Not only does it cause you to spend a longer time in the toilet, constipation also causes abdominal discomfort, bloated stomach, excess wind and piles. If you are constipated and feeling lethargic, irritable, experiencing difficulty concentrating at work, suffering from skin problems or frequent headaches, it is high time that you realize that all these problems are the direct effects of your constipation.

In fact, constipation must be taken seriously as it is often linked to more severe problems, including high blood pressure, varicose veins, heartburn, weight gain, backache, arthritis and increased risk of several common cancers such as colorectal and breast cancer.

To understand constipation better, it helps to know how the colon (large intestines) works.

As food moves through the colon, it absorbs water while forming waste products, or stool. By the time the stool reaches the rectum, it is solid because most of the water has been absorbed. Ideally this should take approximately 12 hours, but when we are constipated, this makes take up to 50 hours. The longer the stool stays in the body, the harder it gets, explaining the need to strain in the toilet, and subsequently the painful piles on the rear.

The longer the stool stays in the body also increases your body's exposure to harmful toxins as waste matter starts to build up in the colon. As it decays and putrefies, waste matter releases toxins and noxious gases that seep into the blood. When the colon is polluted, the blood will also pollute. When the blood gets polluted, it cannot effectively remove waste from the cells. Hence, you can never be truly healthy when you are constipated.

Some of the toxin compounds formed during fermentation of food in the colon are with numerous potentially serious consequences. These include ammonia and amines (liver toxins), nitrosamines, indoles and skatoles (carcinogens), phenols and cresols (cancer promoters), estrogens (carcinogens and breast cancer promoters), secondary bileacids (carcinogens or active colon cancer promoters), aglycones (mutagens) and others.

Let think about this, the foul smell emitted when you leave meat debris in your rubbish bin for days. Terrible, isn't it? But when you think about it, this is exactly what happens in your body when you are constipated. Food waste, that include be days old, will be sitting in your colon, decaying, serving as a breeding ground for bad bacteria and parasites. As it builds up, it gets heavier and heavier, with you carrying all the load with you day after day. No wonder constipation makes you uncomfortable, bloated and lethargic.

When the interstitial fluid surrounding the intestinal wall is plugged-up with wastes, nutrient absorption will be hampered as well. This causes further decline in one's well being.

The effects of constipation are not just physical but can affect you in other ways. The results of a survey carried out by a specialist show that:

- 50% attested that constipation affected their ability to concentrates at work.

- 33% complained of backache when constipated.

- 75% said constipated made them feel tired or irritable.

- 1 in 4 said it affected their love life.

- 65% of people mentioned discomfort, fatigue and skin complaints as symptoms they associated with constipation.

When your colon is healthy, you will have two or more well-performed bowel movements a day. If you have to strain or have to read a magazine while you wait for a movement, then you are constipated. Another indication of constipation is when your stools are small and narrow, or if they are short or hard.

Unless you clean out the colon, you can never prevent the many health problems that can shorten your life or make your senior years a miserable time, and will never regain vibrant health. To clean out the colon, you must first, move your bowels daily, preferably twice. If you're suffering from constipation, and you don't want it to get worse, there is hope for you. To help get rid of your impacted bowel once and for all, you must start by making a few lifestyle changes, including eating a diet high in fiber, drinking plenty of healthful living water, and exercising.

If the diet lacks fiber, there's not enough bulk to push wastes through the colon. Even though diet is a major cause of sluggish colon, simply eating better food is not the solution. Many who have switched to a natural raw food, properly combined diet, would still be constipated, as matter have become so hardened and thickened that diet alone won't do the trick. When this happens, taking a safe herbal tea to aid the elimination and a high fiber supplements often works miracles to restore regular bowel movement.