As someone concerned about his or her health, you need to be aware of the various types of bowel problems you may encounter. Knowing about these colon problems and their symptoms is the first step toward receiving proper treatment.

Colon Polyps

One of the most common forms of bowel problems is the colon polyp. While colon polyps are usually benign (non-cancerous), they can sometimes be a sign of colon cancer. Unlike many other bowel problems, colon polyps do not present symptoms and are usually diagnosed after a routine examination. Since the risk of developing colon polyps increases after age 50, it’s a good idea to have regular exams for polyps after this point. This is particularly true if you have a relative that has experienced colon cancer or if you have a history of colon polyps in your family.

Colon polyps, whether cancerous or not, are usually easy to remove with a colonoscopy. In cases where the colon polyps are exceptionally large, however, it may be necessary to perform surgery in order to remove the polyps.

Diverticulosis

Diverticulosis is a condition characterized by weakened muscles in the colon, caused by the mucosa lining not receiving enough blood from the arterioles. As a result, the mucosa “outpockets” into the colon wall. In about 80% of the cases, diverticulosis does not cause a problem. In the other 20% of patients, however, bleeding, pain, and inflammation may occur.

Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s Disease is another of the most common colon problems. When a person suffers from Crohn’s Disease, the colon’s lumen is too narrow. As a result, the digestive tract is chronically inflamed. Although Crohn’s Disease most commonly affects the last portion of the small intestine or the colon, it can affect any part of the digestive tract.

Despite the fact Crohn’s Disease affects anywhere from 500,000 to two million people in the United States alone, it is difficult to diagnose. This is because its symptoms are similar to other bowel problems, including ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. These symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cramping, weight loss, anal pain, bloating, rectal abscess, skin lesions, joint pain, and fissures. Excessive bleeding may also occur, which can lead to anemia.

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative Colitis is an inflammation of the innermost lining of the rectum and colon. Like Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis affects between 500,000 and two million people in the United States. Unlike many other digestive disorders, however, ulcerative colitis affects primarily those under the age of 30.

A person suffering from Ulcerative Colitis may experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, constipation, bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, or fevers. These symptoms result from the tiny ulcers, which bleed and produce pus, that develop on the surface of the rectum and colon lining.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is also referred to spastic colon, is another of the most common colon problems affecting individuals in the United States. Individuals with this disorder may experience bouts of constipation or diarrhea, or they may experience it as an ongoing condition. They may also suffer from abdominal cramps, fever, and nausea. For many individuals with irritable bowel syndrome, dietary changes can successfully reduce or even eliminate the symptoms. Although the exact cause of irritable bowel syndrome is unknown, most researchers believe the nerves of those suffering from the condition are overly sensitive in the colon.

Diabetes Vasculopathy in the Rectum

A person with diabetes may also experience colon problems, most commonly diabetic vasculopathy in the rectum. This condition is caused by damage to the blood vessels brought about by the diabetes. This condition can often be recognized during an eye exam due to noticeable changes in the eyes’ vascular quality.

Diverticular Disease

Diverticular disease is one of the more common colon problems in Americans between the ages of 60 and 80, affecting about 50% of those within this bracket. Diverticular disease is usually characterized by pockets within the colon wall becoming inflamed. Individuals suffering from diverticular disease often experience additional complications such as abdominal pain, particularly in the lower left abdominal area, cramps, diarrhea, and sometimes rectal bleeding. The disease is thought to be caused by following a low-fiber diet, which increases the amount of pressure placed on the colon and its pockets.

Health News

 by Su Avasthi

I just stumbled across some incredibly welcome news, especially since the chilly temperatures have given me a mild case of the mid-winter blahs.

New research shows that heat — and I mean the kind that makes us feel pampered, not scorched — has wide-ranging health benefits.

This may not be news to Scandanavians and any others who have long championed the healing powers of a sauna or hot tub. In fact, many believe that heat therapies also reduce pain, suppress appetite and alleviate mild depression, among other things. But it seems that the ever-skeptical medical community is beginning to come around.

According to a recent article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, raising the body’s core temperature in saunas, steam rooms, or hot tubs increases blood flow, which ultimately benefits our immune and circulatory systems.

According to experts, an increase in our core temperature causes our peripheral arteries to dilate. This in turn pumps more oxygen and nutrients through our bodies, stimulating healing in our muscles and organs.

It also relaxes our skeletal muscles, easing stress and tension. You probably already knew that. Still, the article had a few tips on how to maximize health benefits while indulging in a soak or steam.

• First things first: seek doctor approval and/or exercise caution if you’re at risk for cardiac, stroke or blood pressure conditions.

• Heat dries out skin (a problem for those prone to itchy skin and wrinkles.) Saunas, in particular, can take a toll on our skin due to their dry heat. Pack along your richest moisturizer and slather it on afterwards.

• A general rule-of-thumb is that hot tubs and soaks will raise core body temperatures fast. Steam rooms are a bit slower, and saunas are usually the slowest to raise core body temperatures. Take care not to overheat.

• If you’ve got access to a cold up or plunge, spend 10 minutes in the heat and then take a cold dip. The hot/cold contrast is great for the immune system, say experts.

• If you’re fending off a cold or virus, a trip to the steam room is a great way to relieve respitory congestion.

I’m convinced. And now I’ve got good reasons to linger at the gym instead of dashing out the door as soon as my workout is over.

Meanwhile, I think a hot bath may be in order later tonight.

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 by Jessica Harlan

The first of my mommy-friends are starting to have their second babies, so the rest of us are mobilizing the forces and descending upon their households bearing meals. And I never know what to prepare for these occasions. Does her family have any food allergies or aversions? Will they eat the meal right away, or will they freeze it? And, most importantly, are there certain foods or nutrients that a new mother should be eating?

I can’t recall what I myself ate in the weeks following the birth of my daughter… probably whatever dishes my kind family members bestowed upon me. But since I’m slotted to prepare a couple of meals on the food trees that have been put together for my post-partum friends, I decided to do a little research into the foods that are best for not only the recovery of childbirth, but that will help produce nutrient-rich breast milk to nourish a newborn.

Colorful Fruits and Vegetables: Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables will not only help the body recover, but will also pass along vitamins and nutrients to the baby through the breast milk.

Protein and Fiber: Both are nutrient-dense and will help feeling full for longer.

Calcium: Lactating women need even more calcium per day than when they were pregnant, and it should be consumed throughout the day since the body can only absorb a certain amount at a time.

Iron: Postpartum depression has been found to be linked to low iron levels, so foods rich in iron, like red meat, spinach and nuts, are important.

Zinc: Essential for a healthy immune system and tissue growth and repair, zinc can be found in meat, poultry, legumes, eggs and fish.

Essential Fatty Acids: For breastfeeding moms, these nutrients found in cold-water fish, nuts and seeds, can help build baby’s brain power.

Breastfeeding mothers need about 600 more calories a day than before their pregnancy.

For my first dinner-delivery I ended up preparing a Turkey-Spinach Lasagna recipe from Cooking Light magazine. With iron from the spinach and turkey, calcium and protein from the mozzarella and cottage cheese, and nutrients from the tomato sauce, I felt like it was a good, nourishing choice.

After delivering my meal (and cuddling the new baby), I went home to eat the dish of lasagna I’d prepared for my family. I may not be recovering from childbirth, but I have to admit… it hit the spot.

Health News

 by Jessica Harlan

Like many of us, my husband’s a sucker for a good marketing ploy. Which is why, in the supermarket produce department the other day, he picked up a plastic clamshell container and asked if we could buy it. The container encased four red apples, but the label identified them as Sweet Grapples®… “Looks like an apple. Tastes like a grape.”

“Smell it!” Chip said. I took a sniff. It smelled like grapes in the way that strawberry Starburst candy vaguely recalls the scent of strawberries — a fake, cloying, chemical-factory’s idea of what a grape might smell like. It reminded me of how, when I lived in Chicago, I often drove past a factory that made extracts and flavorings, and every day the air would be saturated with a different sickly-sweet candy aroma, one day butterscotch, the next day watermelon.

But I was intrigued enough to put the package of Grapples in our shopping cart ($3.99 for a pack of four).

When I got home, I did some research. I’d assumed the Grapples got their crazy identity through some fluke of genetic modification. But, no. According to the Grapple Web site (Grapple is actually a trademarked product, manufactured by a company called Grapple Fruits LLC, based in Washington State), the product begins its life as a Washington Extra Fancy Apple or a Fuji Apple. Artificial grape flavor (as listed on the “ingredients” on the packaging) is infused into the apple or, as the Web site describes, “A relaxing bathing process prepares our apples for you or your kids.” The process isn’t explained much further than that, although apparently it’s been featured on the Food Network show, Unwrapped.

My biggest question is, why? It’s not like an apple has such a horrible taste that it needs to be masked or sweetened further. And, if you like the taste of grapes… why not just eat some grapes? They’re about as good for you as an apple. What’s more, the Grapple doesn’t actually taste that much like a grape… if I’d eaten a Grapple unwittingly, mistaking it for a normal everyday apple-flavored apple, I think I’d just assume it was remarkably sweet. The only difference is that after eating a Grapple, I had a lingering chemical aftertaste in my mouth, sort of like when you drink Gatorade.

Call me old-fashioned, but I’d like my apples to taste like apples and my ketchup to be red (remember Heinz’s purple and green ketchup?). I don’t want my fresh fruit to need an ingredient list.

And here’s something a bit scary. One of the questions on the Grapple Web site’s online survey was, “What other flavors would you like to experience?”

Could a chocolate-flavored apple be too far behind?

Health News

Listen as the Health Ranger blasts recent fabricated research that tries to claim water has no health benefits and that people should drink soda instead of water.
Click here to listen now (MP3).

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Dr. Michael Holick is the world’s foremost authority on vitamin D and the healing power of natural sunlight. He’s the author of The UV Advantage, and in this interview, Dr. Holick reveals fascinating facts on how vitamin D is created and used in the human body to ward off chronic diseases like cancer, osteoporosis, mental disorders and more. This is one of the most eye-opening interviews you’ll ever read on health……………….

Books

Regular use of household cleaning sprays and air fresheners may increase the risk of adult-onset asthma, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Researchers analyzed data from………..

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