East Eden Health Reform Center

    “Digestive symptoms can be an indicator of a larger medical issue. Be safe and see your GI doctor to be evaluated.” (Matthew Eidem, MD) Constipation is simply defined as difficulty in defecation or passing out stool. It is characterized by the expulsion of hard and dry feces and reduction of defecation to less than three times a week.  Other symptoms may include abdominal pain and (or) bloating,  straining and pain with bowel movements, and the sensation of incomplete bowel after evacuation. Between three per day and three per week; three to four per day; and two to three per day is the normal frequency movements for the adults, babies, and young children respectively. It is considered constipation if these are less frequent. What causes constipation? 1.      Primary/ functional causes : Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. Being an older adult or a woman is a risk factor for constipation. Other factors include ...

  9 Benefits of quitting smoking A report by the World Health Organization indicates that, Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year. And more than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention ( CDC), smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body and more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking.  Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.  Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis. Secondhand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 41,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults and 400 deaths in infants each year.  T...