Constipation: Surprising Facts That You May Not Know About Constipation [FFYH Episode 8]

Judging from the more than 700 million dollars a year spent on laxatives in the U.S. you can guess that constipation is a common condition that millions of Americans are seeking help for. As common as constipation seems to be, do you think that the education about understanding its causes and how to improve it are as prevalent? I don’t think so. That’s why I would like to outline for you some of the basic facts about constipation as well as some lesser known and even surprising information that just might help you or someone you know that suffers from the dilemma of constipation. Oh, that’s right, you might not know someone else who suffers from it because people don’t really talk about it!

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Constipation: Surprising Facts That You May Not Know About Constipation

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Judging from the more than 700 million dollars a year spent on laxatives in the U.S. you can guess that constipation is a common condition that millions of Americans are seeking help for. As common as constipation seems to be, do you think that the education about understanding its causes and how to improve it are as prevalent? I don’t think so. That’s why I would like to outline for you some of the basic facts about constipation as well as some lesser known and even surprising information that just might help you or someone you know that suffers from the dilemma of constipation. Oh, that’s right, you might not know someone else who suffers from it because people don’t really talk about it!

One basic aspect of constipation is that it is an issue of dehydration or dryness in the bowel. So, among the basic instructions that most health practitioners will give you is to drink plenty of fluids. Remember those should be caffeine free beverages since caffeine is a diuretic and ultimately contributes to dehydration and further constipation. However, caffeine is also a bowel stimulant and many people rely on their coffee to trigger bowel elimination in the morning. Whenever my patients answer “no” to having constipation, I always evaluate if bowel stimulants, laxatives, or supplements are being used to assist in elimination. If so, then the real answer to “do you have constipation?”is actually, “yes!”

Other basic instructions to combat constipation usually include getting enough fiber and exercise. The correct fiber choice for constipation should be INsoluble fiber which enhances the motion of the colon walls encouraging the colon to empty itself vs. soluble fiber which has a quality of bulking the stool and is better for loose bowel conditions. Good insoluble fiber choices include ground flax, chia seeds, vegetables and nuts and seeds. High fiber vegetables that you have to chew and chew are key! Lesser known about fiber is that it is a key source of fuel for the good bacteria of the large intestine. The bacteria ferment the fiber which results in production of fatty acids that are critical nutrients for the cells of the colon! Some of these fatty acids have been shown to stop colon cancer cell growth in the laboratory setting! That’s powerful and it all started with fiber!

So those are some of the basics, now let me list for you additional information about constipation causes and cures, some of which may surprise you.

CONSTIPATION:

• is not only defined by skipping 1 or more days of bowel elimination but also includes passing stools that are hard, small, incomplete or require straining.
• can be a source of lower back pain and lower back problems can also create constipation. Chicken or the egg? An integrated nutritional and spinal exam will tell.
• symptoms can appear or worsen during the Autumn months which aggravate dehydration in the body.
• is often overlooked as a reaction to intolerant foods because it doesn’t have the same acute or immediate presentation that diarrhea can have.
• is one of the classifications of irritable bowel syndrome. There is IBS-D, diarrhea dominant, IBS-C, constipation dominant, and then mixed and alternating types of IBS. So, you may actually have IBS which requires deeper assessment and treatment protocol.
• medications that act to suppress the central nervous system can also suppress the activity of the large intestine such as: narcotic pain killers, antidepressants and blood pressure drugs.
• can occur from taking certain supplements such as iron or calcium.
• can be easily relieved by taking Magnesium.
• can be a symptom of low thyroid function and may be the only tip off that thyroid function is slipping.
• can be helped by taking probiotic supplements, or good bacteria. Bifidobacteria are the predominant beneficial microbe of the large intestine over lactobacillus acidophilus which is more well known but dominates in the small intestine.
• in Ayurveda, can be the result of the lack of a specific downward moving energy in the body along with too much fast moving energy in the mind. I teach my patients to sit still, quieting the mind and breathe smoothly, slowly and rhythmically into the lower abdomen for 5 – 15 minutes to help reverse these dysfunctional energies.
• can be the result of nervous system imbalancesand not just digestive system issues. This requires its own list of key points:~ proper bowel elimination requires a good balance of brain chemistry and constipation can point toward inadequate serotonin or dopamine. Amino acid therapy could be helpful in this case.~ the intestines have their own nervous system called the enteric nervous systemwhich can be damaged from chronic laxative use, whether the laxative is ‘natural’ such as Senna or not such as Ex Lax. Prolonged use of laxatives can produce tremendous intestinal dysfunction later in life.~ Conditions that impair the brain’s nerve cells such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease can also impair the intestine’s nerve cells. Abnormal motion of the lower bowel resulting in constipation would therefore not be a surprising symptom for those with these conditions and taking extra care for good bowel health would be warranted.

  ~ anything that stresses us and causes us to feel uptight with difficulty to relax can contribute to constipation. Normal and easy elimination of stool from the lower colon needs the calm part of our nervous system to dominate.

  If you suffer from constipation, I hope that you have found a few good ‘take aways’ here. Diligently attending to any one of these tips could be the missing piece in solving your constipation dilemma!