In modern society, people often consume too much high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, high-calorie, high-cholesterol food, and too little plant food, fresh and active food.
At the same time, staying up late often causes gastrointestinal fluid loss, long-term sitting and less movement causes gastrointestinal motility to weaken, and work, study tension, and mental stress lead to gastrointestinal motility disorders.
According to epidemiological data, the incidence of constipation in our country is 3% to 17%, and the incidence of chronic functional constipation in people aged 18 to 70 in the eastern United States is 6%. The incidence of constipation will continue to rise year by year in the future.
The ten major dangers of constipation
1. Anorectal diseases
When constipated, due to difficulty in defecation and dry stool, it can directly cause or aggravate anorectal diseases such as hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and proctitis.
2. Gastrointestinal dysfunction
When constipated, stool retention and harmful substances absorption can cause gastrointestinal dysfunction, often with nausea, anorexia, stomach fullness, burping, bitter taste in the mouth, bad breath, and more smelly farts.
3. Ulcers or intestinal perforation
Long-term constipation, harder feces compress the intestinal cavity, causing intestinal stenosis, changes in the surrounding pelvic structure, hindering colon expansion, causing rectal or colon compression to form large intestinal ulcers, and severe cases can cause intestinal perforation.
4. Gallstones and other diseases
When eating regularly and eating three meals a day on time, the human body will naturally produce gastro-colonic reflex phenomenon. Normal people excrete a considerable amount of cholesterol from their stool every day.
Long-term skipping of breakfast can cause gastro-colonic reflex disorder and constipation. Cholesterol excretion is blocked in constipated people, and it is very easy to deposit in the gallbladder to form gallstones.
5. Gynecological diseases
Long-term constipation causes excessive stool in the rectum, which expands the volume of the rectum, pushes the cervix forward, and tilts the uterus backward.
If the uterus remains in a backward position for a long time, it will cause menstrual disorders and symptoms or discomfort such as lumbar pain, back pain, and anorectal distension during menstruation.
Studies have found that the intestines of women with long-term constipation can produce a substance component. This abnormal substance can interfere with the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian system, hinder ovulation, and may eventually cause infertility.
6. Damage central nervous system
When constipated, metabolic products often remain in the digestive tract for a long time. Due to the action of bacteria, a large amount of harmful substances such as methane, phenol, and ammonia will be produced.
Some of these substances can enter the central nervous system, damage and interfere with brain function, and may cause memory loss, distraction, slow thinking, headache and insomnia.
7. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
Constipation itself does not cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, nor does it pose a fatal risk. However, constipation causes straining during defecation, which increases abdominal pressure, blood pressure, and oxygen consumption.
It can also cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Constipation can induce angina, myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, etc.
8. Colon cancer and breast cancer
Constipation prolongs the retention time of excrement in the colon, and the excessive absorption of carcinogens in the excrement by the colon is the main cause of constipation-induced colon cancer.
There is a mutagen in the stool of constipated people, which is similar to several known carcinogens. After being absorbed by the intestine, it can enter the sensitive breast tissue with blood circulation and cause breast cancer. This is the main mechanism of constipation-induced breast cancer.
9. Affects appearance
Long-term constipation causes stool to accumulate in the intestine. Some harmful bacteria will ferment and decompose food residues that are not fully digested and remain in the stool, especially some protein foods. These harmful bacteria will produce many harmful substances after fermenting and decomposing them.
If toxins are not discharged in time, the endocrine system of the body will malfunction and hormone metabolism will be disturbed, which will lead to abnormal facial pigmentation, chloasma, darkening of the skin, acne and other problems.
10. Impact on sexual life
Long-term constipation, due to long-term forceful defecation, causes rectal fatigue, tight anal contraction and spasmodic contraction of the pelvic floor, resulting in male ejaculation or loss of libido, and no climax in sexual life.
Long-term constipation in women causes pelvic prolapse, dysmenorrhea, loss of libido, vaginal spasm, and urinary retention and frequent urination and other urinary tract infection symptoms.
In addition, constipation can also cause fever, persistent high fever, nosebleeds, acne, urticaria, cough and asthma and other symptoms.