Get Relief from Constipation with our Nutritionist Guide

Chronic constipation can cause extreme bloating and a feeling of being puffy, ‘inflamed’ or heavy, and almost noone will feel light and energetic if failing to go to the toilet every day. In this unique guide, we’ll share some of the most important inside information you need to know about the cause of constipation, gathered during our decades of private practice and research in this area. You’ll learn with some really detailed insights into the more unknown causes of constipation, some which we have discovered only via the work we’ve done helping hundreds of people with very severe and unexplained chronic constipation, recover and to go on to have normal and un-aided bowel movements, sometimes for the first time in their lives.

Constipation Symptoms

First of all - are you constipated? If you’re unsure, count how many of these symptoms you’re experiencing:

Fatigue
Bloating and wind
Joint pain
Low mood, anxiety or depression
Acne or breakouts that seem more like ‘bumps’ under the skin
Water Retention
Histamine reactions

Got a score above 2? Then you should read on.

End constipation: programme

Figure 1.

I go to the toilet almost every day, am I still constipated?

YES is the answer to this, this is entirely possible you do not eliminate 100% of everything you ate yesterday every single day (or making up for it the subsequent day which can be hard in those with sluggish transit), things can quickly begin to build up. If your bowel movements do not feel 100% complete, which can be difficult and in some cases impossible to know if you’ve never actually had a complete bowel movement in your life, you’ll need to investigate.

Bristol Stool Chart: Figure 1

The Bristol Stool Chart can be a useful way to establish gut transit. Beware however that we can be a mixture of type 5 or 6 - at the same time as being blocked up. It can also be rather difficult to know what a normal sausage shaped stool should look and feel like to eliminate, if you’ve never had a normal bowel movement.

A healthy bowel movement should feel like a quite powerful ‘muscular’ movement as oppose to a feeling of pushing or hardness. You should also not need to wipe too much afterwards.

how we help women end constipation

Fibre

Fibre can be a double-edged sward! Our gut microbes need fibre and this is how you create a happy gut and a happy gut microbiome - however if your microbiome is imbalanced and in disarray, you can’t digest it very well. So fibre then instead, can cause wind, pain and bloating in some people. Removing fibre from the diet is not conducive to health long term (rather the opposite), however you may need to temporarily reduce them in your diet, and reintroduce in small amounts at a time as your digestion improves with the application of your nutrition program. This can be a balanced, tricky and long processes that can be challenging to try and do without professional help.

Wind

Wind is a given with constipation! The more blocked up, the worse the wind can get, and vice versa. In addition, if the situation has developed into SIBO, you may have an overgrowth in bacteria producing methane gases and ‘indole metabolites’, which is further thought to cause constipation (creating a vicious cycle). If the colon is very blocked up, the wind may have a hard time escaping adequately, which may create a very extended tummy. Deal with the constipation, and the wind and even indigestion eases, at least temporarily.

Digestion

In chronic constipation, your system can become a bit ‘hard-wired’ as your guts ‘go-to’ stress response, reacting with constipation to anything stressful, such as hard to digest foods, over-eating, travel, or emotional stress.

Laxatives

Many of our clients complain that Pharmaceutial laxatives or senna become ineffective over time, or have only a small and uncomfortable effect. We prefer to work on the root cause, but generally use gentle laxatives such as prunes, ‘constipation smoothies’, supplements and natural laxative herbs to support things in the meantime. Soaked flax seeds and prunes are some useful foods, however in some people they’re ineffective unless applied in a way that works specifically for them. Feel free to ask us using our Mini Review Form and we’ll help you with some direction.

Stress

Stress may inhibit the nervous system which moves the food forward in the whole tube of the gut, and can significantly increase constipation. Daily stress reducing practises such as breathing techniques etc is vital.

Constipation Treatment and what you need to do

Toilet habits

Sitting on the toilet actually closes off a muscle around the intestine which doesn’t allow adequate release. Place your feet on a low stool when on the toilet so that you are more in a squatting position to alleviate this. This can be a huge help so definitely give this a go! Ikea sells suitable children’s bathroom stools.

Constipation causes constipation – the Car Jam!!

Never let a day pass without a bowel movement – I can’t stress this enough!

A 1-day blockage can quickly turn into weeks of constipation, as it slows/stops food travelling in the intestine behind it, which slows down the muscular movement. All whilst you keep eating more and more meals to add to the car jam. Once everything is slowed and backed up, transit is slowed, more water is absorbed making your stool dryer. Immediately take action:

1) Have a low-fibre day (reduces the amount of bulk in the colon) – have lots of meat, fish, or white rice/potatoes.

2) Eat very light for one day.

3) Reduce coffee & tea (but a strong coffee straight after breakfast can be a very good laxative)

4) Fast for a few hours: Example: Have your last meal at 5pm then only water/herbal tea until say 10am. This stimulates the intestinal movements (called the MMC). It’s recommended to do this once a week for constipation also.

Detoxification

Efficient and rapid elimination is critical to a healthy body. As well as the gut we have other routes of elimination, skin being one of them. When the gut is not eliminating efficiently, we commonly see skin problems, pimples/bumps, rashes but also headaches and fatigue and insomnia. Female hormone problems are also common, as the body struggles to detoxify oestrogen with constipation.

Drinking Strategy:

Constipated people often benefit from drinking a larger amount in one go, between meals, as oppose to sipping (do this when you’re eating your meals, if you drink large amounts when you eat you may dilute stomach acid too much). Fill a water (glass) bottle that you drink from so that you can roughly estimate how much you have drunk. Make sure you drink 1.5-2L / day. You can also drink tea/herbal/coffee but these are not counted in dehydration schedule (and are likely to make you need a loo a lot!).

Start the day with a large glass of room temperature water on waking then wait before eating. Morning liquids are very important for constipated people. Adjust the timings below to suit your schedule, e.g if you need to jump on a train for an hour to get to work. It takes circa 90minutes for the body to wee out what you drunk.

If you need more help, get in touch via either by phone, email or our Mini Health Review, and we’ll let you have some thoughts on what might be going on in your constipation.

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Think Constipation may be causing you to gain weight?

If these strategies are not enough, there may be something more underlying going on, such as microbiome imbalances that needs attention. We’re here to guide you and advise you, so do get in touch and we’ll help steer you to what may be going on for you. Complete your 2minute Constipation Assessment below and we’ll let you have our feedback.

The Long Lasting Effects of Un-resolved Chronic Constipation Over Time.

Sadly slow gut transit and constipation that is not resolved, can have quite devastating effects over time, even triggering faecal incontinence (soiling of underwear) and rectal prolapse - which whilst it’s uncommon, can even be experienced in younger people . This is because the tone and muscles of the abdominal area can no longer manage the large amounts of stool that is held by the bowel tries to adapt by expanding. We find that this to be quite reversible in the cases we’ve worked with (which have been early stages), but presumably harder the longer the situation has existed. However we would refer you to a pelvic health physiotherapist (such as letowoman.com) if this is concern for you. The key is: keeping the colon moving, so the body does not store faeces in the rectum, which is mean to be a ‘temporary holding place’ before evacuation. In very severe constipation, the whole transit and mechanism of the colon has to change, and things just don’t behave as they are suppose to. Whole sections of the colon can become full of poo.