17 Feb Constipation Relief Tips + Tricks
Nothing is worse than sitting on the toilet like a struggle bus trying to just go to the bathroom. 😅 So many people are struggling with constipation and looking for constipation relief/quick remedy or supplement to help you go, but before you go find a magic pill – it’s important to assess the top three foundational things that you should be doing during the day that will work for you in creatin’ an awesome bathroom routine!
Three Foundations For Constipation Relief
Fluid
This one is a common sense one, but believe it or not, some people truly struggle with drinking enough water! Drinking enough water isn’t the complete cure because constipation is usually a multi-faceted issue, but ensuring enough fluids can definitely help make your stool soft and have it come out easier! Not only should this motivate you to drink more water, but water is super essential to removing waste from our body! Peeing is a underrated way that we detox! 😉
Fiber
Fiber has been an interesting topic among the nutrition world – like if it’s truly needed or not. A meta-analysis showed that enough intake of fiber did improve stool frequency, but did not change stool consistency. Another systematic + meta-analysis study came to a similar conclusion, but added that there was a stool consistency change compared to placebo. There is also a risk of bias with this meta-analysis as there might be some selective reporting and incomplete outcome data.
Some bloating and gas can also happen with high fiber intake, so like everything – the amount of how much to do depends on the person.
Clinically, I do see people struggle with constipation when they are not getting enough vegetables or limiting starch (legumes for example). I’ll start listing some of the best foods below that I find help get people moving! 🥳
Movement
Getting enough movement can physically get things moving and grooving in your bowels. Any physical exercise will do, but yoga has been super helpful with the certain poses, twists, and inversions that can encourage movement in your intestines and also increasing the blood flow towards your intestines. Increasing your heart rate can help intestinal contractions/motility + get thangs MOVING!
Don’t Forget ROOT CAUSE
If constipation is your issue, make sure that you are excelling in those top three things, but if you’re still struggling with it – there might be an underlying issue. Since we specialize in digestion, we are the queens of seeing and understanding stool tests. 👸🏽 Dysbiosis (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria), specifically lacking good bacteria like lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, are found in people who are chronically constipated. This could definitely be a chicken or the egg scenario, but important to understand.
Hypothyroidism can also cause constipation. Sluggish thyroid = sluggish everything (including your bowels). 🤪 Make sure that if you need professional help to help uncover root causes – don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Ways To Get Constipation Relief Naturally
Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds is by far one of my favorite ways to bring on constipation relief naturally. You’ll want to find these as flaxseed meal or take whole flaxseed and grind them up yourself with a coffee bean grinder. The hard shells are hard for our body to break down + you’ll find them in your stool whole. 🥴 Flaxseeds are a great fiber source that can help get things moving. Try adding 1-2 tbsp every day into your smoothie!
Magnesium Citrate
Magnesium citrate works by increasing fluid in your intestines that helps your stools start moving. You also get the benefit of getting some magnesium in! Don’t just jump to this option if you don’t have to – make sure you are focusing on the three foundations above as well! Try up to 2 tsps in your water every evening.
Legumes/Beans
Another great source of fiber is going to be your beans! 🥳 This isn’t for everyone, as legumes can be too much for some people to handle. Legumes have all three types of fiber – soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, and resistant starch (your good bacteria loves this one!). Soluble fiber becomes gel-like and your gut bacteria eats it. Insoluble fiber is exactly like it’s called – insoluble (doesn’t break down). So, it stays intact and adds bulk to your stool and absorbs fluid in your intestines.
Sometimes a little bit of gut work needs to be done before you can handle beans successfully!
Colonic Massage
Massaging your intestines encourages contractions and can help move things along. You can also use digestive-friendly essential oils to make this more therapeutic. This massage also helps you pass gas (if needed!) Head over to here to learn the different techniques on how to do this on yourself. P.S. I find it really helpful to do this while taking a bath!
Senna
Last, but not least, adding some laxative type herbs might be needed. Senna is the most common herb that is recommended for constipation and is the most effective compared to other laxatives. While it’s a pretty safe herb for short and long-term use, I try to leave this as a last resort and work on other aspects of why constipation could be happening. The last thing you want is a natural “band-aid”. As a practitioner, I would rather see someone use magnesium citrate to get the benefits of in taking magnesium than only a laxative.
This is one of my favorite products that include senna in the formulation. I’ve seen great success with this in clients!
If you are ready to take back your digestive health + start feeling like a rockstar not only on the outside, but also the inside, fill out our form on this page to request your free appointment with me + I can walk you through next steps of where your journey should be headed (taking your bio individuality into account!)
