The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

High-fibre diet must for good digestion

FIBRE is an important constituent of our diet. It adds bulk to the food that helps in digestion. Fibre also holds water, which softens the stool. Fibre is the part of a plant which cannot be digested. It comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre is found in oats, beans and fruits. Insoluble fibre, which does not disperse in water, is found in grains, and vegetables. Both types of fibre are essential for proper bowel functioning.

To understand why a high-fibre diet is important, let us take a quick look at the digestive system. Here is how it works:

The digestive process brings in the mouth. The teeth break up the food into small pieces, allowing it to go through the oesophagus into the stomach. The saliva facilitates the movements.

The stomach breaks the food into smaller pieces, preparing it to go to the lower part of the digestive tract.

After leaving the stomach, the food enters the small intensine. From here, the nutrients absorbed into the bloodstream. By the time the food passes through the 21-foot-long small intestine and reaches the large intestine, or colon, mainly water and waste products remain.

Now, the colon begins the process of moving the waste to the rectum. During this, it absorbs the excess water from the waste.

Sometimes the colon’s natural contractions are disturbed and the waste material moves slowly. Stress, medication, pregnancy, illness, lack of exercise and inadequate fibre and liquid intake may have an adverse impact on colon’s functioning. If the transit is slowed, waste hardens and is not passed on timely to the rectum, resulting in constipation. A high-fibre intake is believed to be significantly beneficial overall.

Moreover, most high-fibre foods are low in calories and fats. Low intake of fibre is one of the major causes of constipation.

Although the evidence is less compelling, lack of fibre in diet may also contribute to the incidence of rectal cancer, obesity, and appendicitis. High intake of soluble fibre may even help reduce blood cholesterol. High intake of food of plant origin (all of which contain some fibre) is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and an increased life expectancy.

— Dr Anil Dheer

Depression among old-age people on the rise
Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, April 1
The fear of being alone, sleep disturbances, memory disorders, insecurity, physical disabilities etc force majority of old age people in the city to resort to psychiatrists. Most of these elderly people abandoned by their loved ones, feel being cheated. Suffering from agony and pain at the dawn of their lives, senior citizens with no other choice in hands, rely on anti-depressant drugs for the rest of their life.

Dr Rajeev Gupta, a city-based psychiatrist, said that he received about 4-5 such patients a day, who were either accompanied by their neighbours or distant relatives. The sons or daughters of these senior citizens were married and staying away from them. “They feel insecure, neglected and hurt in their old age. Their sons have either migrated or are not willing to take their responsibility. Suffering from problems like depression, aggression and mood fluctuations, they need extra care, love and affection of those who are emotionally attached to them”, said Dr Gupta.

Dr Gupta said that the ‘migration trend’ was responsible for the unfortunate condition of these elderly people. “The trend is to have small and nuclear families. The daughters of old age people are married and sons are staying away. Even if they are financially sound, they feel emotionally insecure. For example, they find it very difficult to approach a doctor to get medicine for a simple problem. This is the depending age and the loved ones should be around to look after them”, stressed Dr Gupta.

Dr (Ms) Ravinder Kala, a counsellor at ‘Roshni’, an NGO working for old age people said that it was very difficult for elderly people, to accept this social change. “Indian culture is entirely different from the western counterparts. The parents take care of every need of their children here, where as in western countries, as soon as the child reaches the age of 15, he/she is thrown out of the house to be economically independent. Here, children are pampered. Parents invest everything on their children, but when the same children abandon them, they feel hurt and cheated”, said Dr Kala.

Dr Kala said that there was definitely an increase in the number of such patients. They feel physically week, emotionally disturbed, lonely and unwanted. “They feel helpless to tackle all their problems independently. Counselling of such individuals is must”, she said.

Another devoted volunteer who works for the welfare of old age people, Mr Kapoor said, “In western countries, old age people were being looked after by the government. They go on a holiday, enjoy life. Their children visit them on their birthdays. But here, old age homes means hell to the senior citizens. They want to stay with their loved ones. The children should understand and respect the feelings of the elderly and keep in mind that they are not left alone”.