So...I once went on a trip to Mexico and realized when I was there, that I hadn't gone to the bathroom for 5 straight days. That's no pooping for 5 days. I had no idea the damage constipation can cause, I thought it was just inconvenient.
First thing, aim to NEVER get constipated, EVER. When you are not regularly going to the bathroom, it means your body is NOT detoxifying properly. You have toxins that can keep recycling through your blood stream without proper elimination. You must poop daily. You must. You must. Some people can even poop 3 times a day, but that's not a requirement for everyone. Let's just say if you're eating, you should be pooping. It's not just about pooping, the pooping process effects the entire body. Elimination is everything, and when it's not working, we get sick, we develop food allergies, we forget things easily, we can't stay motivated and we are prone to anger, anxiety and depression. And more serious than that, we get bloated after we eat. (just kidding, it's just annoying!)
Bloating When Constipated, Guilty By Association
Bloating is common with constipation because you are having mal-absorption of your food and your intestines are irritated and inflamed by the assault. You know how you feel when you eat a fatty meal bloated and undigested? You can even get heartburn. Or when you look so cute in the morning with an empty stomach but you need maternity clothes by the evening. This is because the liver gets burdened with improperly digested food, then you get toxins roaming through your blood stream making you feel like a piece of poop that's been pooped on. This makes your lymph system congested which makes you swollen, lumpy, stiff and miserable. How appropriate. And yet even with all that, you're still hungry for the foods that made you feel yuck to begin with. Meh.
Toxins are kept from harming you by either being wrapped in fat cells or water to protect you? That's why when we drink a lot of water, we can flush out water weight. Even if it's just water weight, it feels damn good to get rid of it. I'll say it again, toxins are prevented from harming you with water or fat cells. So.... if you eliminate toxicity in the body the proper way, you allow those harmful substances to release along with fat and water weight. BOOM.
More on bloating here.
For help with that food-baby look after you eat, I highly recommend using digestive enzymes while your gut is healing. It's definitely a band-aid because it's not a forever, long term solution, I don't want to ever take a pill forever. But digestive enzymes are naturally found in the body, more so as you are a kid which is part of why kids can eat anything without complaining of heartburn or indigestion. Digestive enzymes are necessary to help your body assimilate nutrients from what you eat) and to digest hard to digest foods like meat, dairy and nuts.
Toxins are kept from harming you by either being wrapped in fat cells or water to protect you? That's why when we drink a lot of water, we can flush out water weight. Even if it's just water weight, it feels damn good to get rid of it. I'll say it again, toxins are prevented from harming you with water or fat cells. So.... if you eliminate toxicity in the body the proper way, you allow those harmful substances to release along with fat and water weight. BOOM.
More on bloating here.
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| A trusted digestive enzyme |
What makes you constipated?
Toxic foods and emotions can clog your detoxification pathways. As can toxic body care products, dehydration and food allergies.
We're all different, we can all digest different foods at different rates. But foods most common to clog you up are dairy (this includes cheese, people!) gluten, soy, and peanuts/nuts. Of course, any processed foods or fast foods are dead so they offer no benefit to keeping you regular whatsoever. So when things get slowed down in the colon, the food and its metabolic bi-products, get stuck in the large intestine. And all of these broken down compounds get pushed into the bloodstream and repeat the toxic effects over and over like a dirty dog sprayed with water and no soap. You know that smell of a wet dog, yuck. You don't want your body smelling like that, so eat your greens!!!
Perpetual Motion- Eating foods that Make You Constipated
Just remember, you crave what you eat. Your microbiome can change within one meal, this can harm or help you. So if you eat a piece of cake, a bag of M and M's and a muffin, then you're body isn't going to magically think that some roasted carrots and steamed cauliflower sound good. You have to start the motion of good eating and then let the motion carry you downstream. It's all about perpetual motion, feeding the good bugs in your gut and starving the bad ones. And when you feed the good ones, they will reward you with hardy digestion. In fact, the master of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Budgeon says that our digestive system has the potential to digest rocks. But we can easily destroy that capability by eating processed foods and avoiding veggies.
Dry Foods cause constipation. Think of chips, popcorn, nuts, granola and cereal, bagels, and bread. All these foods will create a dryness in the organs, including the colon which lead to constipation. Not only do they dry out your insides, but they dry out your skin and that means wrinkles eventually inflammation. Instead, aim for hydrating foods and healthy fats like olive oil, avocados and warm broths.
Dry Foods cause constipation. Think of chips, popcorn, nuts, granola and cereal, bagels, and bread. All these foods will create a dryness in the organs, including the colon which lead to constipation. Not only do they dry out your insides, but they dry out your skin and that means wrinkles eventually inflammation. Instead, aim for hydrating foods and healthy fats like olive oil, avocados and warm broths.
You know that feeling when you feel hung over in the morning, and you didn't drink the night before? The burning eyes, the mental fog, the achy joints, swollen fingers, then bloated bellies and lack of motivation to move. Ya, these are signs that you're toxic and your body is not working at full capacity OR you are sick. Over the long term, you'll suffer with poor vitamin absorption, low energy, cellulite, swollen eyes, bloating, indigestion and did I say bloating? Bloating is high enough on the list for me. Nothing fabulous or pretty comes from constipation or digestive issues. Here's you emergency plan.
Here's your constipation 911 plan. Pick one that speaks to you!
1. Enemas - Oh dear. Straight to the real deal. I was scared when I first did this too, but don't worry, you'll come to love them. These are fabulous for anxiety and dryness of the body which come with constipation and toxicity of the body which spreads to the mind. They will hydrate the colon and make you feel pretty fabulous when you're done. You can buy disposable enema bottles at Walgreens. I recommend you don't use the saline chemicals inside the bottle and instead dump the contents then refill the bottle with warm, distilled water. Do one of these on an empty stomach, maybe at night time. You want to try to hold the water in your butt for as long as you can, likely you will hold it for about 5-10 minutes at first. When you get more experienced with these you can do enemas with sesame seed oil, acidophillus or even coffee. Coffee enemas are used in Gerson therapy for cancer cures in order to activate glutathione production which helps with rapid detoxification using phase 2 detox.
2. Magnesium (Epsom salt baths & supplements) Magnesium is given to women in order to stop contractions during labor. It helps the body to release instead of hold on, because it relaxes you. You can take an Epsom salt bath or take a magnesium supplement like Calm to get magnesium. The supplement is taken before sleep and will also help you sleep well. It also helps with depression and stress. 
3. Triphala supplement - These are Ayurvedic herbs that work as a very gentle laxative. They are not only helping you to poop, but also to clean out the intestines from old toxins and mucous stuck on the intestinal walls. These are safe to take during the day, as they will not cause any level of urgency. The ingredients are very safe, though they are herbs you've probably never heard of. The supplement is very well known in India and Ayurvedic medicine. You can take them after each meal if you want. Most people that use these report weight loss, because - ta-da, you aren't fat, you're toxic. Remove the toxins, you can release fat. Of all the supplements I've ever taken, Triphala is at the top of my best supplements ever list, hands down. There was a Doctor who said he ran into a patient two years after he treated her. She was noticeably thinner, like 25 pounds thinner. She thanked him and said the only thing she changed in her life was taking Triphala after meals. You can buy these at health food stores, I buy it at Sprouts or online. Just make sure the ingredients are trustworthy, I've tried to go cheap here and I didn't get the same results.A short video here.
4. Butt loads of water - If your colon is dry, you're not getting anything out. You must be hydrated! Drinking 3 big glasses of water will usually get things moving, but then make sure you keep the hydration going. I would advise too, if you want to get the full detoxing effect, drink alkaline water. Just like cancer patients are advised to eat a high alkaline diet, you want to be in a high alkaline state in order to prevent and treat cancer. But of course, any old water will help you poop. Hydration is key to pooping. That's why you get constipated after you've had diarrhea is because your colon is dry.
5. Aloe Vera gel/juice- Buy this at Sprouts. They come in glass bottles and you need to buy the one
without preservatives. Drink 1/4 cup of this twice/day. Aloe plants regrow themselves when you cut their leaves, and it does the same for our intestines, it heals them. Take this on an empty stomach for the most healing power. There isn't enough that can be said about this. It helps with diabetes to control blood sugar, it detoxes and repairs cells, it helps with PMS and menstrual irregularities. Buy this stuff and drink it like you mean it.
without preservatives. Drink 1/4 cup of this twice/day. Aloe plants regrow themselves when you cut their leaves, and it does the same for our intestines, it heals them. Take this on an empty stomach for the most healing power. There isn't enough that can be said about this. It helps with diabetes to control blood sugar, it detoxes and repairs cells, it helps with PMS and menstrual irregularities. Buy this stuff and drink it like you mean it.
6. Bentonite Clay. I use hydrated bentonite clay when I feel toxic. I drink it (it's gross people, but it works!) when I need a boost to help me clear out yuck from my body. People use it for removing mercury after it's consumed from fish, or from having a bad flare up of IBS. It works like a charm. Make sure you drink tons of water when you take this because otherwise it can dry you out. I like to take hydrated bentonite clay in a liquid form and I take it if I get an upset stomach too.
Post Emergency Plan-Maintenance Plan
- Start adding in naturally high in fiber foods like soaked chia seeds, ground flax seeds, and psyllium husk. You'll notice an effect from these the day after you eat them.
- Add in more veggies - like roasted potatoes and onions
- Put on your brave hat and consider colonics, which I have a love-hate relationship with. A Denver local colon hydrotherapist is here.
- Eat at regular times, to get regular elimination. Eat meals at the same time everyday to set a rhythm of predictability
- Consider the Triphala, aloe vera and constant hydration- for upkeep until you feel regular
A Note on Constipation.
For every action, there is a reaction. Things in our body can be expanding (diarrhea) or contracting (constipation.) What we're looking for is balance of both, not too fast or too slow but just right. Because constipation is a contraction state, you're holding onto things. When your colon is dry (constipation), you feel anxiety and depression, you feel yuck. You're holding onto old emotions, thoughts, ideas or beliefs and the toxicity of physical things. You want to release that, but not too fast. (see below)
If you have diarrhea: Having diarrhea is one sure fire way to cause constipation because all the water in your colon gets released as does the good bacteria in there. When you have diarrhea you feel "off" mentally and physically. You tend to feel sluggish and antisocial. Make sure if you do have diarrhea you also get electrolytes from coconut water or make your own. Once you're holding food down again, make sure you consume probiotic-rich food like living sauerkraut. Skip yogurt since a lot of people have problems digesting dairy and it is mucous producing. 
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