Personal Training Answers

Constipation can be an extremely painful condition and, if you don’t treat it, it can lead to ongoing health problems. There are several causes including an over reliance on laxatives, hyperthyroidism or poor reflexes; do you ignore the natural ‘call to action’ when it happens, which can lead to your body not recognizing the trigger?

The American Gastroenterological Association estimates that $750 million is spent every year by Americans on laxatives and as with any other artificial stimulants, your body can become dependent on them, in this case leading to further bowel dysfunction. Stopping their use leads to an extended period of discomfort as your body tries to remember what it is supposed to do!

Hypothyroidism can be a common concern, particularly in women over the age of 40. Your under active thyroid gland can lead to constipation, which in turn may mask the underlying problem.

Try holistic nutrition diets and focus on plenty of fiber rich foods such as vegetables. Organic flax seeds can add additional fiber and should be added in ground form and sprinkled on your food. Processed foods, junk foods and convenience foods are low in total nutritional value and should be avoided. If you find yourself attracted to large amounts of fast foods you may have a sugar addiction, which is a danger to your general wellbeing anyway and must be controlled.

If you have irritable bowel syndrome, you may need to try and balance the good and bad bacteria and should investigate a high quality probiotic to see if you can achieve your natural balance this way. Remember that exercising is very important and a proper regime stimulates circulation and the function of all your internal organs, including intestines and bowels.

If you must take supplements, consider magnesium and aloe vera at the top of your list. Add one cup of pure water to roughly one third of a cup of pure organic aloe vera juice, along with a teaspoon full of powdered acidophilus and two level teaspoonfuls of finely ground, hight quality flax seed. This cleansing drink should be blended well and consumed before you go to bed or on an empty stomach. This almost always does a truly phenomenal job of thoroughly cleaning out all the recesses of your intestinal tract.

Also, you should always remember to heed the call of nature as soon as possible, and avoid waiting longer than you need to for a complete bowel movement. If you do so, water will be removed from the stool and absorbed into your body and this will make it much harder to complete the movement and over time will definitely prevent you from remaining regular.

Integrating these tips into your lifestyle and investigating holistic health solutions will help you to reduce your symptoms of constipation, get your life back on track and cure any number of ailments, many of which you were not even aware of!