THE BEST MEDICINEf- LAUGH! FIRST DOSE There are always two ways to look at everything, I guess. My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion last October, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife noticed me staring and asked me, "Do you know her?". "Yes", I sighed, "She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since." "My God!" says my wife, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?" Got a Joke? E-mail it to us: frontpage@collectivewizdom .com |
| THE BEST MEDICINE- LAUGH! SECOND DOSE Last night, my friend and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." She got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out my wine |
Exercises That Increase Bowel Movements
Related Links
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February 28, 2009, Last Updated August 13, 2010
By Susan M. Callahan, Health Editor and Featured Columnist
In a way, bowel movements are the single most important
body function that most of us never think carefully about. We
all know our cholesterol counts, our blood pressure, even our
blood sugar levels. But few of us know the basic information
we need to know to keep waste from building up in our bodies.
It's as if we spent our life savings decorating our house but we
never bother to take the trash out. Not smart.
If you've read our other articles on healthy bowels (see
Conditions: Constipation), you know that bowels movements
need 3 things to occur: water, fiber and oil. But they also need
a 4th element ---regular exercise. Several research studies
have found a strong positive correlation between vigorous,
regular exercise and regular bowel movements.
One important mega-study conducted by Oxford University
examined various other studies involving 20,630 men and
women. What they found in this "study of studies" is that
women have fewer bowel movements than men, that women
are less likely than men to have a daily bowel movement, that
eating vegetables increases your bowel regularity, that people
who eat meat are far more constipated, and that vigorous
exercises helps to move your bowels. They also found that,
among men, drinking alcohol helps to move bowels more than
it does in women, but that's another topic.
What kinds of exercises help to increase bowel movements and
bowel frequency? First, the exercise must be regular.
Occasional exercises better than none at all but regular exercise
works best. Intensity counts also.
Here from a survey of existing research and our readers and
staff are the 5 best exercises that increase bowel movements:
1. Jump rope. Jumping rope for 20 minutes to half an hour
every day helps to increase blood flow to the entire body,
including the intestines. The up-and-down movements can be
hard on your legs in you are out of shape, and hard on your
knees if you are overweight. Try jumping without the rope
just a little bit off the floor on a carpeted floor r exercise mat.
This will soften the impact on your knees.
2. Brisk walking. Briskly walking 35 to 45 minutes a day was
cited by most of our readers as the single best exercise for
bowel movements. The emphasis is on brisk walking. Strolls
help our general health, helping to lower blood pressure and
sugar levels as you know from other articles we have done, but
brisk walking helps most to move the intestinal tract. Stride out
long and strong, shoulders back and arms swinging. You don't
have to hit the ground hard. Just glide briskly.
3. Yoga. Two poses in particular are effective in moving the
bowels. The first is the cross over leg stretch. Lie on your back.
Raise your left leg and cross it over the right leg. When you
finish your left leg should form a big "T" with your right leg.
Don't worry of you're not flexible enough to make a true T.
Just start. You will feel a slight stretch in your hip. Now. Do the
other leg. Repeat 5 times on each leg.
The other pose which helps bowel movement and also erectile
dysfunction is the warrior pose. The reason it works is that it
is form of squat.
4. Lunges. Lunging principally works your thigh muscles. Bu a
secondary benefit is that they also move your intestines as you
dip lower into the lunge. Remember, the intestines are over 25
feet long in an average adult, and when you bend deeply, you
are stretching about a third of your intestinal tract. So, do at
least 5 deep plunges every other day.
5. Squats. There's a reason we go to the bathroom while in a
natural seated position. Squatting aligns more of the intestinal
tract downward. However, merely sitting in this position is
ineffective. You have to do "three-quarter squats" to move
your bowels. To do a three-quarter squat, bend down half as
far as you would bend to sit in a chair.
Bonus Tip
6. Bicycle Crunch. As the top picture shows, the bicycle crunch
is an intense crunch which works your entire abdomen. It also
gently moves your intestinal tract from side to side and
facilitates bowel movements.
Find out more ways to improve your bowel health: Bowel
Movements Indicate Your Overall Health / 3 Keys to Normal
Bowels / The Bowel Color Chart--What The Color Means /
Why Americans Read In Bathrooms-The Hidden Epidemic of
Constipation / Child Constipation -Top 10 Natural Remedies
More Interesting Links:
Diet and Exercise-A Simple Plan
Snoring Increases Your Risk of Stroke 67%
Six Pack Abs--Step By Step
Foods That Reduce Blood Pressure
Foods That Shrink Your Waist
Owning a Cat Reduces Risk of Stroke 40%
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