Five Simple Steps to Prevent Constipation
By Donna DiMarco, CN, LNC
Water Is Important
Most people don’t drink enough water. A simple way to check is the skin turgor test. Simply pinch the skin at the anatomical snuffbox (the area where the thumb and index finger meet). If it snaps back into place easily, your water level may not be that bad, but if your skin remains pinched for a second before it falls back into place on the hand, you probably need more water.
Water dilutes toxins and allows them to flush out of the body. It is believed that most people eat when they really need to drink more. The main function of the large intestines is to absorb water out of digestive wastes. If wastes remain in the colon too long, the water is drawn out and the stool becomes dry and hard and more difficult to pass, so a vicious cycle begins
Drink at least 80 oz of pure water daily to keep the wastes moist.
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Fiber for Health
Very few people eat the RDA allowance of fresh fruits and vegetables, which provide not only nutrients and antioxidants, but provide fiber as well. Whole grains are another good source, but again, we fall short. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is mostly made up of refined white flour. Think back to your elementary school days; you mixed white flour and water to make glue and paper mache. Fiber is needed to absorb toxins and wastes, but it also increases the bulk of stool, which in turn stimulate peristalsis, the wave-like contractions of the colon to force wastes out of the body.
Psyllium husk powder is inexpensive and works well. Add a teaspoon or two into a glass of water once or twice a day. You’ll be amazed at the results.
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Walk, Run or Dance; Just Do Something!
Exercise daily, if even just a daily walk. Nothing helps constipation like exercise. It also stimulates the skin to remove wastes through sweat and the lungs to oxygenate more effectively. Exercise gets the GI tract moving, it stimulates the thyroid, helps stabilize blood pressure, helps sleep, reduces stress, and if done first thing in the morning, it gets the metabolism burning fat better. If you can only walk, start with that. Walk three minutes in one direction then walk three minutes back. Each day add another minute until you are walking 20 – 30 minutes each day. Of course, if you are physically able to do more vigorous workouts, do it.
Please be sure to get your physicians approval before you start any exercise program.
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Magnesium, Please!
Consider a magnesium supplement. Because our vegetable consumption is so low, most people are lacking magnesium. Magnesium is needed for energy production, detoxification processes, sugar metabolism, maintenance of normal blood pressure and muscle relaxation. People who crave chocolate are often magnesium deficient, as are people who suffer from muscle cramps and those who fall asleep but awaken in the middle of the night. Another sign of magnesium deficiency is constipation. Remember the old laxative called M.O.? That stands doe magnesium oxide. If you’ve ever had a colonoscopy, chances are you drank citrate of magnesia or perhaps your mom gave you milk of magnesia. Things haven’t changed; magnesium helps the bowels move, but it is also needed for energy production, detoxification, muscle relaxation, blood sugar balance, and much more.
A supplement of magnesium glycinate works well. Be careful not to take too much and check with your physician first.
5. The Critters Within
We all should have about 4 pounds of good bacteria (probiotics) in our intestines. These friendly fellows help with digestion, help with vitamin intake, give us immunity, keep our colons at the proper pH, fight bad bacteria and parasites and help reduce cholesterol.
Probiotics are killed off by antibiotics, steroid hormones, birth control pills, poor diet, and other medications. Eating the most popular yogurts is ineffective at increasing their numbers. Some fermented foods like sauerkraut and miso can help, but I recommend an acidophilus supplement purchased from a good health food store that keeps it refrigerated. I recommend the powder but capsules work well too.
Acidophilus should be taken twice a day on an empty stomach so that stomach acid doesn’t destroy the live cultures.