Why Timely Elimination of Solid Body Waste is Essential for Health

Highlights

• Proper elimination of body waste is critical to good health.

• One should never suppress the urge to defecate.

• Constipation can lead to the accumulation of ama in joints and lungs, instead of it being naturally expelled from the body.

Proper elimination of malas (body wastes- stool, urine, and sweat) is one of the criteria of good health. Malas naturally occur as an end-product of the metabolism of the body. Therefore, a certain amount of mala is necessary to sustain a healthy body.

Malas should always be eliminated from the body when the natural urge for it is experienced and you should never try to forcefully stop the urge to pass mala. If you do so, you may experience symptoms like headache, pain in genitals, colon, or lower legs, nausea and drowsiness, discomfort in bladder, and formation of gas.

Purisa (Stool or faeces)

Purisas are the solid wastes from digestion, incorporating end-product from dhatus formation. A healthy person should have a bowel movement at least once a day.

• Passing stool twice a day is also normal, but if a history of constipation is established, herbal remedies to ease the condition is advisable. This condition leads to the accumulation of ama in joints and lungs, instead of expelled from the body.

If you have a constant complaint of constipation following remedy will be helpful: Soak 1 teaspoon of fenugreek (methi) seeds overnight in a cup of water. In the morning, boil it to reduce around ¾ of the cup, filter, and drink warm. Take this once or twice a day, regularly.

• Diarrhoea occurs when an excessive amount of loose, watery stool is passed at regular intervals. In this case, the person loses nutrients as stool before they are adequately absorbed and processed by the body. Diarrhoea also leads to dehydration, therefore it is important to drink a lot of liquids - juice, water.

Also, the following remedy will help to restore the strength of Agni, the digestive fire:

Start with one cup of cooked basmati rice. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee and ¼ cup plain, fresh (ideally homemade) yoghurt. Mix together and enjoy.

For more advice on lifestyle and dietary tips, consult a Jiva doctor. Dial 0129-4040404 from your mobile phone or click on ‘Speak to a Doctor’ under the CONNECT tab in the Jiva Health App.