Using Laxatives To Lose Weight
Laxatives do NOT break down the foods that one eats. Laxatives work to artifically stimulate the bowels, causing abdominal cramping and a sense of urgency. Waste material often comes out very quickly as a result of these cramps. But, what you’re actually losing is your body’s supply of water. It might seem like someone has lost two or three pounds using laxatives, but as soon as they quit taking them, they put back on the weight as soon as they’re hydrated again.
Abuse of laxatives can bring about serious health difficulties. Use laxatives too long and your body will lose the ability to have a natural bowel movement. Moreover, repeated forceful bowel movements and subsequent wiping can lead to tears in the rectum; by nature, tears or trauma in the rectal area is prone to infection. And the resulting dehydration can wreak havoc on your immune system, leaving you sick and weak.
Many have claimed that laxatives not only speed up weight loss, but help people keep the weight off. Either they are lying, or they don’t know the facts. In truth, using laxatives to lose weight fast could be tantamount to an eating disorder, much like bulimia. The most notable difference is that bulimics use purgatives to encourage vomiting of the food and forcing the remainder of it down in a laxative action, while laxative abuse is typically more mild and does not include vomiting.
Using a laxative for a prolonged time also can cause nausea and induce vomiting; your whole system will be unbalanced. It’s a sad fact, but many people who use laxatives in this way end up needing medical intervention to get them free of laxatives.
There are those people who may say that using laxatives is a fast way to lose weight. But what these people are really doing is spreading dangerous falsehoods and half-truths; the use of laxatives or other medications as a means to lose weight is ultimately detrimental to your health.