Altered Bowel Function

What we eat and drink, our daily exercise - all the apparently small details of our daily lives have significant bearing on our patterns of bowel function. 

• Increasing our water intake

• consuming food groups high in natural fiber content like fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains

• minimizing the intake  of highly processed foods 

all these measures are helpful in a number of ways in addition to helping us maintaine a healthy bowel function.  

Whether it is constipation, change in stool caliber or intractable diarrhea, any persistent change in stool pattern requires medical attention. When something changes in your essential daily routine, it can be a source of significant  disruption and the desire for quick remedies can seem well justified.

It is important to evaluate for any mechanical problems especially in the large intestine, as much as possible with a colonoscopy, bejore jumping to remediation efforts, so as to not miss a serious underlying problem.