Discussion Board

Hello Dr. Novick,

I just came back from my doctor a couple of days ago and he told me I had a compacted colon. I am a vegan for almost a year now and my whole diet is some kind of fiber daily.

His suggestion was metamucil twice a day and in the evening two to three tablespoons of mineral oil. I will have to say that it has helped and last night when I did not take the mineral oil (on purpose) I was in pain again.

My question is, since I want to be faithful to the McDougall diet and keep my fat to a minimum and since my cholesterol has been above normal (coming down regularly with diet changes) is the mineral oil clogging my arteries? Does it act like extra amounts of fats in the diet? Is this safe to consume regularly? My colon seems to have a twist or bend in it that keeps it from flowing freely without some extra help and the cobination of mineral oil and Metamucil has helped however I do not want to continue if it undermines my cholesterol and possible atherosclerosis problem.

Please advise.

Hi Beards,

I know I'm not JeffN, but I have used mineral oil for constipation and it works. I believe that mineral oil is indigestible, so it won't be adding to your diet. Eventually it will come right out. You don't want to use for very long though as it will block the absorbtion of many key nutrients.

Hope that helps.

Yes I did hear that it coats your colon but I guess I didn't think about or know that it would prevent the absorption or nutrients but it makes sense. thank you. Are you sure that it would not contribute to higher cholesterol or thicker blood or something like that?

Thanks for your comments.

Mineral oil is a by-product of the petroleum industry. I don't believe that the body absorbs any of it. Hopefully JeffN will answer your question about whether or not it can affect your cholesterol. I guess that if you can't digest it then the answer is no, but I am not sure. I stopped using it because of the nutrient absorption issue and the risk of a rare pneumonia if you inhale any of it. I just use a metamucil type product now that seems to work just fine.

RRC is correct here.

It does block the absorption of some fat soluble nutrients, however, it will have no effect on your lipid numbers as it is not absorbed.

However, I am not sure I would recommend it for "regular" use. I would want to focus more on the "details" of your diet and and for what is creating the problem as this is fairly atypical for a high natural fiber diet.

BTW, for what it is worth, the metamucil will help lower cholesterol about 7%.


In Health
Jeff

OK, I certainly will not be taking it for any length of time. I will be done with it in a couple of days.

As for the metamucil lowering cholesterol, is it the psyllium husk in the product, because it doesn't have much else in it.

Yes Diane I have had trouble long before I was a vegan/vegetarian. This is what started my change of diet. I have had pain on my right side for years and since my first doctor couldn't give me an answer after a bunch of tests I took it in my own hands and started researching nutrition. This is how I came across Dr. McDougall and other sites like PCRM.org. I love my diet and eat more vegetables then anything.

Personally I really think that I have a prolapsed colon from bad past eating habits and it is bent in the wrong place and doesn't have the normal pulsation for moving things through. And yet I have regular bowel movements daily.

I do not eat a lot of wheat or soy but I do have it. Fruit and fruit smoothies, tomato, lettuce, sprout, cucumber, onion sandwiches. Green leafy vegetable drinks mixed with rice milk, bean, vegetables and brown rice burritos, lentil soups, vege chilli, whole grain cereals with rice milk, hash brown potato's and salsa, whole wheat spaghetti and meatless sauce, homemade vegetable (no cheese) pizza on cornbread crust, and the like. So, I don't see why I still have such a problem but the pain certainly keeps me awake a lot of nights. (I don't eat real late either)

But as I said it has been way better then the past few years since I have taken the metamucil and mineral oil.

Hi Beards,

Yes, you are correct. But, it is not just the psyllium but the soluble fiber, of which psyllium is very high in. There are other sources, but psyllium is one of the highest. And soluble fiber, even as a supplment has been shown to lower total cholesterol and LDL.



Have you ever had a formal diagnosis or testing done? If not, it may be helpful to do this so we know exactly what you are dealing with. It is much easier to solve a problem when we know what the problem is, or at least a better idea of what the problem is.

In Health
Jeff

Yes just recently my doctor took an xray and told me I have a compacted colon. He then gave me the instructions to use the metamucil twice a day and the mineral oil at night. I see him again on May 1st.

A couple of years ago I had an ultrasound of my abdomen and testiculs and I had to drink some fluid and they watched it as it filtered through my gallbladder and liver. All came back negative. A couple of years prior to that I had a colonoscopy and they found nothing but hemorrhoids. The reason I had that done is that I was bleeding regularly with every other bowel movement.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!

I've had terrible constipation the last few months since being on McDougall. (When I was eating SAD I had diarrhea all the time.) I eat a lot of potatoes, salads, greens & other veggies, fruit, no breads, oatmeal on the weekends only, and I was miserable. I discovered quite by accident that when I eat close to a cup of beans daily, the constipation eases. If I miss my beans, or don't eat enough of them, the next day I'm going to pay!

So I guess it was a fiber issue. It's not lack of water, because I drink at least 2 quarts a day.

Just my two cents from my own experience.

Nettie

Have you looked into IBS?

My husband has constipation-IBS and becomes seriously "clogged" if he eats a large quantity of insoluble fibers such as lettuce, other leafy greens or whole wheat bread.

He can eat tons of oatmeal, fruit smoothies, broccoli, cooked veggies, squash, applesauce, potatoes, brown rice, millet, beans etc... so we just work around it. He had problems his whole life before we found helpforibs.com. When it's particularly bad he takes psyllium in his smoothie. I like psyllium in my smoothie sometimes too, 'cause it makes these flow more smoothly.

Recently we've found he can eat leafy greens if added to a smoothie (green smoothie or oobleck as we call it), which makes us (me!) very happy because I think leafy greens help us be our healthiest and he'd been missing out.

Great!

Make sure you have a thorough discussion about this and if needed, any tests to confirm (or exclude) any diagnosis. This may be the most important thing as it is hard to solve a problem, if you are not sure exactly what it is.

In Health
Jeff

FYI, if you just want the psyllium husk, with the added chemicals, you might want to check out
the Vitamin Shoppe if you have a store near you, or online. They sell a 12 oz container of 100% Psyllium Husks power. That's it, no added ingredients. It costs around $5 if it is not on sale.

Ingredients in Metamucil

Psyllium Husk, Calcium Carbonate, Gelatin, Crospovidone, Titanium Dioxide, Polysorbate 80, Caramel Color, Red 40 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake.

http://www.metamucil.com/drmetamucil/products/dosage_info.shtml

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=VS-1654&source=GO-BOGO-Psyllium+Husks+Powder&gcid=S19283x001&keyword=psyllium%20husks%20powder&gclid=CJqkm_DzgpMCFRkyFQodK0FGFw

FYI, if you just want the psyllium husk, with the added chemicals, you might want to check out

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that should read: without the added chemicals.