Constipation

This topic contains 13 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by kjbusa 8 years, 3 months ago.

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IF-UK

4:40 pm
8 Sep 16
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Hello, this site looks excellent, I’ve just registered.

I rewatched Dr Mosley’s Horizon documentary, and I’m really enthusiastic about fasting. I’ve read around the subject online, and have been doing it for a couple of weeks now. I really enjoy it. I’ve kind of jumped in at the deep end a little bit perhaps by doing a couple of 2 day water fasts. On my NF days, in order to prevent me from eating too much in too short a time period, I slowly graze on food throughout the day, rather than eat during any particular ‘time window’, and chew everything slowly. So far, so good, until yesterday..

I was constipated, and hadn’t ‘moved’ for 4 days. I managed to ‘move’ today, but I can honestly say that it was one of the most upsetting, unpleasant, and painful experiences that I think I’ve ever had. I used 6 suppositories, one after the other, and after approximately 3.5 hours of basically being loo-bound, I finally moved.

I don’t want that to happen again, and so had a browse online for some tips. I found a few –

* clockwise belly massage, start in your lower right, end in your lower left (horseshoe, like shape of colon)
* castor oil rubbed on belly, put a towel over belly, then a hot water bottle over that. wait.
* aloe vera, in the morning.
* magnesium.
* fibre rich foods.
* avoid constipating foods. dairy? (milk, yoghurt, cheese)
* avoid foods that are harder to digest. meat?
* exercise. any particular type?
* twist upper body, from side to side.

I wonder if anyone else has any additional tips that I could add to this list please? Thanks a lot.

kjbusa

9:24 pm
8 Sep 16
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I am a newbie, and I think the (ultimately) positive changes we’re imposing has to have some benign reaction.

I even did a quart of warm water with salt, which was touted as a “purge”. Nothing.

I think things will resume a “regular” schedule.

bigbooty

11:03 pm
8 Sep 16
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Can you eat chilli? I have one large cayenne chilli with my salad every day. Regular as clockwork.

Cinque

11:46 pm
8 Sep 16
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Drink plenty of water!

Merryme

12:48 am
9 Sep 16
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Psyllium husk, put a spoonful or two into some fluid and drink, at about the same time each day.

IF-UK

9:22 am
9 Sep 16
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Thanks a lot everyone. Yes you’re right, any change (eg not eating for 60 hours is quite a change to the system I think) will cause a reaction, in this case really unfavourable.

On my fasting days, I was drinking about 3 litres of water – quite a bit! I’ve got some fermented cayenne chilli peppers – I’ll try another one today. Thanks for the psyllium husk tip too. I’ve read it’s good stuff, although I’ve also read it’s good to have that ingredient organic.

Pollypenny

10:13 am
9 Sep 16
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I second drinking plenty of water, but what has really worked for me is adding a teaspoon of bran to my breakfast porridge or bran flakes.

Minka

10:52 am
9 Sep 16
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Constipation is often a sign of magnesium deficiency and it was for me. Note that being at the bottom range of ‘normal’ on a blood test can often mean one requires more (remember the demographic that makes up lab ranges – it’s the average of all those unhealthy individuals who seek blood tests from the lab because they are ill).

So, in light of that, magnesium made all the difference for me when I took enough. I found a recommendation of 5 x my body weight (calculated in pounds) in mg. of magnesium and that really worked. In other words, my weight at 132 pounds x 5 = 660 mg. elemental magnesium for me per day. It’s also always good to take B6 with magnesium since it acts as a co-factor.

Not only did my constipation clear, but also tight muscles relaxed and anxiety eased since magnesium is a stress relieving essential mineral.

IF-UK

11:20 am
9 Sep 16
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Thanks for the bran, mg & B6 tips! I’ve just taken a couple of mg supplements. I typed in to google what foods were rich in b6, and number 1 was bran, which I thought was kind of interesting!

IF-UK

3:12 pm
9 Sep 16
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I ate various fermented foods today (chilli pepper, sauerruben, sauerkraut, lacto-fermented carrots and leeks, and even a little bit of natto), and I’ve moved again, which was a relief. All seems back to normal now, I think/hope. What I’ll do in the near future is try eating every other day, as opposed to taking 2 days off from eating. I believe there is a diet called that – the every other day diet. However, on the fasting day, I’ll just drink water. I kind of like the idea of taking a complete break from food.

Minka

2:22 am
10 Sep 16
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Hi IF-UK, Fantastic that you’ve had ‘results’ now from your efforts! Great you’ve gotten onto the fermented foods too! I make my own sauerkraut and kombucha which I consume daily. Well, I don’t drink the kombucha on my FDs since I’d rather use my calories food rather than drink!

IF-UK

9:22 am
10 Sep 16
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Thank you. Yes I make my own fermented foods too, including booch. I let it go quite vinegary though, and drink it more like a ‘gut shot’ first thing (with some ACV at about the same time) to help raise acidity in the stomach.

lightsnow

10:00 pm
11 Sep 16
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Low potassium is also connected to constipation. Check out food high in potassium.

kjbusa

10:19 pm
11 Sep 16
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The old adage “all things will pass” is true!