Do you live a life of constipated irregularity, with feelings of fatigue, headaches, abdominal bloating, stomach pains, intermittent diarrhea and gas? Are your stools firm or hard and difficult to pass? Your bowel just doesn’t get the message even though it is full to overflowing. You are so uncomfortable, you can think of nothing else! You never empty your bowel unless you dose yourself with an aperient bomb and then you don’t go again properly until the next crisis.
This unhealthy constipation process is endured by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world all the time.
I hear you asking, what did I do to find myself in this constipated situation? Constipation is one of the most common gastro intestinal problems in the world.
It could have been any one or a combination of the following. Years of bad habits – ignoring the urge to defecate, taking aperients, lack of routine, insufficient liquid intake, lack of roughage or fiber intake; a lazy bowel – after taking aperients for many years; underlying medical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome which can cause the extremes of diarrhea and constipation or taking medications such as calcium, opiates and some cholesterol lowering drugs.
I guess the next question is, what remedies have you tried to really rectify your constipation problem? Let’s leave the over the counter quick fix’s off the list. They are not long-term problem solvers.
So that leaves us with unprocessed wheat bran, all bran, dried apricots, figs and prunes, pepitas, fiber rich fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain bread and breakfast cereals with additional fiber, good amounts of water, trying to establish a routine for daily evacuation recognizing that ‘mind over matter’ is important. Even massaging the lower abdominal region, BUT, none of these addressed the constipation problem effectively in the long term. Where did you go wrong?
Well you were heading in the right direction. It’s all in the combination of the ingredients and the balance!
The key dietary ingredients for regular bowel actions are…….
A balanced diet with fiber rich fresh vegetables and fruit, plus, 6-8 glasses of water each day besides anything else you might drink. Psyllium husks twice a day at meal times. Flaxseed meal three times a day at meal times. Olive oil or flaxseed oil three times a day at meal times.
Psyllium husks are non-digestible, soluble, expanding and thickening and adding fiber to a diet. They help relieve irritable bowel symptoms, diverticular disease, and diarrhea. The inert bulk of the husks help provide a constant volume of solid material irrespective of whatever else is eaten or any disease condition of the gut. Research indicates promising results in lowering cholesterol and controlling diabetes.
Flaxseed meal is another excellent source of dietary fiber plus mucilage, which aids digestion and regular bowel movements. Flaxseed (linseed) meal is an excellent source of protein, minerals, vitamins and the essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6. It is also a rich source of lignan, which acts as an anti oxidant in the body.
Olive oil has soothing properties inside the body and mild laxative properties, acting as a stool softener. It has been suggested that long-term consumption of small quantities of olive oil may be responsible in part for the low incidence of heart disease associated with a Mediterranean diet…an added benefit! Flaxseed oil may be taken instead.
It is most important to drink 6-8 glasses of water each day normally, even more so when consuming both psyllium and flaxseed (linseed) meal because they absorb large amounts of fluid as they pass through the intestine. Try drinking hot water instead of coffee or tea.
Combine the key ingredients with daily exercise and an unhurried time routinely to go to the toilet to empty your bowel. Your renewed bowel function and improved health and well-being will surprise and delight you!
About this author: Elizabeth Gray was a registered nurse for over 30 years. Most of her career was spent in aged care and rehabilitation. Planning client self-management strategies in all aspects of self helping health care was a great part of her work. For a more detailed look at chronic, severe constipation management see www.constipationrelief911.com
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