Caregiving Archive

Over time, everyone's digestive system works less efficiently and people can develop food intolerance or begin taking medications that can affect digestion. These changes can create problems like gas, bloating, cramps, and constipation. By identifying the reasons for the digestive issues, managing them becomes easier and can help keep the entire system running smoothly.

There are many ways one can try to avoid constipation. For example, lifestyle remedies may help—such as increasing dietary fiber, getting regular exercise, and drinking three to six cups of water per day. If those approaches don't work, doctors recommend using fiber supplements, such as psyllium husk (Metamucil), methylcellulose (Citrucel), or wheat dextrin (Benefiber). Another supplement that might help is magnesium. When all strategies fail, it may be time to try over-the-counter medication. One option is an osmotic laxative such as polyethylene glycol (Miralax).

Keeping the gut microbiome diverse is good for health and may even be tied to healthier aging. To maintain such diversity, it helps to eat a healthy diet that includes lots of fiber, which gut microbes eat. Also, exercise may be helpful to the gut microbiome, since exercise may change the rate at which material moves through the intestines. Other ways to promote a healthy gut microbiome including getting a dog, which exposes us to more microbes; quitting smoking, which relieves stress on gut microbes; and maybe eating more probiotic-rich foods, which may boost beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Some types of cheese, including Swiss and Gouda, are a good source of probiotics, but eat cheese in moderation.

Trauma can register within our bodies on a cellular level. What that means — and how best to heal from serious traumas — is the focus of somatic therapy, a newer form of mental health counseling that highlights how deeply painful experiences affect us and can be addressed through mind-body approaches.