“Why can’t I poop?”
Experiencing occasional constipation is normal, for instance, while traveling or after surgery. But what if it becomes chronic?
We’ll learn some steps you can try to overcome chronic constipation, but first, let’s take a look at some of the leading causes:
- Hidden food allergies or sensitivities.
- Insufficient food or water intake.
- A diet that lacks fiber and is high in the refined carbohydrates, sugar, and white food products.
- Gluten-free products that include lots of rice, corn starch, or tapioca, all of which can cause constipation.
- Lack of adequate gut flora from antibiotic use.
- Lack of exercise and poor abdominal muscle tone.
- Low hydrochloric acid or other digestive enzymes.
- Sympathetic dominance from too much stress.
- Vertebrae that are out of alignment and require chiropractic care.
- Low thyroid function.
- Jammed ileocecal valve.
Remedies To Try For Chronic Constipation
Dietary changes such as:
- Increase vegetable fiber in the diet (see below).
- Avoid gluten-containing grains and too many gluten-free products that aren’t “whole foods.”
- Aim for 30 g of fiber a day. Check out the fiber chart below.
- Drink at least 80 ounces of water a day.
- Eliminate all dairy products. They are very constipating.
- Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed oil to food or drink every day.
Constipation Remedy Recipe:
- 1–3 TBSP ground flaxseed
- 1/4 cup puréed prunes
- Up to 4 TBSP apple cider, adding enough to make a thick paste
Take 2-3 TBSP every evening.
Great Sources Of Fiber:
- 1/2 cup chickpeas, 17 grams
- 1 cup lentil, boiled, 15 grams
- 1 medium artichoke, steamed, 10 grams
- 1 cup baked beans, 10 grams
- medium pear with skin, 8 grams
- medium apple with skin, 5.5 grams
- 1 cup broccoli, steamed, 5 grams
- 23 almonds, 3.5 grams
- 1 cup brown rice, cooked, 3.5 grams
- 1 cup strawberries, 3 grams
- 1 small potato with skin, 3 grams
- 1 medium banana, 3 grams
- 48 pistachios, 3 grams
- 1 raw carrot, 1 gram
Supplement Options:
- Add Magnesium Malate or Magnesium Citrate in the evening. Either tablets or powdered form allows for higher dosages. Start with 250 mg and work up to 1000 mg until you achieve relief. Magnesium pulls water into the colon and rehydrates the stool, and you will have the added benefit of feeling more relaxed, and any muscle cramps will disappear.
- Add a probiotic that ranges from 5 billion like our Probiotic Synergy to 50 billion organisms and take with dinner.
- Add digestive enzymes, one that includes hydrochloric acid.
- Add fiber products such as Colon Plus Capsules or PaleoFiber, which contain both soluble and insoluble fiber.
- Use our safe herbal laxative made of 9 botanicals, Herb-Lax, occasionally, to break the cycle of constipation and get things moving.
Seek Help
- Consider seeing a chiropractor who is trained in applied kinesiology to quiet the overactive nervous system, which can affect bowel function or to correct the ileocecal valve dysfunction. For those in State College area, we recommend Drs. Annie and Matt Reyes of Reyes Active Body Chiropractic at 814-552-1805.
- Consider yoga classes or private lessons.
Don’t let chronic constipation slow you down. Try some of these suggestions, one at a time, and see what works best for your body.
Be Well!
The BeWell Team
To find out how we can help you, schedule a Free 15-Minute Informational Phone Call with Senior Nutritionist, Monica Montag.
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