WASHING SHOULD BE TAKEN UNLESS ADVISED BY A PHYSICIAN.

Posture

Poor posture ranks on a par with lack of exercise and improper diet in the cause of constipation. Poor posture aids in the slipping of the abdominal organs out of their respective places, resulting in a tangled mass which will act as an interference on the normal bowel action. As a general rule, poor posture hinders deep breathing. Thus, there is no compressing movement upon the organs of the abdominal regions, such as is found in a normal upright person. Deep, vigorous breathing is an aid to a normal bowel movement. Good posture is an absolute necessity for the freedom of the bowel acting.

During Defecation

Faulty posture during defecation causes insufficient emptying or difficulty in moving the bowels at all. Many closet seats are too high. The proper altitude is one that brings the knees a little higher than the posterior.

A high closet seat can be remedied by using a footstool to support the feet, thus bringing the body into proper posture.

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