Relieving Constipation: the Natural Methods

Popular Methods

When it comes to relieving constipation, we are a society expecting quick fixes. We want it out and now, right? It’s no surprise we spend about 900 million dollars on laxatives each year. Laxatives, though, should be a last resort for many reasons. Since they are available without a prescription we tend to think of them as safe. Unfortunately, they can become habit-forming quickly and they are harmful to your body in the long-term.

Types of Laxatives:

• Bulk laxatives – This is the best type of laxative to relieve constipation for prolonged use. Though usually taking a few days to start working, they can provide some relief. Remember to drink plenty of water. Bulk laxatives include: psyllium husk (available through health food stores), bran, ispaghula husk, and sterculia.
• Stimulant laxatives – These laxatives aim at increasing bowel contractions but can cause stomach cramps as a side effect. These are taken at night to have a morning bowel movement, as they are supposed to work within 6-12 hours. Senna is an example of a stimulant laxative. Although they work to relieve constipation, experts believe the contractions cause weakening of the digestive muscles which will eventually make the problem worse. Since these laxatives cause contractions, they are not safe for pregnant women. Glycerol suppositories are included in this group. Although they are inserted into the rectum, they still act as a stimulant.
• Osmotic laxatives – These go to work at relieving constipation by helping the bowel retain water and by softening the stool. Epsom salts and Milk of Magnesia are osmotic laxatives.
• Lactulose – This medication comes in crystals or liquid form. A type of sugar that isn’t digested by the body, Lactulose acts like a fiber and osmotic laxative combined. This type takes up to 3 days to work and may cause cramping and profuse gas.

There are other medications that act as stool softeners, which basically coat the bowel so water doesn’t get absorbed from the stool. Since the body naturally removes water from the colon, it isn’t suitable as a long-term solution for relieving constipation.

Natural Methods – Fiber In, Fiber Out

Adding fiber to your diet is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, relatively free of constipation. If you think fiber means just eating more bran, think again. You can also add fiber to your diet via fruits (with the skin), green vegetables, nuts, grains and seeds. Nuts and grains are also important because they are a good source of essential fatty acids (especially flaxseed or flax oil) which are wonderful options to relieve constipation naturally.

Adding fiber to your diet may make you feel like a gas-filled balloon at first. If your body has been used to eating white flour, heavy starches, fatty meats, and other low fiber foods, it may take some time to get used to it. Don’t give up after one short week. Remember, it probably took years of eating a low fiber diet to make constipation an issue in your intestines. Give fiber a chance! After 14-21 days of including more fiber in your diet, you’ll start to wonder why you didn’t make it a priority before.

Forming new habits really means you’re getting rid of the old one. If relieving constipation is your goal, you’ll want to stay away from the constipation culprits like: white flour, fried foods, sweets, carbonated drinks, alcohol, refined sugars, and cheese.

Maintain Your Flora

No, we’re not talking about your vegetable garden. Good bacterial flora is essential for proper digestion. In fact, if you took all the bacteria in your digestive system and put them all together you’d have a mass the size and weight of a brick. When we abuse laxatives and enemas, we can create havoc on the good bacteria we need to avoid diarrhea and help relieve constipation.

Eating yogurt with live cultures is one way to maintain your flora population. Be sure to read the label of your yogurt container. It should say it contains “live and active cultures.” If you’d rather not take their word for it, check the ingredients for Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophius.

Refrain From the Strain

With some people, constipation stems from issues with muscle coordination. They seem to contract the anus muscles when they should be relaxing them. There are certain biofeedback methods available for people who suffer with this problem. The treatment is used on those suffering from severe constipation linked directly to this muscle contraction issue.

Weekly Cleansing

Most of the waste matter produced from the food we eat gets passed out within a 72-hour period. Sometimes, up to 30% of that waste can sit in the colon for a week or more. Since retaining waste is not good for the body or health, a weekly cleansing of the colon will go a long way at relieving constipation. Oxy-Powder® is a safe way to clean out any waste that may be loitering in your colon and using it once a week will help improve bowel function. Remember the following: Avoid chemical laxatives. True, they can work for a while but along with those results come the weakened bowels, potentially unsafe contractions, and other nasty side effects. Add fiber to you diet. Fiber bulks up your stool and helps it retain water, which makes it easier to move along. There are many tasty and nutritious sources of fiber from which you can choose, so don’t fear that you’ll have to eat twigs or acorns or something. Keep a good quantity of bacteria on hand. Especially while undertaking a thorough colon cleansing program, replenish your flora with healthful and yummy yogurt. Relax and go. Don’t strain or try to force out impacted waste. You can end up tearing tissue and hurting yourself in the process. Cleanse naturally. Leave the chemicals in your garage where they belong and try a supplement especially suited for the job, one that just helps clean your colon so it can work its best again. Follow these guidelines to help relieve constipation and you can feel great again!

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The Colon Cleansing & Constipation Resource Center

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Colon Cleanse: Why, How And When?

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.