|
ARTICLE
Healthy Eating Simplified in 2025 - Continued
by Sue Becker
It is now the beginning of February so I thought we might all need a little encouragement to stay the course and follow through with our new resolutions to find better health in 2025.
Hopefully, you have begun this journey of Healthy Eating Simplified for 2025 with a focus on real bread made from freshly milled flour and to make whole grains and real bread a part of every meal, every day. I know you will see great benefits.
I talk a lot about real bread and constipation relief but every now and then I get an email from someone asking why this bread might actually cause their constipation to get worse. So today I thought I would try to answer that question and to share with you step #2 of my 7 steps of Healthy Eating Simplified.
Step #2 is to drink more water.
Many of us have become very concerned about the food we eat but often overlook the importance of what and how much we drink. A person can fast from food for as long as 40 days and not die but going without water for longer than 3 days can result in death.
Now most of us do not go completely without water on a daily basis but it is important to understand that water makes up about 65-70% of the human body so its importance cannot be overlooked.
Water serves a number of essential functions within our bodies that allows our cells of every organ to do their jobs efficiently and properly.
For a more detailed teaching on the importance of water you can listen to episode 8 of Sue’s Healthy Minutes Podcast:
But, In a nutshell:
- Water is a vital nutrient to the life of every cell in our bodies and acts first as the foundational material.
- Water regulates our internal body temperature through sweating and respiration.
- The carbohydrates, proteins and nutrients that our bodies use as food are metabolized and transported by water in the bloodstream.
- Water assists in flushing waste mainly through urination.
- Water even acts as a shock absorber for the brain, spinal cord, and growing baby in a mother’s womb.
- Water forms saliva and lubricates our joints encouraging smooth movement of our bones and muscles.
Each day we must consume a certain amount of water not just to survive but to give our bodies the water it needs to function properly. Of course, this varies according to age and gender, where we live, what we eat, how active we are and even the current humidity of our environment. If we are very active on a hot summer day, increased sweating may increase our need for water. But even in the winter, the dry air in the atmosphere and from the heat in our homes, may find us more thirsty than usual. And on average men need more water than women.
All the water a person needs does not have to come from drinking liquids, as some of this water is contained in the food we eat. A person whose diet consist of a good many fresh fruits and vegetables may not need to drink as much water as a heavy meat eater.
But, to answer the question as why one might actually get constipated when they start eating real bread made from freshly milled whole grains, we have to understand the role of both fiber and water for digestion and elimination.
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate found in plant foods that cannot be broken down during our initial digestive process. Some types of fiber, such as soluble fiber, dissolve in water while others, such as insoluble fiber, do not. But both types of fiber are important for our health and need water to do their jobs.
During digestion, soluble fiber dissolves in water in the intestines, creating a gel-like substance that helps to bulken stools while softening the stool. Soluble fiber works to regulate and improve bowel elimination. While soluble fiber definitely helps eliminate constipation research now shows that the bulking ability of soluble fiber can help relieve chronic diarrhea as well.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, does not dissolve in water but rather attracts water into your stool, making it softer and easier to pass with less strain on your bowel during elimination. Insoluble fiber plays a significant role in relieving constipation and promoting bowel health and regularity.
While both types of fiber are key to good bowel health and function, we must realize that water is absolutely necessary for fiber to do its job.
One cause of constipation when adding extra fiber to your diet can sim
ply be dehydration in our digestive system due to not drinking enough water.
Wheat and other whole grains provide both soluble and insoluble types of fiber. And this high fiber in whole grains and bread made from freshly milled flour absorbs water during digestion. So, it is therefore very important when adding real whole grains and real bread made from freshly milled flour to our daily diets that we increase our daily intake of water.
Failure to drink adequate water with the high fiber in whole grains can actually cause constipation instead of eliminating it.
Did you ever wonder why fiber supplements or high fiber laxative medications are usually mixed with or followed by a large glass of water? This is to give the fiber the much-needed water to do its job.
So, with step #1 of my Healthy Eating Simplified being to eat more whole grains and beans and bread made with freshly milled flour, and since eliminating bowel issues may be the very reason you started on this real bread journey;
Step#2 definitely needs to be to drink more water. Now there is no need to drink a gallon of water a day or large amounts at one time. If fact 4-8 oz at one time is plenty. More than that will just make you have to go pee a lot. But drinking more water throughout the day is important.
Sometimes I find that often when I think I am hungry and want something to eat, I am actually thirsty. When I get those urges to eat, I try to make it a habit to drink a glass of water first.
Some years ago, I learned a simple little trick to help stimulate my thirst mechanism and help me better differentiate between thirst and hunger throughout the day. I call it “priming the pump” .
First thing in the morning, before I eat or drink anything else, I drink about 8 ounces of water, cold or hot. In the winter I especially like warm or hot water. Since morning is our bodies cleansing time, drinking a glass of water, first thing, can help thin any mucous that has gathered in our nose and throat in the night and really gets everything moving. I also notice that when I drink water in the morning, before I eat or drink anything else, it seems to helps me want to drink more water throughout the day.
Try it – you just might be surprised!
I love the fact that the Bible confirms the importance of these first 2 steps of Healthy Eating Simplified: Eat real bread and drink more water!
When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt, he gave them this promise in Exodus 23:25. He tells them “If you will obey me, I will bless your bread and I will bless your water and I will take sickness from the midst of you.”
Wow, what a promise.
As we continue on our journey to better health, let’s remember that God gave us two perfect provisions - real bread and water! I hope you are encouraged today to claim the promises of God and to continue on your real bread AND water journey.
I am more convinced than ever that you will see great benefits.
Sue Becker
| 
