Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (112 page)

Bowel movements should be painless. If you experience pain, see your physician. You may have a structural abnormality, fissure, hemorrhoid, or more serious problem. Pain during bowel movements can cause a muscle spasm in the sphincter, which can delay a stool. Magnesium helps relieve and prevent muscle spasms.

Although aging is commonly listed as a cause of constipation, it is due more to the results of lifestyle. Elderly people often eat low-fiber foods, rely on packaged and prepared foods, take medications that interfere with normal bowel function, and have decreased mobility. Medications that constipate include opiate medications, antidepressants such as Elevil and Tofranil, anticonvulsants, iron supplements, calcium channel blockers like Cardizem and Procardia, and antacids that contain aluminum, such as Amphojel and Basaljel.

Many other factors can be the underlying cause of constipation. Dysbiosis and lack of gut microbiome balance are often overlooked causes of constipation. Recent research has confirmed that people who are chronically constipated often have positive methane breath testing, which indicates small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). In fact, the more severe the constipation, the more likely that SIBO is present.
Magnesium deficiency slows peristalsis, causing constipation. Hormones play a role. Women often notice that their bowel habits change at various times in their menstrual cycles. Pregnancy is a common, but temporary, cause of constipation. Constipation can also be caused by an underactive thyroid. Some diseases can affect the body’s ability to have bowel movements. Parkinson’s disease, scleroderma, lupus, strokes, diabetes, kidney disease, low or high thyroid function, and certain neurological or muscular diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries, can cause constipation. Colon cancer can also cause it. Neurological problems, such as injuries to the spinal column, tumors that sit on nerves, nerve disorders of the bowel, and certain brain disorders are other causes.

Dennis Burkitt, M.D., studied bowel habits of Africans living in small towns and large cities. He found that people who ate indigenous, local foods had an average of a pound of feces each day, with 12-hour transit times. Burkitt found that those who lived in cities on Western diets excreted only five and a half ounces of stool each day, with average transit times of 48 to 72 hours. People on native diets had extremely low incidences of diseases common to Western civilization, such as appendicitis, diabetes, diverticulitis, gallstones, coronary heart disease, hiatal hernia, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, and obesity. When these people moved into cities and ate a Westernized diet, they too developed these diseases. Dr. Burkitt attributed much of this disease to poor dietary fiber intake in a modernized diet.

Overuse of laxatives is common and compounds the problem. Chronic use of laxatives, even herbal laxatives, causes the bowels to become lazy, and the muscles become dependent on laxatives to constrict. Some laxatives can cause damage to the nerve cells in the wall of the colon. If you have used laxatives, you need to retrain your body to have bowel movements on its own. Try sitting on the toilet each morning for 20 minutes and relax. Over time your body will remember how to relax and function normally.

For most people, eating more of a whole-foods diet, exercising, and drinking plenty of fluids normalizes bowel function.

Pay attention to your body’s needs. When your body gives you the signals that it’s time to defecate, stop what you are doing and go to the bathroom. When you ignore your body’s urges, the rectum gets used to being stretched and fails to respond normally. Feces back up into the colon, causing discomfort. If you dislike having a bowel movement at work, school, or in a public restroom, readjust your attitude and get used to the idea. Everybody’s doing it.

Look for infection.
Bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infection can cause constipation. SIBO is evident in many people with chronic constipation.

Double your fiber intake.
Legumes, such as kidney, navy, pinto, and lima beans, have a large amount of dietary fiber. Make whole grains the rule and processed grains the exception. The addition of high-fiber cereals at breakfast can make a big difference. Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, peas, kale, parsnips, flaxseeds, and potatoes contain high amounts of fiber. A recent study compared the use of psyllium seeds, a fiber supplement, with the use of docusate sodium, a common stool softener. The psyllium was more effective at relieving constipation than the stool softener. So use psyllium and eat more fiber. Ground hempseed meal, or ground or soaked flaxseeds also work well to soften stools and normalize bowel movements. Make these changes slowly. A quick change to a high-fiber diet can cause gas and bloating. As your body gets used to this new way of eating, it will adapt. Remember that the requirements for most of us are to double our daily fiber intake.

Hydrate.
Be sure to drink six to eight glasses of water, juices, or herbal teas and eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Exercise if you don’t already do so.
Exercise helps relieve constipation by massaging the intestines. Many of my clients have found that regular exercise keeps their bowels regular.

Try psyllium seed husks.
Stop using laxatives and enemas and start using psyllium seeds. They add bulk and water to stool, which allows for easy passage. Though not a laxative, psyllium seeds do regulate bowel function, are beneficial for both diarrhea and constipation, and do not cause harmful dependencies. Build up gradually to 1 teaspoon of psyllium with each meal to avoid gas and cramping from sudden introduction of fiber.

Try wheat bran, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hempseeds, or corn bran.
These can all be used in the same way as psyllium seeds. They add bulk and moisture to stool, which allow it to pass more easily. Build up to 1 to 2 tablespoons daily.

Improve bowel habits.
Ignoring your body’s natural urge to defecate can cause constipation. Take time each morning to have a bowel movement. If you go when nature calls, it takes just a minute or two.

Improve bowel flora.
Poor bowel flora causes the digestive system to move sluggishly. Eat cultured and fermented foods and/or take a probiotic supplement two to three times daily. If you are able to digest yogurt, it has a normalizing effect on the bowels and can be helpful for either constipation or diarrhea.