Food and exercise are essential for a healthy lifestyle. Through proper food intake and regular exercise routine, one can maintain homeostasis of the body. If homeostasis is not maintained, then the body will spiral out and causes significant health issues. Due to a lack of information, many people tend to have quite a lot of doubts about diet and exercise. The mentioned question is one such doubt. Due to the indelicate nature of the question, it is considered taboo by many people, and they prefer not to talk about it. This leads to further ignorance, and the doubts still linger in the air without being answered. Proper bowel movement is actually a blessing, which many people tend to ignore. Many people suffer from constricted bowels and don’t know what to do. Bowel movements are coordinated by the colon in the presence of water and many useful bacteria. The bowel movements in a healthy adult can also be influenced by the type of food taken. Continuous consumption of sugary, junk and other rubbish food may cause severe constipation as well as related bowel trouble.
As mentioned previously, regular exercise is a must for people willing to keep healthy. Contrary to popular belief, exercise not only helps in maintaining a perfect body figure but also keeps many medical complications at bay. Exercise can vary from basic ones like stretching and running to various gym workouts and bench presses etc. To maintain stamina and push beyond limits, it is a common practice for both athletes and the public to consume pre-workout. These pre-workouts are dietary supplements that have to be taken under the supervision of a qualified health trainer. A common crisis arising among people consuming such pre-workouts is the feeling of relieving their bowels while starting a workout routine. This phenomenon tends to reoccur on the administration of pre-workouts and subsequently disappear when such supplements are removed. Such is the relevance of this effect that many dieticians and health experts are bamboozled by it as a whole. If you are still reading this article, then it means that you are concerned about the same doubts as well. In this article, an attempt to answer this question of seemingly childish nature (the reality being the opposite) is made.
It is a fact that many such pre-workouts cause unpredictable bowel movements. The actual reason behind it can be traced back to the ingredients of so-called pre-workouts. There are lots of chemical elements in any pre-workout mixture. These elements may have varying effects on the body. For beginners, laxatives are substances, which tend to aggravate bowel movements. These laxatives are often consumed to clear constricted bowels. Though laxatives have their own benefits, consuming one before exercise is not advised at all. The laxative intake, along with exercise, may free the bowels and cause a certain temptation to visit the restroom. Most of such pre-workouts contain laxative bases. It is a predominant factor that leads to completely uncalled bathroom breaks during an exercise. Common examples of laxatives, including magnesium salts, are magnesium nitrate, magnesium citrate, while other saline chemicals are fleet phospo-soda, etc. Even certain natural substances like aloe, senna, and castor oil are effective laxatives. Hence, to avoid bathroom breaks during workouts after consuming a pre-workout, avoid using supplements containing natural/saline laxatives.
The ingredients are again the major trouble maker and cause unprecedented bowel movements. If pre-workouts containing such ingredients are avoided, then this trouble can also be avoided as a whole. Other than the general laxative theory, many other theories have been put forward by labeling various other factors for such unprecedented bowel movements. One such study shows caffeine as the major culprit. Caffeine is not far from being a laxative itself. Caffeine is popular, especially when people want to preserve energy and stay awake.
The large amounts of caffeine in coffee are the main reason why a cup of coffee feels refreshing at the end of a particularly demanding day. Energy drinks sold under commercial names like Red Bull, Monster energy are soaked with caffeine enough for an adult elephant ( an exaggeration of course!). It is due to the relatively high amounts of caffeine that these drinks provide a sudden burst of energy, immediately after consuming them (Red Bull is supposed to give you wings apparently). The presence of caffeine is a highly determining factor. Caffeine relaxes the muscles of the inner abdomen, which in turn controls the colon.
As any basic science student may know, it is the colon, which is responsible for bowel movements. Once the control over the colon is lost, then the colon behaves in the most unpredictable imaginable ways. This, coupled with the vehement stretching of abdominal muscles during a good exercise, will surely lead to unspeakable results. This is one of the many reasons why energy drink manufacturers advise the only 500ml per day.
Continuing on the lines of ingredients, one comes across another possibility. This again is along the line of the laxatives, but a little bit different. This theory states the presence of individual elements in the pre-workout cause involuntary movements of the bowel. This will certainly lead to uncalled bathroom breaks. Magnesium is one such element. Magnesium is a micronutrient necessary for energizing and strengthening the body. However, like all good things, it does bring bad tidings along with it. Magnesium is called a micronutrient because it must not exceed the micro-levels. If magnesium does exceed the stipulated level, then it may lead to several consequences. One of these consequences might be the acceleration of bowel movements leading to the bathroom breaks that were discussed. Another such ingredient to be worried about is the lactulose. Lactulose is good for the body in small amounts. This is because it tends to cause an osmotic effect in the colon. This helps in retaining water inside the colon walls, and it is the easiest way to cause bowel movements. Once someone downs a significant amount of lactulose, his/her bowel movements cannot be helped. The answer to the question at the top is yes, and the ways to avoid it are discussed above.
