How to Stay Regular and Avoid Constipation

Sometimes you’ve gotta talk about it… toilet habits. It may not be the most comfortable of topics to discuss but staying regular is extremely important to our health. Constipation is common, way too common. And when our bowels aren’t regular it can lead to health issues. It’s not just something that’s uncomfortable, but over time can increase the toxicity of our bodies and lead to declining health.

Small and Large Intestine

The small intestine is about 20 feet long and the large intestine is about 5 feet long. The total surface area of the intestines (and all of the villi’s surface area) totals the surface area of a football field. In addition to the length and volume of the intestines we also have to think about our microbiome. Our microbiome is the microbial makeup of our bodies. We have 10 trillion cells and 100 trillion microbes. The microbiome of our digestive system is crucial for regular bowel movements along with building healthy muscle, burning fat, and for proper organ function (especially the thyroid and the liver). Our gut is also a big detoxification organ. Keeping a healthy gut and a gut that moves and eliminates on (at least) a daily basis is an essential part of health.

 

What is constipation?

The conventional medical system describes constipation as:

• Straining during a bowel movement more than 25% of the time
• Hard stools more than 25% of the time
• Incomplete evacuation more than 25% of the time
• Two or fewer bowel movements in a week

Now although I agree with those terms I believe that constipation is much more common than that. Constipation really means “slow moving stools”. The proper transit time for when you eat food to when you eliminate food should be 12-24 hours. Anything over that is constipation. A healthy digestive system eliminates 1-3 times per day. Ideally after each meal you eat. And anything less than that would be considered constipation.

If our bowels aren’t moving appropriately we start to build up toxins. Waste can’t be expelled from the body the way it was designed to and it starts to build up. It can lead to not only digestive complaints, but skin issues, brain fog, leaky gut, food sensitivities, and more.

How to stay regular

1. Stay Hydrated

This is one of the simplest, yet most powerful tools to regular bowels. Water is also important to flush toxins from the body. We need a lot of water to prevent hard stools. Try and drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day. 150lbs= 75 ounces of water.

2. Processed Foods and Bad Fats

What we eat affects our digestive system as a whole (the microbiome too). Eating processed foods laden with flour, sugar, hydrogenated oils and genetically modified ingredients. They are ingredients for consipation.

Cut out gluten, bad fats, and foods containing genetically modified ingredients. Your entire digestive system will thank you!

3. Watch for Food Sensitivities

Food Allergies or sensitivities can really mess up our digestive systems. Typically food allergies are fairly common to identify because they bring about more severe symptoms usually within an hour after eating. Food sensitivities are much harder to figure out. They can bring about symptoms, even mild symptoms, 1-3 days after eating the food. In practice I muscle test for food sensitivities, which allows us to figure them out quicker. If you don’t have access to a natural practitioner to help you, I would try an elimination diet of the main allergens to help pinpoint sensitivities. The foods with the most common sensitivities are gluten, grains, dairy, sugar, nuts and seeds, chocolate, coffee, soy and legumes (beans and peanuts).

4. Take your Supplements

Some times our digestive systems need a little help. Bring in the reinforcements that we can’t get from our diet. Good quality anti-inflammatories, probiotics, soil organism based probiotic. Often times we need to rebuild our microbiome. A good quality probiotic or soil based probiotic on a daily basis can be a major help in healing the gut. My favorite anti-inflammatory supplements are glutamine and turmeric. Gut healing is often times a difficult and complex process and it can also be frustrating. Contact Me if you need help with digestive healing.

Supplements that can get you moving and keep you moving are Magnesium and vitamin C. I recommend magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate to get moving. You can take higher doses to “flush” or take a cup or two of calm or 2-6 Mag Citrate per day to keep things moving.

You can utilize Vitamin C to flush your digestive system. This is best used when constipated and needing to clear your system out. To do a Vitamin C flush you will drink a heaping teaspoon of Vitamin C (in water) every 20-30 minutes until saturation. (i.e. “diarrhea”). It can take a few hours to flush sometimes if you are especially deficient in antioxidants or toxic. So don’t give up if you don’t flush quickly. Keep going it can take some time but you will flush (sometimes a few hours or more).

5. Get Moving

Exercising, stretching and just plain moving are amazing for the bowels. To get them moving, you need to be moving too. Take some time on a daily basis to go for a walk, do some twisting stretches (yoga moves) or a high intensity burst training to ensure a healthy digestive tract.

6. Fast

Digesting is a necessary process but it takes a lot of energy. And it goes on and on every day with every meal and snack that we eat. Our poor tummies often times need a break. My favorite way to break is with a fast called the Suero Gold Cleanse from Beyond Organic. It is a 3 day fast with whey water that rests and heals the digestive system and opens up detox channels of the liver, kidneys and gut. It also cuts sugar cravings. So if you are struggling with transitioning to a grain-free or sugar-free diet, start with a Suero Cleanse. You will be surprised at how it slashes your cravings and how much easier it is to follow a real food lifestyle.

 

 

 

Sources:

The Basics of Constipation

Constipation: Learn about the major causes of constipation, effective treatment methods and risk factors involved.

http://www.health.arizona.edu/health_topics/nutrition/handouts/Constipation.pdf

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