Excerpts from a study is indicating that having inconveniences with your bowels like constipation – every day might be an indicator prompting you that there is something happening to your brain health.
According to the scientific paper, people who suffer from constipation are 73 percent more likely to score lower marks for cognitive tests than people who let out bowels or have bowel movements everyday.
The paper on the other hand defined people who suffer from constipation as people who go three or more days without letting out bowels.
Also, results from the study suggested that people who have free bowels a day are 37 percent more likely to score lower on cognitive assessments, the study also found.
Additionally, the president of the Alzheimer’s Association while reviewing the paper, hinted that “Our body systems are interconnected. When one system is malfunctioning, it impacts other systems.”
“Still, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the connection between the health of our digestive system and our long-term cognitive function. Answering these questions may uncover novel therapeutic and risk-reduction approaches for Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” he added.
Who Is Affected by Constipation?
Constipation occurs when your bowel movements become less frequent and stools become difficult to pass. It happens most often due to changes in diet or routine, due to inadequate intake of fiber, lack of exercise, dehydration or health conditions like celiac disease, diabetes, and gastrointestinal diseases.
It is commonly seen at all ages, and affects about one-third of adults age 60 and older. Records have also made hints of it being more common among people of color, women and individuals on certain medications.
Constipation is diagnosed in persons having fewer than three bowel movements in a week and stools that are dry, lumpy, hard, or painful to pass.
Although constipation is not termed medical law a disease, it is often an indicator of aggravating health conditions.
Irregular Pooping Could Age Your Brain by 3 Years
For the new study, researchers examined data on more than 110,000 U.S. adults who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Scientists looked at data on bowel movement frequency in 2012 to 2013, data on how participants described their own cognitive abilities from 2014 to 2017, and data from cognitive tests completed by a subset of about 12,000 people between 2014 and 2018.
From the results, scientists could speculate that participants who were constipated experienced significantly worse cognition. They also found that people who had fewer microbiomes; known to help digest dietary fibers, had both less frequent bowel movements and worse cognitive function.
Also, since the study was not intended to prove whether or how the timing of bowel movements might directly impact brain function, there could be a possibility that certain variables that were not measured in the study, such as eating or exercise habits, might independently influence both bowel movements and cognitive function.