Chronic Constipation

Things To Do

• Drink 1.5-2L room temp or above water (filtered preferably, NEVER COLD)

• Have a hot breakfast/ hot food in general over cold

• Exercise regularly

• Soaking everything!

• Chew more/better & generally eat more mindfully.

• Separate out meals, less snacking - leave significant time between meals. The intermittent fasting I spoke about here may also help relieve constipation.

Additional Therapies To Try

• Flax seeds/flax-meal/ flax oil - soaked, (up to three tablespoons once/twice daily)

• A bit of apple cider vinegar before each meal (as always, raw, unpasteurised, WITH the mother). Also a note that it’s high in histamine so if you have any allergies/hay fever maybe skip this one

• Aloe vera works as a laxative (but its v.cooling so be careful)

Teas Are a Good Idea

They up your liquid content if you’re bad at drinking water too:

• Digestive herbs (can be had as teas, supplements or added to food): dandelion or liquorice root, oregano, dill, caraway, mint

• Other good teas include carminative teas, which help with bloating/distension/constipation, these include: Anise, Fennel, Peppermint, Lemon balm, Chamomile, Rosemary, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Coriander, Cumin, Fenugreek, Orange peel.

In general we want to do three things with our nutrition:

• Lubricate the intestines: spinach, banana, sesame seed/oil, honey, pear, prune, peach, apple, apricot, walnut, pine nuts, almonds, alfalfa sprouts, carrot, cauliflower, beets, okra, seaweed

• Promote bowel movements: cabbage, papaya, peas, coconut, sweet potato, asparagus, figs, wheat/rice/oat bran

• Replenish the gut microflora: i.e. all probiotic foods will help as already discussed (as long as no SIBO)

• Constipation always takes us onto FIBRE. The recommended amount is 35g of fibre per day.