Methods to detoxify and cleanse the intestines

Eat enough soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, drink the right amount of water, develop a regular defecation reflex, and other fancy operations are either useless or may cause problems in your intestines.

Don’t believe it. Two years ago, I met a little girl who was going to take wedding photos. In order to quickly slim down her belly, she wore a backless gauze. She brewed two packs of Internet-famous bowel cleansing tea every day for a week. She felt great at the beginning and felt like she was really “detoxified”. By the seventh It was so bad that her legs felt weak and she couldn't stand up. She went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with electrolyte imbalance. The doctor said that the tea she bought secretly added stimulating laxative anthraquinone. Long-term drinking will not only lead to dependence, but may also induce melanosis of the colon, which is not worth the loss.

Let’s talk about food first. When many people mention fiber supplements, they just nibble on celery sticks and raw oats. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. I checked a lot of information when I was constipated before, and I also asked friends in the nutrition department. Dietary fiber is divided into soluble and insoluble. Soluble ones, such as oat bran, chia seeds, small seeds in dragon fruit, and ripe bananas, will absorb water and expand when they enter the intestines, soften feces, and can also serve as food for beneficial bacteria. ； Insoluble ones, such as corn, peeled apples, and mushrooms, can promote intestinal peristalsis. It is effective to eat the two together. Oh, by the way, there is another controversial point here: many health accounts say that dragon fruit is cold in nature and should not be eaten by people with weak spleen and stomach. This is indeed true. If you usually have stomachache and diarrhea after eating something cold, you can completely replace the dragon fruit with steamed pumpkin or soft boiled chickpeas. They are also high-fiber foods, mild and not irritating, and the effect is not bad.

Just eating enough fiber is useless. If you don’t drink enough water, the fiber will not absorb water in the intestines. Instead, it will become dry and hard and get stuck in the intestines, aggravating constipation. Don’t believe in the dead standard of eight glasses of water a day. Everyone’s weight and amount of sweating are different. Based on your own weight, drinking about 30ml per kilogram is enough. For example, if you are 50kg, drinking 1500ml a day is just right. Don't wait until you are thirsty to drink. The water will flow directly into the bladder along the digestive tract and will not reach the intestines at all. Just drink 200ml of warm water on an empty stomach in the morning. Some people here also say that drinking light salt water is better. But if you have high blood pressure or kidney disease, be sure not to drink light salt water. Excessive sodium intake will increase the burden on the body.

For many people, constipation is not a problem of eating at all, but a problem of suppressing it. When I was working on a project, I always wanted to wait until I was done with my bowel movements in the morning when I had the urge to defecate. I would hold my bowels in for two or three times and then the urge would disappear. I couldn't pass it out for three or four days in a row, and my stomach would feel as bloated as a ball. Later, the gastroenterologist asked me to sit on the toilet for 10 minutes after breakfast every morning. Even if I didn’t feel like having a bowel movement, I should sit there and not use my phone. After my body formed a habit, I would feel the urge to have a bowel movement when the time came. Oh, yes, if you only have a toilet at home, put a small stool about 10cm under your feet, lean your body slightly forward, and the angle of the anorectal angle will be smoother. You can expel the fluid without having to hold it in hard. It is much safer than using a slug.

Of course, many people now recommend other methods of bowel cleansing, and we don’t need to beat them to death with a stick. For example, some people say that regular enemas should be used to clear stools. This depends on the situation. If you are preparing for a colonoscopy or have severe constipation, it will be fine if you follow the doctor's advice. However, if ordinary people do it randomly at home, it is easy to destroy the balance of intestinal flora and cause irritable bowel syndrome. If you eat something cold, you will have diarrhea, which will be more troublesome. There is also the fasting and detoxification that has become popular in recent years. I know a fitness blogger who tried fasting for 3 days and said that he felt lighter after the end. In fact, it is the emptying and dehydration of feces in the intestines, not the elimination of "toxins" at all. If your blood sugar is stable and you have no underlying diseases, you can occasionally try a light fast for a day and only eat some vegetables and boiled eggs. There will be no problem. However, if you follow the trend of fasting for more than 7 days, you will be light-hearted and faint from low blood sugar. It may also hurt your stomach.

To be honest, I have gone through a lot of traps in the past to treat constipation. I have tried plum enzymes, green juice, and essential oils to relieve constipation. I spent a lot of money and left them alone if they didn’t work. Some of them only caused stomachache after eating them. Later, I adjusted my diet and set a fixed time for defecation every day. Within two months, it became normal. Now I have a bowel movement every morning and my stomach is flat and smooth. It is more effective than any detoxification product. Our intestines have their own detoxification mechanism. Don’t mess with it. Give it enough nutrients and develop good habits. It’s better than anything else.