LIVERPOOL ECHO
Research shows people who have fewer bowel movements a week are more likely to show signs of dementia.
Health expert Dr Michael Mosley suggests you can avoid the risk of dementia by simply taking a stool with you to the toilet to help with bowel movements. By placing your feet on a stool or any small platform, it helps to straighten the bowel and allow easier movements.
Writing in MailOnline, Dr Mosley revealed around 14% of people in the world are constipated at any one time. He also said there was “some rather alarming research presented at a meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association in the Netherlands last month, which showed a link between being constipated and an increased risk of dementia.”
The research showed people who have three or fewer bowel movements a week were 73% more likely to show signs of dementia. Studies also showed people had fewer good bacteria in their guts – the type that turn fibre into butyrate, which reduces inflammation in the body.
Dr Mosley said butyrate “protects our brain from viruses and other toxins” and people should eat high-fibre food, and get plenty of water every day – particularly garlic, leeks, onions, dandelion greens and Jerusalem artichokes to help boost butyrate, WalesOnline reported.
Dr Mosley added: “But if you’ve tried the water, the exercise and the fibre-rich foods and are still bunged up, one more novel suggestion is to look at how you sit on the loo. The way our anatomy is designed means that the optimum position for opening our bowels is squatting — this keeps the rectum straight and relaxes the muscle at the bottom of it.
