Constipation is a condition that a person has hard and dry feces and the defecation is less than three times per week.

A person who has constipation have difficulties to expel, sometimes with abdominal pain or bloating.

Why do constipation happen? You see, we absorb nutrients from food with our stomachs and small intestines; the rest are sent to the large intestines.

With the bowel movements, stools are push to the end. When stolls reach the rectum, it stimulates the desire to defecate.

During the digestive tract, the large intestine would recycle the water. The more water the large intestine absorbs, the dryer the stools are.

As a result, when the stools contain less water, the stools eventually become difficult to expel, and this is when constipation happens.

Therefore, two main reasons of causing constipation are: first, too less water and second, the large intestine moves too slowly.

From these, we can deduce that the dangerous factors of constipation are:

1. Insufficient intake of water.

2. Insufficient intake of dietary fiber. Fiber increases the amount of stools and helps the move through the gastro-intestinal tract.

3. Insufficient exercise. Doing exercise helps the move throuh the gastro-intestinal tract.

4. Elderly. Reasons are the elderly exercise less, the gastrointestinal functions get weaker, less intake of vegetables (usually the elderly believe that vegetables intake caused joint pain) and enlarged prostates make them drink less water.

5. Children. Kids usually don’t like to drink water and eat vegetables. Many times, they hold their desire to defecate for playing.

6. Pregnant women. In the final stage of pregnancy, the pressure from baby may cause the slow gastrointestinal movement.

In conclusion, for common constipation, the situation can be improved by drinking more water (at least 2L per day), eating more portions of vegetables and fruits, plus low-fiber processed food.

However, do keep in mind that some disease or medicines would increase chances of having constipation. So, if your situation doesn’t get any better, you should go and consult a doctor.

Source: MJ Life People

The significance of health screening is being progressively more recognized and many health screening centers are being set up fr this purpose.

But faced with the many choices available, how does one choose an appropriate center with confidence?

Japan is by far the most well developed country in health screening. The Japan Multi-phasic Health Testing Services has set certain standards for the recognition of good health screening centers, and coupled with MJ’s 10 years experience in running the Taiwan centers, the following criteria are provided as guidelines:

1. Excellent Equipment Facilities
The accuracy of tests depends greatly on the quality of equipment facilities. An automated screening process would greatly diminish inaccuracies caused by human errors.

2. Qualified Professional Staff
A good center should only employ qualified staff such as nurses, biochemists, radiographers and dietitians. Qualified, experienced doctors are especially important to detect abnormalities in otherwise healthy individuals.

3. Good Quality Control
Modern screening relies heavily on sensitive technology, therefore good equipment control and maintenance are of paramount importance to ensure the accuracy of screening results.

Good internal and external quality control measures are fundamental for the biochemistry laboratory, and it wold be even better to obtain certification from world recognized quality assessment organizations such as the CAP (College of American Pathologists).

Regular equipment servicing and well-kept maintenance records are mandatory for good laboratory management.

4. Comprehensive Follow Up Service
Health promotion starts with health screening. A comprehensive health screening programme should include follow up services such as health counseling, dietetic counseling and medical referrals, etc. Appropriate health consultations would assist the individual to plan specific health strategies and put the screening results into effective use.

5. Comprehensive Information Management System
All clients’ health information should be properly compiled and stored in sequence. This would provide doctors with information on changes in the health condition and plan appropriate health strategies accordingly.