Mental attitude has an impact on the occurrence of symptoms of digestive system diseases, said scientists from the US during the Digestive Disease Week in Chicago. In addition, it has been shown that one hour of gentle exercise per week is enough to reduce the risk of colon polyps, especially in obese people.
Robynne Chutkan, a doctor from Georgetown University Hospital, emphasizes that more and more studies show that both the mind and the body cooperate in the fight against disease in patients with gastrointestinal diseases, and explains that it is extremely important to treat the patient not only of his disease comprehensively.
Exercise and meditation are just two of the many alternative methods doctors should recommend to their patients to help them alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms, explains Chutkan.
Research has shown that meditation relieves symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Eight weeks after the introduction of this technique, a fourfold decrease in the intensity of troublesome symptoms was observed. Researchers have also shown that psychological factors, especially low mood and depression, aggravate abdominal pain in children and adolescents with Crohn’s disease.
In another study, researchers from New York University Langone Medical Center observed that just one hour of gentle exercise per week reduces the risk of developing colon polyps, especially in obese people. Likewise, exercise helps prevent the development of colon cancer.