Constipation is one of the most common concerns we see in practice (either difficulty to pass BMs, or infrequent BMs less than 1/day).
As a naturopathic doctor I care a lot about this, the kids have called me Dr. Poop because I care so much about your poop moving! Not only is constipation delaying your digestive flow & making you more prone to gas, bloating, and eventually conditions like SIBO (Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth) / GERD (Acid Reflux)… But bowel elimination is a major detox pathway and constipation can lead to toxin (pollutants, heavy metals, etc.) re-absorption and enterohepatic recirculation of drugs and hormones like estrogen, leading to PMS complications.
Constipation could be a sign of gut motility issues or sluggish bowels. The first thing to address would be what you are eating and drinking. For some people it can be as simple as hydrating by consciously drinking more water each day to get the bowels moving. A general rule/ goal is 2L or 8 cups of water per day as baseline, plus 1 extra cup of water for each cup of coffee or alcohol consumed (and more if we are sweating/exercising). Try squeezing a lemon slice in your water first thing in the morning as it may help stimulate your liver and get your digestive juices flowing for the day. If hydration doesn’t do the trick, it’s time to take a look at your diet. Many of us lack the appropriate amount of fiber in our diet. The simplest way to get more fiber is not always by increasing whole grains, but by increasing fruit and vegetable intake! Vegetables are chock full of soluble and insoluble fiber, containing about 4.4g/100g per serving.
Additional investigation with your naturopathic doctor can help you discover if you have further gut dysbiosis (an imbalance between good probiotic, and harmful bacteria in the intestines), hidden food sensitivities or IgG delayed type food allergies, or essential mineral deficiencies contributing to chronic constipation.
Of course we know that stress & anxiety will impact our bowels and greatly affect our enteric nerves. Stress management is another topic, but a final tip I will leave with you, is that perhaps you need more vagus nerve stimulation. The vagus nerve from our brain governs intestinal motility (part of our Autonomic, or unconscious nervous system). Try intense gargling exercises [nerve runs along back of our throat] 5-10 times/day as a bio-hack to stimulate this nerve and see if your gut motility improves.
I have dozens of other tricks & nutritional supplements that can help, come see me if you are stuck.
Click here to book in with Dr. Collings, ND today: www.allistonfamilyhealthclinic.janeapp.com/#/staff_member/1
Happy BMs!
In Health,
Dr. David Collings, ND
BSc., Naturopathic Doctor
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