How is the inulin going, @Joy Martin ? It is a primary constituent of Jerusalem artichoke roots, also know as sunchokes. It is recommended for diabetics as a potato substitute, but many gardeners refer to it as "Fartroot" for the consequences of eating it. Like psyllium, it can ferment in the intestines and produce copious methane and other gases.
I'm adding some Inulin to cofee, soups and other foods, not a lot 1/2 t or less and we'll see if I buy it again. A friend told me her dad, he's now gone, took psyllium powder every day, she cannot take it as it sticks in her throat and she gags, and said she believes the throat issue is from smoking even t hough she quit 30 yrs ago...She coughs a lot.... My son in law coughed a lot and ignored it and he ended up with lung cancer and didn't live much longer after the dx. Not good to ignore nagging coughs. He smoked a lot of years.... On the sluggish issue and I've had a problem all my life but I walked a lot, ran some, danced and MOVED, now with all the surgery damage and body OA, my walking is horrid, I can't do much, short areas around the house and a little outside. I 'm doing so much to move things but walking. Gotta just do the best I can. And more and more warm water going in my mouth.
Got some new info today from a colonic specialist. I use to get colonics in my early life and t hought ot this again now. She said she would not do a colonic on a person my age for fear of damage to the colon walls. Understand that. Then I told her my story and she said "you have to get with magnesium OXIDE ca[si;es, not tablets. Those rocks don't dissolve well at all. Millions take Mag Oxide and millions more Need it for constipationn issues. If one is Loose regardless, then Oxide is NOT for them. What good info from a person who works in this area of health. She gave me some other good info to look into. What a wise smart woman and like myself "no trust for pharma"..... Good discovery.
It's taken me a LifeTime of trying so much with this issue and the simple Magnesium Oxide is what I NEEDED to be taking years ago.....it's never too late until we don't breath any longer. I had a "fear" of mag oxide as it didn't get good reviews, many said it causes diarrhea, and it can if a person has LOOSE bowels to begin with....I never did. If you believe your gut and colon gets a good clean out then this is NOT for you. But know too, in general, magnesium carries a deficiency label in our health world.
I recently had a minor bout with diverticulitis. Part of what I've done in response has been adding prebiotics to my daily regime. I mentioned that I've always had regular & healthy bowel movements, I have experienced changes recently. They have become more frequent (3x-4x/day versus 1x-2x/day) and are slightly looser than what's normal for me. Those changes are either due to the addition of prebiotics to my regime, or some physiological change due to the mild diverticulitis, or the lingering effects of 2 strong courses of antibiotics (finished 3 weeks ago), or some combination of the three. I throw this out because some folks might consider adding prebiotics to their diet as a way to stay regular. Prebiotics are nothing more than non-digestible (or slowly digested) fiber that makes its way into your G.I. tract and encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria by acting as a food source. They do come with some admonitions. I've read that you should not take them if you are already constipated (might cause bacterial overgrowth in a slow-moving system) or if you already have SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth.) Most of the OTC stuff is very low dose (1-2 grams per serving.) There is overlap between "sluggish bowels" and the broader topic of "gut health" discussed here. Dietary sources of probiotics, prebiotics and their cousin "resistant starches" are discussed there.
Were you taking Probiotics while you were taking the heavy duty antiobitics? While I was in the rehabs with knee infection when I was Finally put on 2.5 months of strong IV antiobiotics, I never got the loose mess....and thinking back they were not even giving me Probiotics, which I believe they needed to do. I was nuts with this infection and could think straight about anything... Those UCLA docs needed to be sued to the sky and could not even attempt that.... On your "minor" divertic issue, just thinking my dad a "major" issue yrs ago and was so close to ending up with a colostomy bag. He survived without it and came home and Mom nursed him back to a better health, he lost probably 70 lbs and sadly he did NOT take care of himself.....
My doctor told me to take probiotics. I have taken them off & on in my life (I'm still not 100% sold on them) and had been back on them for a month or so before the diverticulitis hit, so I just kept taking them with the antibiotics. I doubled up on them during the second round of an increased antibiotic dose. I only had minor intestinal swelling (enough to jigger my bowel movements), and there was no pain until the doctor applied pressure. An x-ray and CT scan confirmed no major blockage. I'm sorry about your father. I've mentioned many times that I lost my dad, an older brother and a younger brother to alcohol and tobacco caused cancers at the ages of 55, 53 and 60. I could probably use some exercise (I used to be very active), but take better care of myself than they did in regards to diet and the absence of vices.
Got to make sure probiotics are taken a couple hrs away from the antiobiotics. It's amazing my dad lived as long as he did, close to 95, he never smoked, so maybe that one saved him....the alcohol was the Devil...he was a happy drunk and a mean sober person. Poor guy but he lived a long time.
I was just reading that the colon is never totally empty, but the rectum often is or can be. I still deal with it all and I do believe a lot of it is my body has shrunk and it's affected the colon and rectum areas. and drinking warm water more often continues to come up
I do not actually have a recipe, @Marie Mallery . I just add the stuff I mentioned in my post to a cheap cake mix, and use fruit and/or veggies, depending on what I have. Soaking a cup of lentils overnight and then blending it is also a good way to get more fiber in the fiber cake, but I seem to forget I want to soak the lentils until I am ready to make the cake. The mix will smell like lentils, but once it is baked, you can’t even tell that the lentils are in there. There is no actual recipe, I am just a person who enjoys experimenting and wanted to make an easy and tasty way for us to be sure that we are getting plenty of fiber foods in our diet, and adding fiber foods to a dessert works really well for us.
I don't have any bowel "issues," thank goodness. I just drink tons of water and things seem to move along. I do have one weird problem since I had radiation treatments in 2021... after I eat, my stomach is very noisy. I mean, annoyingly noisy. I have wondered if the radiation on my lower chest managed to "cook" something in my digestive tract. Naturally the radiation oncologist says "no."
Here is the thread about making Fiberlicious cakes or cookies, @Marie Mallery . Basically, it is just adding fiber foods to whatever cake recipe you choose. I always add psyllium , chia, flax, and oatmeal for extra fiber. Whatever food or veggie I have , I use, like carrots, zucchini , bananas, sweet potatoes, (not all of those at once), just a variety. I add an extra spoon of baking powder , and use my homemade yogurt or kefir for liquid, and I don’t use any oil. But this can be made any way you want to make it, just add more foods with lots of good fiber in them. http://www.seniorsonly.club/threads/fiber-licious-cookies-and-cakes.8212/#post-641890