It is perfectly normal to suffer constipation once in a while. This condition is often your body's reaction to poor diet, lack of exercise, interaction to new medication, insufficient water intake, or stressful situations. However, there are several cases when constipation can be a symptom of another disease such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

IBS is a disease or functional disorder that is often characterized by constipation among other symptoms like abdominal pain, cramping, bloating and discomfort. Thus, IBS and constipation symptoms go together and are nearly the same. People suffering from IBS often find themselves straining or cramping when trying to move bowels and removing little, if any, stool in the process. The stool that you move when you are suffering from IBS can at times be accompanied by mucus, which is actually the liquid that protects the tracts of your digestive system. Some people with this kind of functional disorder suffer diarrhea instead of constipation and may feel the urge to move bowels, while some alternate between constipation and diarrhea.

Large meals, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, chocolate, wheat, rye, barley, milk products, medicines, stress, and emotional situations are usually associated with worsening of the IBS problem. The causes of IBS are unknown although there are theories that suspect people with IBS to have colons that are sensitive to particular types of foods and stress.

Diet is often cited as the prime suspect when it comes to chronic constipation or recurring bouts of the condition.  That anything that affects the digestive system will also affect the body’s ability to evacuate waste from the colon. There are actually a large number of alternative explanations for a short term constipation problem, such as:

• Taking medications such as antidepressants, pain killers, or high blood pressure drugs
• Using stimulants, including caffeine
• Drinking alcohol
• Low-carb diet

The factors listed above generally only cause us to seek short term constipation relief so long as we stop using whatever is causing the incontinence.

Read more: What if Constipation Cause Is Not Food?

The colon has an important function in the body. This is to reabsorb the nutrients and water into our bodies and expel toxic matter through bowel movements. When the bowel becomes overwhelmed with toxic build up, problems can surface such as constipation, hemorrhoids and even colon cancer. The most common symptoms of a toxic overload in the body are bad breath, fatigue, allergies, bloating, irritability, depression and infections that occur frequently.

What actually happens is the body absorbs the toxins in the colon and poisons the body. By cleaning the colon regularly, a variety of health-related problems could often be avoided. This type of cleansing is often referred to as detoxification. In order to detoxify your body, reducing the amount of chemicals taken in by the body is a necessity. Reduce the sugars, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco from your diet to help the process along.

Probiotics are also important in the colon cleansing process and will help produce the good bacteria in your intestines that are needed to fight illness and disease in the body.

Colon Cleansing The Natural Way
To cleanse your colon naturally, you will need to begin a cleansing diet, including some natural herbs. Some of the most beneficial herbs to take are psyllium husk, flaxseeds, slippery elm and cascara sagrada.

Other Colon Cleansing Techniques
There are several other ways to clean your colon of toxic build up including colon hydrotherapy, which must be performed by a professional for safety reasons. Colon hydrotherapy will clean the large intestine only. For a full cleansing, an oxygen-based cleanser is also needed. An oxygen-based cleanser application does not require a professional.

Enemas are more commonly associated with the treatment of constipation. Enemas generally only clean the lower colon, so are not always as effective in a complete colon cleanse. Laxatives can be helpful in clearing out the colon, although they do very little in the way of cleansing. Laxatives are also considered to be the most dangerous types of treatments for constipation and cleansing and should not be used regularly.

Colon cleansing is considered to be a very important part of keeping your body healthy and free from disease. Natural supplements, used regularly, will help keep your colon clean and well maintained without the use of harsh chemicals that are likely to add to your toxification problems. Those who are experiencing constipation should make it priority to cleanse their colon, as constipation means that the body is storing the toxic waste, generated by food eaten, in the body for dangerous amounts of time.

If you intend to begin any colon cleansing treatment, especially if you are changing your diet or taking new medications, it is best to consult a health care professional to make sure that the changes will not harm your health.