What is the purpose of bowel training?
Many people for many reasons have irregular bowel function. In some cases, the irregularity lasts beyond the condition that caused it. The bowels by themselves develop bad habits that can be retrained with suitable exercises and education. Normal bowel habits not only improve the quality of life, they help prevent several common diseases–for example, diverticulitis and fecal impaction. Gall stones, appendicitis, colon cancer, hiatal hernia, diabetes, and heart disease have also been related to the quality of bowel movements and the foods that affect them. • One of the most common causes of constipation is the laxative habit. Repeated artificial stimulation of the bowels destroys their natural emptying reflex, so that they will no longer move without artificial stimulants. The laxative habit begins innocently enough with the correct belief that bowels should move every day, however, laxatives will cause the evacuation of several days worth of stool in a single movement. Impatient for s
