Constipation is an issue where your body isn't digesting and eliminating waste fast enough.
Symptoms - This can cause you to have dry Lumpy Stool Dry hard lumps in your stool which are difficult to pass. < 3 Poops Per Week - having less than 3 bowel movements per week may indicate constipation
Feeling Fullness - And there may also be a
feeling of fullness like you can’t fully empty your bowels after trying to use the toilet.
It's important to get your bowels moving if you are constipated, as the food waste that’s inside your colon can start to build-up,
Causing inflammation in the intestines, infections, diverticulitis, haemorrhoids (swollen veins in rectum), and it can also damage your pelvic floor muscles from
straining too hard when your using the toilet.
In this video we will be exploring the top 6 ways to clear out the waste from your colon and eliminate constipation by fixing the root causes of the problem.
Just a quick reminder this article is for educational purposes only, so do speak to your doctor if you have any medical concerns.
1. Use Bile Acids
Bile is very important liquid made by your liver and gallbladder, which helps to lubricate your colon, help you digest fats and absorb nutrients from your food.
Many people are deficient in bile because they have a sluggish gallbladder or a fatty liver because they are overweight.
This causes your bile to thicken, leading to a build-up of dry faeces in your colon that's not lubricated properly, making it difficult to pass.
To overcome this you can take a supplement containing conjugated bile acids, in the morning on an empty stomach, and again when you eat a meal.
Bile supplements have different names such as ox bile extract, bile acid factors, purified bile salts. You can also find this in digestive enzyme blends.
Taking bile in the morning before you eat anything helps to mobilise the faeces and stool in your colon, by lubricating the entire system.
2. Water & Sea Salt
Many people are dehydrated because they simply do not drink enough water or eat
enough electrolytes, which can dry out the colon, causing constipation.
Drink 1 pint of water with 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in the morning to quickly
refresh the digestive system and bring up your fluid levels.
The sea salt is important to help stimulate digestive juices in your stomach (HCL).
Please note that drinking too much coffee,
tea or caffeine can actually dehydrate you and trigger constipation.
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3. Prebiotic Fiber (Soluble)
If you have constipation quite often,
you may have an imbalance in the bacteria that lives inside your gut.
There are actually over 100 trillion friendly bacteria (probiotics) living in your intestines that help to digest your food, break it down and eliminate it from the body.
However, if you eat lots of refined grains and sugars like bread, cakes, sweets, biscuits, cereals these can actually weaken the balance and make your microbes less diverse.
To build these back up, starting eating foods rich in soluble fiber, like chia seeds, avocados, guacamole, hummus, brussels sprouts, cabbage, pecan nuts, sauerkraut, other fermented vegetables and salad leaves.
Your friendly microbes eat soluble fiber (fermentation), which makes them stronger
and helps to support your digestion and move waste through your colon.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
If you often suffer from acid reflux, GERD, indigestion, regurgitation or heartburn along with your constipation this is usually a sign of stomach acid problems.
Most commonly, the important stomach acids (HCL) become too alkaline, which makes them weaker and less able to digest and break down your food at the stomach level.
Unfortunately antacids are often prescribed, which actually makes the stomach even weaker
because you are neutralising these important digestive juices.
If you wish to improve this you can take 2-3 capsules of apple cider vinegar with a tall glass of water before each meal, or you can use 1tbsp of liquid acv in water.
This helps to bring down the pH of your stomach acid back to normal (1-3),
and will stimulate the release of enzymes from your pancreas that help to digest your food and pass waste to clear your constipation.
5. Senna Tea
For a maximum of 7 days, you can drink senna tea up to 3x per day to stimulate the muscles in your gut.
This herbal remedy contains phytonutrients that speed up peristalsis, the pumping action of the muscles that push waste through your large intestine.
This is very effective for short term constipation relief, however you may consider using the other remedies discussed today for long term constipation > 1-2weeks.
6. B-Vitamins
Many people who have constipation suffer from a Vitamin B deficiency, especially B1.
When you eat sugar, and other refined foods like flour, bread, popcorn, cereal, pastries, biscuits, sweets and soda drinks you deplete your body of Vitamin B1, and B-complex.
This causes problems with the nerve signalling from the brain stem to the muscles in your gut, and slows down the pumping action (peristalsis).
This can also happen when you are stressed out and your cortisol levels are high, because your body activates fight/flight and turns off parts of your digestion.
Taking B1 and other B-vitamins however help to relax the nervous system (sympathetic) and turn on the rest/digest system (parasympathetic), which promotes the normal digestion and flow of waste through your intestines.
The best natural form of Vitamin B1 is called allithiamine, but you can also get this by eating unfortified nutritional yeast and garlic regularly.
So try out a mixture of these remedies and see which works best for you.
You can learn more about the underlying causes of constipation in my other videos if you wish.
Stretches Now let's explore a few stretches that you can also do to help stimulate a bowel movement very quickly.
7. Half Spinal Twist.
Start by sitting down the floor on a matt, carpet or towel so you are comfortable.
Bend the left leg and place your left foot on the ground over your right knee.
Now bend your right knee and tuck your right foot near your butt.
Place your right elbow near your left knee and gently twist your body, looking over your left shoulder.
Breathe deeply, hold for a moment and then switch sides.
This twisting action helps to increase blood flow and gently stretch the abdominal muscles to encourage stools to move through your digestive system.
8. Wind Relieving Pose
Lie on your back and gently pull your knees towards your chest.
Place your hands around your shins.
Tucking your chin in whilst pressing your lower back onto the floor.
Hold this pose and breathe deeply for 10 seconds, release and then repeat 5 times.
This particular pose can help relieve pain and pressure caused by a build-up of waste and gas.
1. Supine Spinal Twist
Lie flat on your back. Bring your arms out to the side in a T-position with palms down against the ground. Bend one leg at the knee, And whilst keeping your shoulders flat, gently let the bent leg drop over the other leg.
Hold this pose and breathe deeply for 10 seconds, release and repeat on the opposite side 10x each.
Again this pose will help to bring blood and oxygen to the muscles in your digestive tract, in order to speed up the movement.
Often people need to use the toilet after performing these simple exercises.
Thank you so much for reading my article today, and as always I wish you great health, wealth and happiness.
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