Drink as a Colitis Cause

Beverage types that can be classified as colitis causes.

• Cold Drinks
• Carbonated Drinks
• Mineral Waters
• Hard Waters
• Poisoned Waters
• Impure Waters

When one speaks of drink for being a colitis cause, it is all too often taken for granted that what is referred to is an alcoholic beverage. There are, of course, many other beverages which people drink which give abundant evidence to prove that the old-fashioned drink, known as water, is still obtainable and to some extent is used as a beverage.

From the foregoing you may gather that I believe that people do not drink enough water. Such indeed is the sad fact. Every process of life utilizes and depends upon the presence of water. Few people realize that they could live for forty days without food but scarcely less than a tenth of this time without water.

Let me add this additional fact: While every tissue in the body requires some water, it is the food digestion canal, in particular, that requires an abundance of water. This is for the reason that the food digestion canal is a living test tube within which the chemical processes of digestion take place. Without sufficient water these processes are hindered. With the proper amount of water, they are at least given the opportunity to occur in normal fashion.

Is it bad to drink water at certain times, for instance with a meal? Can one take too much water? It is practically impossible for a person to drink too much water if his kidneys are functioning correctly, since any amount which the food digestion canal or body cannot utilize is promptly excreted. There are, of course, cases where there is a disturbed water balance but such people usually have symptoms which bring them to the doctor. By far the greater number of people are handicapping their digestive systems and themselves by drinking too little water. Is it bad for one to drink water with his meals? The answer depends upon how it is done. If water is taken during the course of a meal by itself it will do no harm. If, however, it is used to wash down partially chewed food, it definitely is not being used to the advantage of the digestive tract.

Colitis Cause – Carbonated Drinks

In foregoing post reference has been made to the mistake of drinking ice cold drinks, so we will not dwell upon it longer; however, there is one form of drink which has found favor with some people, namely carbonated drinks, and the manufacturers will slyly suggest, like the cigarette manufacturers, that they “aid digestion.” They base this claim solely on the fact that it “brings up the gas,” which indeed it does to a certain extent.

What they do not tell you, however, is that it also forms gas, and while it is downright decent of them to point out that some of it is gotten rid of by burping, the fact is that there is much more of it carried on down into the intestinal tract where it serves no good and if excessive may bloat the intestinal coils and interfere with their proper contractions. In short, indulge in these carbonated drinks rarely or not at all, particularly if you have any suspicion that you are a victim of colitis.

The same holds true of mineral waters which are effervescent.

It also holds true of that favorable aid to conviviality, the scotch and soda. In my opinion the soda is more to be condemned than the scotch strictly from the standpoint of colitis.

While speaking of whiskey, it may be well to know the facts of life with regard to the effect of alcoholic beverages on an irritated colon. The very worst thing a person can drink is beer or wine or any of the so-called soft drinks. The reason is that all of these substances contain extractives, aromatic substances or spices and all of these substances are irritant. While it is true that to a normal mucous membrane, they are only mildly so, one must not lose sight of the fact that we are not dealing with a normal membrane. A person with colitis has a distinctly congested and sensitive membrane; hence what would be a mild stimulant to somebody else will prove to be an irritant to a person with colitis. The same holds true of gin drinks. When one does have to partake of a social glass, he is much better off, so far as colitis is concerned, to take a glass of scotch and plain cool water or, if he prefers, bourbon whiskey and cool water.

What most people do not realize is that it is not the alcohol that irritates the colon. As a matter of fact, the alcohol, is entirely absorbed in the stomach and never reaches the colon, hence in moderate quantities a drink of whiskey and water will do no harm.

In fact, as pointed out elsewhere, it may even be of some help if taken before dinner or before retiring, as it tends to relax the nervous system. In my opinion, it does so in a far more natural way than phenobarbital, seconal and other such drugs.

Hard Water Being a Cause

To return to the matter of water, however, as a colitis cause, I would like to remind you of the observation that most people have made when traveling from place to place, namely that it affects the action of their bowels. The minute amount of mineral salts present in hard water will disturb a colon not accustomed to it. Conversely the absence of the solids in soft water will disturb a person accustomed to hard water.

To avoid this, people who travel a good deal find it prudent to drink some bottled spring water which is nationally distributed; thus they can be sure of getting the same kind of water in each place they travel. There are many such waters; Poland Spring Water is one of them.

Poisoned Waters; Impure Waters

In certain localities there is also a trace of sulphur or iron in the water which is definitely irritating to a person not accustomed to it. Here too, trouble may be avoided by the use of bottled water. Finally, water as a colitis cause can definitely be traced to the use of surface water, that is running brooks or lakes which have been contaminated in one way or another. It is, of course, well known that the various typhoid infections may occur this way. More recently it has been determined that certain filterable viruses, such as those causing infantile paralysis, may be transmitted in this manner.

In large cities this problem, of course, is nonexistent, thanks to the Board of Health. Its Department of Water and Sanitation sees to it that water used in each city is chlorinated and tested before reaching the public. However, in outlying districts people sometimes neglect to drive a deep well and are content to use surface water. Such people are definitely running a risk not only of colitis but of other diseases.

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