Taking Laxatives
Taking Laxatives For The Wrong Reasons
Fiber Is Best - Unless a person's particular medical condition dictates otherwise, taking laxatives constantly is generally not healthy, and in some instances can be downright dangerous. Fibers are nature's natural laxatives, helping move food through the digestive tract. If we eat a healthy well-balanced diet, chances are we're getting the laxative action we need, and seldom have a need for taking laxatives, except for an occasional bout of constipation. Besides fiber, laxatives can consist of lubricants, stool softeners, bowel stimulants, or salts.
Types Of Laxatives - Usually if we get enough roughage or fiber and sufficient fluids, they combine and naturally stimulate the intestines, causing them to pass material through. Salts work by drawing water from other parts of the body into the digestive system, helping soften the material that is passing through. While effective, excessive salt intake can cause dehydration as well as other possible problems. Stimulants act to stimulate the digestive tract motions which push food through, and softeners lubricate the intestinal tract and also draw fluid into the intestines.
There are those whose reason or taking laxatives on a regular basis is based on a belief that in doings so, they are simply helping a natural body function along. Sometimes a person doesn't have bowel movements like clockwork, which isn't really an abnormal condition at all. We usually have bowel movements about the same time every day, but deviations from this schedule are usually quite natural and don't call for taking laxatives, at least not until signs of constipation are evident.
One of the problems one can run into by taking laxatives more often than they are needed, is that since laxatives cause food to pass rapidly through the intestinal tract, many nutrients fail to be absorbed into the bloodstream, and instead are discharged with the rest of the bodily waste. Someone hooked on taking laxatives regularly could actually be slowly starving himself or herself.
Taking Laxatives To Lose Weight? Don't. - Too many people are relying on taking laxatives regularly under the mistaken and dangerous assumption that in doing so they can lose weight. Taking laxatives is one of the worst things one can do, aside from simple starvation, to achieve weight loss, rapid or otherwise. Besides the aforementioned problem of losing valuable nutrients, a person can become dehydrated from excessive laxatives, a very unhealthy and potentially dangerous situation. Laxatives, as noted above, cause fluids to be diverted to the intestinal tract, causing dehydration elsewhere in the body's tissues.
Two Things Happen, Both Bad - Two things happen when taking laxatives to lose weight. As food is made to pass through the digestive tract more rapidly, fewer calories are taken in. This might seem to be a good thing, as the body would then burn calories that are stored in fat. The problem is, as fewer calories are taken in, fewer valuable nutrients are taken in as well. In the extreme, one might as well drink water, zero calories but zero nutrients. The other thing that happens is fluids are drawn to the digestive tract to help with elimination, and taken away from the rest of the body. Fluids contribute to most of our body's weight. Less fluid, less pounds. Weight is lost, but at the cost of dehydration, and general poorer health. As fluids are taken in, the weight comes back, so nothing has been gained, except the body has taken a beating in the meantime.
There really is no good reason to for taking laxatives regularly. If there seems to be a need for doing so, it should only be done under a doctor's care. Taken at the right time and in the proper amount, a laxative can be a helpful. When laxative intake is excessive however, it can be very harmful.