BENGALURU: I am 24 years old and I suffer from constipation. My bowel movement is not regular so I go to the bathroom once in two or three days. I eat well and do not feel uneasy. But I would like to know if this will cause a problem in future and what measures can I take to regulate my bowel routine?
This is not unusual and will not cause problems in future. Most of these problems can be adjusted with modification of lifestyle, increase in fruits & vegetables and consuming plenty of fluids. Adding a fiber supplement called Isabgol will help. Two spoons of Isabagol mixed with a glass of cold water, has to be consumed at bed time every day. Supplementing the diet with fruits, especially prunes (atleast 5 to 6) every day will help mitigate these problems of constipation. In short, for bowel routine, increase the intake of fruits and vegetables, add prunes to your diet and take a fiber supplement called Isabgol at night.
Why is it that every time I drink milk tea or eat bread I get diarrhea? I am worried because it seems my body is intolerant to these but I have cravings for sandwiches and toasts.
You seem to have some intolerance either to milk or wheat or both. Best, would be to avoid milk & milk products for one week. This includes tea, coffee, ice creams etc. However, you can have buttermilk and curd. If one to two weeks of this control reflects betterment, that means you are lactose intolerant. In case your condition does not improve, then you can go back to milk products and stop consuming everything that contains wheat. This will be difficult as you have to watch every food you eat. After 2 weeks of this exercise, if you notice a positive result then consult a doctor who is a specialist in dealing with gluten sensitivity. Gluten sensitivity is a very common problem and this is one of the ways to figure this out. The doctor can further test on this sensitivity and provide appropriate treatment.
The expert is a consultant of internal medicine & geriatrics at Vikram Hospital. For health
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