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| Written by Thomas Cowan, MD |
| January 1 2000 |
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Question: I am a 35 year old male and I have been troubled with intermittent abdominal pain for many years. The pain is kind of crampy and seems to come and go in no particular pattern. My primary care doctor has done the full workup, upper and lower GI, x-rays, blood tests, etc. and tells me everything is normal and that I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). I asked him about my bowel patterns (about every other day) and was told this is normal. Can you help me with this as I just don't feel quite right. Answer: The question you bring up is one that I often hear in my practice. At the heart of the question is "what are normal bowel habits?" Surprisingly, in this seemingly fundamental subject there is little consensus and almost no discussion. You may be surprised to learn that in all the years of medical school and postgraduate training, the subject of normal bowel habits was never brought up or discussed. I guess we were supposed to sort this out on our own. Most doctors feel that everyone has his own unique pattern which is normal for him—some people have bowel movements two or three times a day and others two or three times per week. Either is considered OK. However, the research of Denis Burkett, a British physician who lived and worked in Africa for many years, contradicts this view. He noted that Africans eating their traditional diet have between one to three substantial bowel movements every day and that the transit time (amount of time between ingestion and excretion) is 24 hours or less. He believed that there was a connection between the ease of elimination these people experienced and the very low incidence of various bowel diseases (hemorrhoids, appendicitis, colitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, gall bladder disease and cancer of the colon.) Dr. Burkett attributed this robust bowel health and absence of bowel disease to the high amount of fiber, both soluble and insoluble in the native African Diet. This is certainly part of the explanation, although high amounts of fermented foods (which contribute to beneficial flora in the intestines), use of bitter vegetables and herbs (which stimulate the bile and therefore aid in the digestion of fats) and liberal consumption of foods rich in vitamin D such as insects and dried shrimp (vitamin D is very important for the health of the colon) are also likely factors. Another factor is the African method for preparing high fiber foods, which invariably involves soaking and fermenting, because while dietary fiber speeds elimination time, high fiber foods that have not been prepared correctly can be very irritating and can actually damage the villi in the small intestine, leading to poor absorption. It seems, therefore, that the key is not solely the fiber content (which is why adding Metamucel, a source of insoluble fiber to the normal American diet is at best a poor solution) but the whole diet, including preparation methods, as well as daily exercise such as walking, gardening, swimming, etc. Your problem sounds like IBS from constipation. Having this lifelong bowel pattern gradually weakens the walls of the intestine, leading to a tendency to spasm. Often a diet that leads to this type of bowel pattern produces deficiencies in minerals, especially magnesium, which further exacerbates the problem. My guess is that if you do the following, your bowel movements will become regular inside of one month, your cramps will end and in general you will feel an improved sense of well being. 1. Eat a more traditional diet as outlined in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, with emphasis on plenty of properly prepared whole grains, and vitamin D rich foods like butter and shell fish. Cod liver oil as a supplement will provide additional vitamin D. 2. Every morning, grind one tablespoon flax seeds in a mini grinder and add to 4-8 ounces Beet Kvass. Soak five minutes and drink. This is an excellent source of fiber, enzymes and special fatty acids.) 3. Before bed, use 1/2-1 teaspoon Swedish Bitters in warm water. (This will help stimulate the bile.) 4. Three times a week, for one hour, put a castor oil compress over the abdomen. (This will help stimulate and detoxify the intestinal tract.) You will need some cold pressed castor oil, flannel clothes, plastic wrap and an electric heating pad. Saturate the flannel with castor oil and lay it over the abdomen. Cover with saran wrap and lay the heating pad on for one to two hours. The pad should set from medium to high—don't burn yourself. Soaked flannel can be stored in a plastic bag and reused. 5. Engage in some moderate, enjoyable exercise such as walking, swiming, rebounding or gardening at least 20 to 30 minutes per day. Copyright: ©1999 Tom Cowan. All Rights Reserved. First published in Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation Health Journal About the Author
Dr. Cowan is the author of The Fourfold Path to Healing (New Trends Publishing), a companion book to Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. He a board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a regular contributor to our "Ask the Doctor" column and the Foundation's quarterly journal, and has lectured throughout the US and Canada. He has three grown children and currently practices medicine in San Francisco where he resides with his wife Lynda Smith Cowan. His book The Fourfold Path to Healing is now available from Amazon.com and NewTrends Publishing. Visit Dr. Cowan's website at fourfoldhealing.com. Â Â Comments (4)
Red Cabbage Sauerkraut
written by gokhals, Sep 20 2011
That intermittent crampy abdominal pain goes away after eating as little as a spoonful of sauerkraut. If the pain is allowed to persist untreated, a lose bowel movement frequently occurs. You will quickly figure out the foods that caused this and refrain from eating them. You do not want that. You want to be able to eat and digest a variety of foods. Its awful, in my opinion to restrict your diet to the point where you get little nutritive value from foods and as consequence are forced to resort to fake food and synthetic vitamin supplementation. My thesis is, your body is unable to thoroughly digest some food you ate - for various reasons. I suspect the enzymes in the sauerkraut help. This works for me every time. Wish I had known about this earlier. Would have saved me a lot of intestinal grief and ill health.
raw fruit
written by Ronny, Dec 06 2010
So, if improperly prepared fiber-rich foods are irritating, should we not eat fruits like apples raw. I ask this because I have an apple every morning. Could this lead to problems?
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| Last Updated on Monday, April 27 2009 15:17 |
Thomas Cowan, MD, discovered the work of the two men who would have the most influence on his career while teaching gardening as a Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland, South Africa. He read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price and a fellow volunteer explained the arcane principles of Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic agriculture. These events inspired him to pursue a medical degree. Cowan graduated from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 1984. After his residency in Family Practice at Johnson City Hospital in Johnson City, New York, he set up an anthroposophical medical practice in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Dr. Cowan has served as vice president of the Physicians Association for Anthroposophical Medicine and is a founding board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
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Also, huge correlation between low serum FT3 and constipation; when FT3 is low, you're never going to be "normal" no matter what you eat. If FT3 is much less than 4.5, you're almost certainly going to be constipated. My "normal" for two decades was not normal until I went on T3 meds.