Bladder Infections, Enlarged Prostate & Kidney Stones

Modern life does not make it easy for people to urinate when needed. If you are on the freeway stuck in traffic, or if you are repulsed by public restrooms that smell from other peoples’ excrement, you may choose to hold in your urine. Sometimes you are simply too busy to take the time to go to the restroom, and you choose to hold in your urine until you can’t take the pressure any longer.

In any event, when urine is held in it gets concentrated. Dissolved within the urine are salts. As the urine concentrates, these salts may begin to come out of solution, or precipitate, forming a crystal. As the crystal grows it becomes a stone. This is how kidney stones are formed. The stone may also be formed in the bladder by the same concentration mechanism.

When the bladder is repeatedly filled to the point of near bursting due to holding in the urine, it damages the lining of the bladder. This makes the bladder more susceptible to infections, as well as to stone formation.

Finally, a full bladder is heavy with urine. The anatomical position of the bladder in men is directly above the prostate gland. A heavy, full bladder will compress the prostate directly beneath it. In response to the compression, the prostate enlarges to cushion itself from the pressure. As it enlarges, the passage of urine is inhibited, since it must pass from the bladder, through the prostate, and out the penis. This means that a full bladder leads to prostate enlargement, which in turn inhibits the complete emptying of the bladder.

Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis is a problem of the large intestines, or colon, usually near the rectum. Pressure builds within the colon, which is a hollow tube, like an inflated balloon.

The pressure causes the walls of the colon to bulge out and form pockets, called diverticula. This condition is called diverticulosis, and is extremely common in so-called "first world" cultures, where people have hang-ups about defecating.

These colon pockets can accumulate feces and, under continued pressure, can get infected, possibly breaking through the colon wall. This is called diverticulitis, or inflammation of the diverticula, and it can lead to death if the feces enter the abdomen and cause infection.

The cause of diverticulosis is known to be pressure in the colon, but the cause of the pressure has been considered unknown.

One theory of the cause was too low fiber in the diet. It was assumed that added fiber in the diet could allow stool to more easily pass through the colon, reducing pressure. However, studies have shown this theory incorrect. Diet has no clear effect on diverticulosis or diverticulitis. Vegetarians, as well as meat eaters, get this condition, showing that it is not related to dietary fiber. However, holding in stool when the urge to defecate arises can increase colon pressure. In addition, holding in gas can greatly increase colon pressure. Flatus, or farts, are not allowed in cultured company.

However, if the gas does not come out the anus, it will push on the colon wall, creating pockets and diverticulosis. Ultimately, this can lead to infection within those pockets, or diverticulitis.

Menstruation & Menopause

Our bodies have several methods of waste disposal. These include urination, defecation, perspiration, and respiration. Seldom mentioned as an elimination process is the monthly cleansing of menstruation.

The uterine tissue that is excreted during menstruation carries toxins with it as it leaves the body. These toxins are released from the tissues of the body by elevated estrogen hormone levels that precede the menstrual period.

Estrogen causes tissues to accumulate fluid, providing the necessary water and pressure for a tissue wash. As the estrogen level drops, the tissues release the extra fluid along with toxins.

The toxins course throughout the bloodstream and become stored in the lining of the uterus. Soon thereafter, the hormone levels change again and uterus sloughs its lining, along with the toxins it contains.

Menstruation, then, provides a monthly cleansing of the body.

P.M.S. & Cramps

When the uterine lining accumulates excessive amounts of toxins for disposal during the menstrual period, it can irritate the uterus itself. This might create cramping before and during the menstrual flow.

In addition, water accumulates within the body creating a swollen, congested, uncomfortable feeling, as well as irritability and other nervous troubles. This collection of symptoms is called Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS), and is a result of elevated estrogen levels that exist prior to the menstrual period and which cause fluid accumulation.

Medically speaking, PMS should be called generalized edema secondary to elevated estrogen levels.

Therefore, there are two problems that need to be addressed. The first is the accumulation of toxins within the uterus; and the second is the accumulation of water throughout the body.

Cervical Dysplasia & Yeast Infections

Modern western culture does not set aside time for women to menstruate. Women themselves do not wish to alter their typical lifestyles and activities simply because they are having a period. As a result, many women, especially young ones, use tampons to minimize the effect of menstruation on their lives.

Tampons are convenient, provide minimal hand and eye contact with menstrual blood, and make walking, running, and other physical activities easier than when having an absorbent pad between the legs.

But what are the consequences of using a tampon? The walls of the vagina are lined with a mucus membrane, much like the lining of the mouth. Imagine if you were to put a tampon in the cheek of your mouth for 3-7 days, 24 hours daily. Your cheek lining would feel raw. This is what a tampon does to the vaginal lining.

As a result, the vaginal mucous membrane secretes extra mucus to sooth its irritated membrane. This is why some women experience a mucus discharges after their menstrual period ends. If tampon usage continues, month after month, the irritation of the vaginal lining causes an overgrowth of cells, in the same way as rubbing the skin of the hands can cause thickened skin. This is the body’s way of protecting its skin layers.

As the tampon rubs on the cervix, skin covering that organ will develop extra layers, as well. This overgrowth of cervical skin has been called cervical dysplasia. It is a direct result of the mechanical irritation of the cervix by tampons, and is reversible.

In addition, an irritated vagina has an inflamed mucous membrane which is more susceptible to infections and which oozes lymph fluid. This can create an environment ripe for yeast growth, producing yeast infections. The cause of these infections is not the yeast. It is the irritation of the vagina that makes it possible for yeast to grow and attack the vaginal lining. It also makes it possible for bacteria to grow, which is why tampons can cause toxic shock syndrome.

Tampons, then, can lead to vaginal irritation, cervical dysplasia, and vaginal infections.

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