March 20

March 20

Love Your Bum - By Bex

March is colorectal awareness month. Ok, here it comes… have you been screened with a FIT (fecal immunochemical test) or had your recommended colonoscopy? Don’t be like me and put it off - believe me when I say, preventative screenings catch things early - and early means manageable. Now let’s get personal. Never in my wildest dreams would I become a manager of the bum. And, when I refer to the bum - I refer to all the inner workings, and all that comes out of the inner workings - if you follow me.
The way I see it, there are 3 parts to colorectal health. #1 - colorectal screening; #2 - healthy gut flora with diet management; #3 - healthy exiting - you get this, right? So let’s go over each -

#1 - screening. The official recommendations for screening, for the average person risk group, start screening with a FIT or colonoscopy at 45 years old. Then, colonoscopy every 10 years, and FIT tests yearly. These are general guidelines by the American Cancer Society. For me -the FIT test raised the flag, and the colonoscopy found the beast.

#2 - healthy gut flora - prebiotics, are the healthy fiber of fruits and veggies, and probiotics are the live bacteria in foods to maintain a healthy gut environment. Food examples for pre and probiotics - apples, asparagus, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh.

#3 -healthy exiting. Ok, you know what I mean! Look at what comes out of your body, you want to make sure you are drinking enough water, getting enough fiber, and there is no abnormal shapes, colors, or consistency. Seriously the exit can tell you a lot about how the inside is working. Ok, enough about the Bum. Your ticket to good health is paying attention to your WHOLE body. We need to pay attention to what we put in our beautiful vessel in order to have the miraculous symphony play the music inside us that will energize and feed our body.