Build A Better Colon (Part 3) Take Your First Steps

Part Three is going to focus on some simple things to do to help you move things a long.  For most of us colonics or enemas are not necessary.  They are beneficial but are not essential.  It is more important to put quality components in the front end than try to remove the crap from the back end.

The three most important things that you can do are relatively cheap and have a profound effect on the body and bowel transit time.

1. DRINK WATER - half your weight in ounces each day.  Wake up and drink a glass water that you put by our bedside the night before.  It will help flush your kidneys as well as get your hydration started.  Water is extracted from the colon. You want to have enough in there to keep things moving along.

2. Eat 35 - 50 grams of fiber each day.  There are two types of fiber to consider: Soluble and Insoluble.
Insoluble is what we need to work on if you have a slow Bowel Transit Time. This type of fiber does not dissolve in water and helps the materials pass through the large bowel.

Sources of insoluble fiber: whole grains, seeds, nuts, barley, brown rice, zucchini, celery, broccoli, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, dark leafy vegetables, grapes, and other fruit.
 

3. Move.  Exercise at least 30 minutes 3 times a week.  More is better.

Build A Better Colon (Part 2) - Why?

Straight Medical Doctors attribute some slow bowel transit time and constipation issues to the following conditions:
Hemorrhoids
Anal Fissures
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Diverticulitis
Abnormal Growths

Complimentary and Alternative Practitioners will often attribute additional problems like allergies, low functioning immune system, head aches, lower abdominal pain, and skin issues to constipation.

Regardless of what philosophy you want to go with having a healthy vital colon positively affects your health.  It is best not to lose the forest for the trees.

Build A Better Colon (Part One) - How to Check Your Bowel Transit Time

Many alternative health practitioners throughout history have said that good health starts in the colon.
The first thing you need to do on  your path is to test your bowel transit time.  Bowel transit time is the amount of time it takes for food to get from your mouth to the toilet. If your Bowel Transit Time is longer than 16 hours you are constipated.  The longer stuff sits in your colon the more trouble it causes.

The bowel transit time will change with the type of food you consume.  However, if you do tend to be longer than 16 hours you have some issues.  If you are only having a bowel movement a few times a week it is time to start figuring out what is holding you up.

In order to check for your Bowel Transit Time some M.D.s will have you swallow some radioactive tabs and then xray your abdomen to track their progress.  A low tech version would be to swallow activated charcoal tabs available from the local health food store.  Take note of time that you swallowed the pills and then their exit.  

How to Speed Up Your Metabolism

Bone Fracture Protocol

Herb and  Supplement protocol for a Bone Fracture

See M.D. or Acupuncturist before taking this protocol.  Do not use any supplements if taking blood thinners until after consulting you doc.

1. Resinall E (Health Concerns) first week then "Tendon and Bone Healing Formula" for the next two weeks.
2. Tumeric 1500 mg 2/day
3. Hypercium 30c 3 pellets 3xday
4. Vitamin K 5mg 2xday
5. Cal/Mag supplement
6. Acupuncture (e-stim)

Nutrition and the Finger Nails (Part 1/2) - Western Nutritional Paradigm

Many of my patients wonder why I look at their nails. The reason is that the finger nail can point to many different patterns of disharmony in the body. This blog post will be the first of a two part series. The first article in this series comes from a "Western"/Naturopathic paradigm. The other is the "Traditional Chinese Medicine" or "Eastern" paradigm. As with all posts on AcuMemphis.com, do not use this to diagnose yourself. Please see a physician,acupuncturist, or other qualified medical practitioner before starting any new supplements.

Here are a list of nail issues with corresponding vitamin/mineral solutions:

Flat angle and or spooning of the nail - Fe deficiency

Soft poor growth - multiple mineral deficiencies, hypochlorhydria

Cuticle Inflammation - Zinc Deficiency

Brittle Nails - hypothroid issue, decreased HCL in body, Protein or Mineral deficiency

Acrodynia (red tips with abnormal nail growth) - Hg toxicity

Ridging - consider decreased mineral absorption, or decreased HCL

Stunted growth with nail deteriorating and thinned out - look for yeast or fungal infection, avoid caffeine, simple carbohydrates, apply topical ointment

 Source: Medical Nutrition from Marz

Please be sure to check back soon for Part 2.

TCM Foods To Get Ready For Fall

Well, we are coming up on the end of summer and moving into fall. The body reacts to the change in climate. Long summer months usually require us to eat foods that are cooling. We have had a good share of hot weather. If we ate our cooling foods like melons, cukes, fish, and stayed away from hotter foods like beef, lamb, peppers, etc. the transition would be easier. Dryness is a characteristic of Fall weather. You will notice that the air will make your skin dry and itchy. What we need to do from a TCM standpoint is to start eating foods that nourish the fluids of the body to alleviate some of that dryness that came from the heat of the summer. These foods include: Fruits: apricot Asian Pear lemon mango persmimmon strawberry watermelon Vegetables: cabbage carrot celery cucumber green bean parsley squash turnip Protiens: Mung beans tofu soymilk