OCR Text |
Show Difference in individuals makes ideal laxative hard to find; no panacea. By Dr. Jamei W. Barton MANY individuals are seeking the "ideal" laxative, lax-ative, something that will cause a bowel movement daily, that will not upset the stomach nor inflate the bowel. Many will search in vain because be-cause what will help one type of individual will not help, but perhaps harm, another because we are not all alike in our digestive systems. There are three types of individualsthe in-dividualsthe sluggish, the normal or active, and the overalcrt or overactive. Most health writers advise the use of foods contaiaing roughage or llbrr, because the ,-T rough fiber by lrri- taling or stimulating the muscles of the bowel cause the ' wastes to move v downward through the bowel. There olso appears to be some substance In ' the fibrous material " (aside from its - roughness) that Dr. Barton stimulates bowel action. ac-tion. This stimulating stimulat-ing action Is helpful In the sluggish type of Individual and also, to some extent, in the normal or active. In Uie high strung nervous or emotional emotion-al Individual, rough or fibrous foods must be avoided, or eaten sparingly. Fiber Important. For the sluggish and the normal Individual some rough foods every day are advisable. Drs. John L. Kantor and Lenna F. Cooper, In Annals of Internal Medicine, tell of their study of the relative laxative value of typical fruits from the standpoint of their fiber value. They maintain that an adequate or necessary neces-sary amount of fiber in the food is Important in the dietetic or food treatment of constipation. Fiber is supplied by three classes of foodstuffs fruits, vegetables and cereals. Although prunes were found to be generally more laxative than apples or bananas, the apples and bananas proved more effecUve in some cases. "In the selection of fibrous foods, only bland articles should be used in the beginning of the treatment because rough foodstuffs may irritate irri-tate the bowel and cause spasms." As an example of the amount of fibrous food the average individual troubled with constipation should eat daily, it is suggested that in addition ad-dition to Uie usual Uiree or four vegetables and the usual cereals, about six prunes, one banana and one medium-sized apple should be eaten. |