Seeing blood in the toilet bowl after defecation is no doubt alarming, but it’s one of the main symptoms of haemorrhoids or piles. Worse still, men assume that overconsumption of sugary products can cause and worsen haemorrhoids.
Many women experience painful cramps, also known as dysmenorrhea, during menstruation. They also believe that sugar intake increases menstrual flow.
Now, a new review shows otherwise that high intake of sugar can aggravate pile symptoms as well as increase severe menstrual cramps.
The 2019 study on the implication of sugar intake in haemorrhoid and menstruation, said although sugar does not cause haemorrhoid, it can aggravate it and increase the grade.
Also, it said that a high intake of sugar does not increase menstrual flow but causes increased severe menstrual cramps by increasing the production of prostaglandins.
Prostaglandins acts by contracting the walls of the womb and constricting the blood vessels of the womb which results in pain during menstruation.
The study published in the International Journal of Research and Reports in Hematology involved Augustine I. Airaodion; Peace R. Adejumo; Onyinyechi C. Njoku; Emmanuel O. Ogbuagu; and Uloaku Ogbuagu.
Currently, studies provide evidence that a high intake of sugary drinks (including fruit juice) increased the risk of developing type II diabetes, weight gain and obesity in adults and children.
By itself, sugar is not a factor causing obesity and metabolic syndrome, but rather when overconsumed as a component of unhealthy dietary behaviour.
The WHO report stated that “Sugars are undoubtedly the most important dietary factor in the development of holes in tooth”. Some studies report evidence of causality between high consumption of refined sugar and hyperactivity.
One review of low-quality studies of children consuming high amounts of energy drinks showed association with higher rates of unhealthy behaviours, including smoking, alcohol abuse, and insomnia.
Dr Adewale Adisa, a consultant and general surgeon, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile Ife, Osun State, corroborated that consumption of sugar does not cause pile, though excess sugar is not good for the body for medical reasons.
According to Dr Adisa, “pile has nothing to do with alcohol, though taking alcohol harms the body. But anything that raises the pressure within the colon and anus such as constipation is the cause of pile.
“Haemorrhoid or what many people call pile is the flesh inside the anus that is coming out because of the build-up of pressure inside the anus. So it has nothing to do with if you are taking sugar or not.”
Dr Adisa, however, stated that overconsumption of foods low in fibre such as pastries, being also sources of sugar, and low consumption of fruits and vegetables, can cause constipation.
“With diets low in fibre, the pressure that builds up will make the faeces to become hard. And when it is coming out, it will brush haemorrhoid and bleeding will occur,” he declared.
He said several things, including poor intake of water, a diet poor in fibre, highly spicy foods, sedentary living and certain medications can predispose to constipation, which when persistent can aggravate haemorrhoids.
Haemorrhoids come in two varieties and are also graded by their size and severity. The internal type sprouts from within the rectum. External haemorrhoids develop on the anus itself. Either way, stools passing by them can cause pain and bleeding.
Some people develop internal and external haemorrhoids at the same time. External haemorrhoids aren’t always seen outside of the opening of the back passage (anus). Equally confusing, internal haemorrhoids can enlarge and drop-down (prolapse), so that they hang outside of the anus.
Often, it can be pushed back up after being to the toilet. However, more severe piles remain permanently prolapsed and cannot be pushed back up inside.
Small internal piles are usually painless. Larger piles may cause a mucous discharge, some pain, irritation and itch. The discharge may irritate the skin around the anus.
But Dr Oludolapo Afuwape, a general surgeon at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, says there is no scientific evidence that sugar can cause, aggravate or increase the grade of haemorrhoid.
According to him, “when you take sugar, it might increase bacterial load in your faeces. This may cause some anal discomfort in some people but it will never increase the grades. What increases its grades is probably the consistence of the faeces you have and your own anatomy.”
Dr Afuwape says it is a myth that sugar causes haemorrhoid and asks persons with haemorrhoids to seek medical care at the hospital.
He stated that they require dietary modifications to help prevent constipation.
“This dietary modification is not about sugar really, it is in terms of increasing the roughage in their diet and when it is really troublesome, surgery might be required,” he added.
The roughages soften the stool and increase its bulk, which will help avoid the straining that can cause haemorrhoids.
Dr Afuwape says although some herbal preparations act as stool softeners to reduce the severity of haemorrhoids, they cannot cure or eliminate the problem.
But, Dr Imran O. Morhason-Bello, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, UCH, Ibadan, submits it is a lie that a high intake of sugar during menstruation will lead to severe menstrual cramp.
According to Dr Morhason-Bello, conclusion of the review that a high intake of sugar during menstruation will lead to severe menstrual cramp is more a temporal association rather than causality.
He states thus: “This is likely to be a review of studies that find that menstrual cramp is commoner among women who says they take sugar. It is not that they found that the sugar is causing the pain.”
Dr Morhason-Bello stated the design of any study is important in determining whether two issues are linked with each other or that one causes the other.
“To say that sugar causes menstrual cramp, the study should be designed such that two groups of women that do not experience menstrual cramps will be divided into two.”
“One group will take sugar and the other serves as a control and then monitored over a long period of time to see if sugar will induce pain in women that do not experience menstrual cramps,” he said.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that more than half of the women experience period cramps for one or two days each month.
The pain usually starts within 24 hours of receiving their periods and this continues for days as the pain gets mild to intense abdominal cramping.
But a healthy diet, reduced consumption of salt, caffeine and alcohol, and regular exercise may be effective for women in controlling changes and discomfort associated with menstruation.
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