• What can Prime Timers (those over 50) do to enable their “Waste Management Systems” get rid of the toxins that build up in their bodies? If toxins build up, the body is deprived of nutrition, and those toxins are re-circulated every day. Dr. Bill Sears has some simple solutions to enable Prime Timers to improve their regularity.

  • First, it’s important to slow down our eating at the TOP end to match the slow-down of digestion and elimination at the BOTTOM end. To do this, Dr. Sears recommends GRAZING on good foods (fruits/vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes): eating twice as often, eating ½ as much, and chewing twice as long (let your teeth do the juicing). Set aside twice the time to dine. As a result, your bowels will move twice as often, be ½ as much and twice as soft. “When the intestines don’t need to work as hard at the TOP end, less effort is needed at the BOTTOM end! The more predigestion that occurs at the TOP end, the less waste is left over for the BOTTOM end. (Prime Time Health, William Sears, MD and Martha Sears, p. 89)

  • Second, “Move More”. Exercise will get your blood circulating the nutrients to the cells and take wastes from the cells. Moving your body will move your bowels. Dr. Sears cautions to drink extra water after a strenuous workout. Take a 30 minute walk, take the stairs instead of the elevator, park the car a distance from the store and walk. Those confined to wheel chairs can move their usable body parts in chair exercises. Arm curls with pound weights, and resistance bands can also be done in a chair. Using a pushing motion to strengthen arm muscles even if you are not able to lift yourself off the chair is another way to exercise when confined. (National Institute on Aging, Publication No. 09-4258, January 2009)

  • Third, drink more water. The most common cause of constipation is not drinking enough water. Jeff Novak, MS, RD, LD, LN, suggests drinking a lot of water upon rising before eating anything. This water will cleanse the stomach and get water into the intestines to get everything moving. Adding juice to the water is not recommended as it will begin the digestive process rather than a cleansing process. The colon is the body’s water conservator. If you don’t drink enough water, your body will borrow the water from your intestines to give it to vital organs such as the brain when in need. This will cause the stools to become hard. (Prime Time Health, William Sears, MD and Martha Sears, p. 104)

    • In conclusion, as we age we need to compliment our digestive system in ways that will work to remove toxins every day. Grazing, moving more and drinking 8 glasses of water every day will get the waste moving regularly.