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Facts about slow bowel movement

1 There is no right number of daily or weekly bowel movements. Three times a day or three times a week may be normal depending on the person. In most cases, constipation is a temporary phenomenon and not a serious one. Slow bowel movements affect almost everyone at one time or another. 2 Don’t ignore the urge to defecate, it can lead to constipation one day. Poor diet and lack of exercise are two of the most common causes. Slow or sluggish muscle contractions in colon cause the stool to move through it too slowly. It occurs when the colon absorbs too much water from the passing food, making it hard and dry. Haphazard medications, prolonged bedrest, irritable bowel syndrome etc. contribute to painful defecation. 3 Abdominal cramps, gas, and bloating are the common complaints that sometimes lead to haemorrhoids or anal fissures. Psychological disturbances can make it a chronic problem.

Constipation isn?t a problem, if a study published in this month?s American Journal of Gastroenterology is to be believed. ?Chronic constipation is uncomfortable, but not dangerous,? says Prof. Stefan M?ller-Lissner, lead author of the study.

According to him and his colleagues, the commonly given advice for consuming dietary fibre, increased water intake and irregular use of unprescribed laxatives do not help much in curbing the disease. M?ller-Lissneressor, who works at the Humboldt University, Berlin, says, ?Although dietary fibre helps form stool and eases bowel movement as well as its frequency, it has got no scientifically proven cure formulae to treat chronic constipation.?

The new study has found that a low-fibre diet is not the cause of a chronic constipation where patients suffer for weeks or have recurring attacks for a long time.

Only 20 per cent of the participants in the research, having slow transmission rate of stools, benefited from fibrous food intake, reports the article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. It quoted results that showed that some people even showed negative symptoms after consuming dietary fibre.Even extra fluid ingestion didn?t improve the bowel movement of the subjects in many cases. Unless there is evidence of dehydration, the data do not indicate that increasing fluid intake can treat constipation. M?ller-Lissner comments, ?Patients should no longer be worried by ineffective restrictions.?