There’s nothing worse than feeling bloated, heavy and uncomfortable. Constipation is a major issue which affects many. It’s a daily struggle which can leave you feeling helpless and reliant on laxatives and harsh fibre supplements which in the long term make everything worse!
Constipation is one of our body’s red flags, telling us that something is not right, we’re out of balance. So we don’t want to ignore this sign or use a band-aid solution. We want to investigate and find out what the underlying cause is, not only for long-term relief but to improve your overall health…energy, weight loss, hormones and skin!
What is Constipation?
* Infrequent bowel motions, e.g. every 2-3 days or less!
* Hard, pellet-like stools
* Incomplete emptying of bowels (when you feel like the job is never completely done!)
* Straining and painful defecation
* Digestive symptoms such as bloating, pain and gas often come hand in hand
Why do we need to address constipation?
Regular bowel movements are important to ensure we’re removing toxins, waste and excess hormones from our body. If we don’t do this, then all of these substances are reabsorbed back into your bloodstream. They then recirculate around your body causing mild to chronic toxicity and inflammation throughout the body. And might lead to some of the health conditions below…
Toxicity
If waste is sitting in your colon for a long time, it’s reabsorbed back into the bloodstream, placing an extra burden on your liver and causing widespread inflammation throughout the body. Some toxicity signs include fatigue, acne/skin issues, headaches, nausea and foggy in the mind.
Hormonal Imbalances
Constipation can also lead to oestrogen excess in women. This is because oestrogen is broken down by our liver and excreted through our waste. However if we’re not excreting this oestrogen, it’s recirculated back through the body where it builds up and results in oestrogen excess conditions or symptoms like severe PMS, painful and heavy periods, tender breasts and hormonal headaches to name a few.
Leaky Gut
When toxins sit in the gut, they weaken our gut lining causing leaky gut syndrome. This causes inflammation in the body, activates our immune system and is linked to food intolerances and autoimmune conditions. What is leaky gut here…
Underlying causes to constipation
Constipation can be a result of conditions such as hypothyroidism or medications, however more commonly it’s functional, and caused by one or more of the following…
* Dehydration – the stool is too dry to pass through the colon, causing pellet like stools.
* Overgrowth of bad bacteria – e.g. Candida, SIBO
* Food Intolerances
* Diet – low fibre intake
* Stress and anxiety
* Sedentary lifestyle – lack of movement can reduce motility in the gut.
* Certain medications + iron supplements (choose a good absorbable iron form like bisglycinate)
The good news is, there’s so much you can do to address constipation and restore healthy bowel movements naturally!
Constipation Tips
For some, treatment of constipation can be resolved in a matter of days or weeks. However if this is a chronic problem for you, further investigation or personalised treatment may be needed. In the meantime, make sure you try the following…
* Increase water intake
Aiming for minimum 2L water day, sometimes it’s as simple as that! Not good with drinking water? Drink herbal teas (caffeine-free) and add fresh lemon or lime to your water for more flavour, and to help stimulate our digestive secretions.
* Eat 5-7 serves of fresh vegetables daily
Especially green leafy veggies!
* Slippery elm powder + flaxmeal
These fibres draw water into the bowel, bulking and softening the stool. This helps stimulate peristalsis for a healthy bowel movement. Slippery elm is also a prebiotic, the fuel which feeds our friendly bacteria! Simply sprinkle over your muesli, smoothie, yoghurt or add to water and drink daily.
* Move daily
This stimulates peristalsis of the bowel, to get things moving!
* Bitters
Taking herbal bitters or consuming bitter foods such as rocket, lemon and dandelion, help stimulate our digestion and increase bile production.
The key to long term relief from constipation, is to identify what is causing your irregular bowel movements. Once you’ve established this, you can begin targeted treatment strategies. Some investigative tests we may recommend include:
– Extensive Thyroid Profile
– Comprehensive Stool Analysis + Parasitology
– Food Intolerance Test
For more information, contact us directly or get started on your health by booking online!
Our Cleanse + Reset Gut Detox Program is running from the 1st-28th February 2018, more details here…
