A-Z of Fitness: “C” is for Colon Health
Your colon, also known as your large intestine, is rather important in your overall health. The colon has three main functions:
~To digest and absorb nutrients from food
~To concentrate fecal material by absorbing fluid (and electrolytes) from it
~To store and control evacuation of fecal material
Statistics state that 1 in 17 people, in the United States, will develop colorectal cancer. Deaths from colorectal cancer rank third after lung and prostate cancer for men and third after lung and breast cancer for women. Diet (that’s what you eat regularly, not diets you go on), obesity, and smoking are all linked to colon problems.
Colon cleansing has gotten quite a bit of hype recently. This is a subject that is heavily debatable. Personally, I have done colon cleanses (the Master Cleanse/Lemonade Cleanse) before and while I did in fact drop weight, it was never sustained, being that it was mostly water weight, and not to mention very challenging. However, I have noticed that my metabolism has drastically changed since introducing this vigorous method into my life. Is it solely a function of the cleanse? That I don’t know, but I have chosen to never do it again. There is the argument that the body is designed to know what to do to maintain homeostasis/a balance and that introduction of alternate methods is what messes with it. On many levels I agree with this view. What I want to say on this, however, is that the nutritional make-up and design of our food and environment has made leaps and bounds in changes and I would say that our bodies are not able to keep up and deal properly with these added toxins…thus cancer, obesity, and general overall health is becoming a larger problem. One could say natural “evolution” of our bodies, is not keeping up with the fast paced, dramatic “evolution” of our food, environments, and world.
I used to be involved with a man who had ulcerative colitis which is characteristic of bleeding ulcers in the colon. His lifestyle prior to developing UC was not any different than any other person’s…but the lifestyle he had after was, and will forever be, more challenging, difficult, and restrictive than the average person’s. Not only was what he could eat greatly reduced in options, he was constantly in pain, having to be near a bathroom, anemic, and losing weight. He ended up having to medically leave his job as a pilot, a job that at 29 years of age had become too difficult to do comfortably and safely with his illness. It was also greatly effecting the happiness of our relationship as his emotional stability was unpredictable and understandably so. He battled UC for roughly 9 years and after researching every possible healing method, trying almost all of them, and still having a low quality of life…he had a colectomy where his entire colon was removed.
I tell this story to highlight the importance of colon health. His illness was unpredictable, yet was it avoidable?
Pay attention to what foods upset your digestive system…then don’t bombard your body with those foods and do so only moderately or never if it is truly painful. See a medical doctor if you have digestive pains that do not resolve themselves w/in 24-48 hours or with a bowel movement. Gas pains can be rather painful, but it’s only gas. If blood is involved in a bowel movement, see a medical doctor immediately. Take probiotics to maintain healthy digestive flora in the intestines.
There are so many illnesses that are cropping up in the digestive system these days…I, again, question the ingredients in the foods we are eating and the quality of our environment.
You’re probably wondering what specific foods are good for keeping your digestive system rolling and functioning as it should. Here’s a short and simple list that should clear all your doubts, and get you on your way to better health…
- Water
A no-brainer, among the benefits of drinking water are improved colon function and constipation relief. Drink half your body weight in ounces and you’ll be fine! - Fruits & Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are one of the best food groups that relieve constipation and a sluggish bowel in my opinion. Try eating as much fruit and vegetables as you want for a few days and see how you feel. - Grains
Eating foods like oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain bread, pasta can help you up your fiber intake, but eating too much fiber can have the opposite effect of actually causing constipation. Make sure you balance it out with a lot of water, fruits and vegetables.
There are currently 1.6 billion overweight adults in the world. In just 10 years, the WHO (World Health Organization) projects that number will grow by 40%.
One cannot go anywhere without some aspect of health and fitness exposure. Advertisements, businesses, gyms, media, “health food”, skinny people, overweight people, obese people, fit people, and not-so-fit people are everywhere…and if you were to take a moment, you’d realize you have some pretty strong opinions about the fact that it IS everywhere, staring you down, in your face, and taking up space in your head.
The fitness and health industry is a MULTI-billion dollar industry and there are more people walking around saying that there isn’t a health problem than those acknowledging there is and actually doing something about it. Sure, there are those that realize there’s something going on, that humanity is growing, not only in numbers, but wider across the midsection….and knowing that, they do nothing.
In a recent Forbes article it states: “Experts say it is not surprising that people across the globe are increasingly becoming overweight. They blame urbanization and the influx of Western ways of life including myriad fast food choices, little exercise and stressful jobs.” But is it just that?
Ok…we have tons (no pun intended) of evidence, we have ancient methods that, in my opinion work just as good, if not better than the most recent ones, that promote health and fitness and as a whole, humanity is struggling. We also have countless “fad” diets out there that aren’t making the difference!
Is it purely laziness? Is it denial? Is it genetics? Well, for the last come back for “G”.
At any rate…we have a multi-billion dollar industry that seems to be helping some, only the majority is simply getting fatter, unhealthier, and more uneducated about health–which I do believe is a key to the real problem.
Think before you invest in health products, diets, or programs…talk to people that have done it, how it worked for them, were there long term results, problems that came afterwards, is it something they would have their mother do?? Throwing money into something isn’t the same as being committed to a real transformation in it. For example, simply putting gas in your car doesn’t provide for longevity in your car’s life…there are other things you will have to do to upkeep the quality of your vehicle, and one usually researches pretty heavily before purchasing a car…why wouldn’t you do the same for your vehicle in life–your body?!
Aerobic means “with oxygen”, so Anaerobic means “with out oxygen”. Anaerobic exercise is short-lasting, high-intensity activity, where your body’s demand for oxygen exceeds the oxygen supply available. Sounds a little scary, right? Well, anaerobic exercise is not only good for you, but it will produce incredible results that aerobic exercise alone does not. In Aerobic Exercise a lot of your energy is found in the oxygen you breathe in. Anaerobic Exercise relies on energy sources stored in your muscles and does not depend on oxygen. Interval training, sprints (cycling, running, etc.), jumping rope, isometrics, or really any exercise that involves rapid bursts of energy constitute as Anaerobic Exercise.
So why do it? Since Anaerobic Exercise is using your muscles intensely for a short period of time, the benefits include:
~Developing stronger muscles
~Improvement of your cardio-respiratory fitness and health (this is accomplished because you are improving your VO2 max–ie. the highest amount of oxygen one can consume during exercise)
~Increase your capacity to withstand the buildup of waste substances (ie. lactic acid) and remove them from the body. This means your endurance and ability to fight fatigue will improve.
Anaerobic exercise helps a person become leaner and manage their weight better because, while it burns fewer calories over all, it does build more muscle mass which uses larger amounts of calories ongoingly. It also greatly benefits the heart and lungs in the same way, by building lean muscle.
Fast, high intensity exercise causes a temporary shortage of oxygen to the muscles. This shortage causes the muscles to work anaerobically and a by product called “lactic acid” is produced. Lactic acid (a good letter “L” in Fitness and Health) causes muscle fatigue when it builds up in muscles. This is why Anaerobic exercises are not long lasting. Over time and with training, the muscles become better equipped to deal with the buildup of lactic acid and the amount of exercise before muscle fatigue is greatly increased. This helps, in the long run, with endurance and strength in both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
Anaerobic exercise is not for beginners and those who want to incorporate it into their workouts should build a strong base level of fitness beforehand. And for those that are adding Anaerobic Exercise into their routines, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to warm up and stretch.
Self-Explanatory
I’m sure you’ve heard of the movie…and if you haven’t heard of the movie, I bet you’ve “Super-sized” something at least once at the golden arches. Watch this vivid and very informative movie/documentary on one man’s quest to discover exactly how damaging fast food is to the human body. You’ll be shocked! Oh, and then you may want to check in with yourself as to how much fast food you consume. Enjoy this for free!
Whoa! What happened?
Has it really been since July that I updated this and shared w/ my fabulous followers? Well, my deepest apologies for disappearing! I am back…sometimes life happens all at once and for me, I’m sorting through some changes in my own. I’ve missed writing for you…I’ve missed writing for me. Thank you for continuing to visit the Healthpreneur’s Blog! You are appreciated!
