Last week, I wrote about what your bowel movements may be telling you about your health. This week is an extension of that information, giving you tips and solutions to a common issue: constipation.
Let’s first address Transit Time. Transit time is the amount of time it takes your body to fully digest your food, from eating to eliminating. But how do you know when you eliminated what you eat? You can follow this transit time test to find that out.
Transit Time Test
You will want to consume a food that is harder for your body to fully digest; something that pretty much comes out that same way it went in. A good example of this would be corn. If you do not eat corn, you can also use white sesame seeds (2 T) or beets (2 large). You want it to be something you can easily identify in your stool.
Directions: eat ½ cup of corn, without chewing well and write down the date and time you ate it. Watch your bowel movements for the first sign of the corn. Write down that date and time. The difference between these times is your transit it.
A healthy transit time is about 24 hours, anything between 24-48 is normal. Anything less than 18 is too quick and anything more than 48 hours is too long.
So what is that telling you exactly?
When the transit time is too quick, the food is moving through your system too fast and you won’t be absorbing the nutrients from your food. It may indicate a food sensitivity, digestive dysfunction of some sort, lack of good bacteria or an overgrowth of bad bacteria, lack of proper enzymes (what helps you break down your food), or possible pathogens.
When the transit time is too slow this can lead to a build of toxins in your body. More than likely it is from a lack of fiber in your diet (whole food: vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, seeds) and not drinking enough water. Could also be a sign that your liver and gallbladder could use a little support as their job is to help the body detoxify and eliminate exogenous (outside of us) and endogenous (inside of us) materials. The first place is to start with increasing both dietary fiber and water (see below for more about this).
Constipation: Ways to Help Get Things Moving
It is common to fluctuate between constipation and loose stool. As I said last week, our stool is very dependent on what you eat, drink and your physical activity. Constipation is common, but not normal.
Here are some ways to help get things moving:
Squatty Potty. This has been a game changer in our house. This is a stool that nicely fits around the base of the toilet that you put your feet upon when you need to go poop. It raises the knees up higher into a position that makes it easier, if constipated. Funny story, several years back, I had asked my husband for this for my birthday. He truly thought I was crazy. I had to tell him several times that I was completely serious. I got my birthday wish!
Magnesium citrate. 400 to 800 mg before bed – note there are different forms of magnesium, this is the form that helps with constipation.
Herb Teas: Senna leaf (acute situations), Burdock (dry stool; poor secretion & lubrication), Wild Bergamot (gall bladder congestion; nervous stomach), Yellow Dock/Curly Dock (sluggish bowels with lower back pain), Slippery Elm Bark. Not an herbal tea, but Aloe Vera juice is also very helpful (not directly from the plant).
Exercise. Getting the body moving can also help get your bowels going. Certain yoga poses have also been shown to help with constipation.
Water & Fiber. If you are constipated, it usually means you need both of these. Important: do not increase fiber without increasing your water intake. If you do, you will just make the situation worse. Aim for at least half your body weight in ounces of water or herbal tea and 25 -30 grams of fiber per day. For fiber think vegetables, fruits and grains in their whole form – nothing processed (focus mainly on veggies).
Castor Oil Liver Pack. A castor oil pack is one of the OLDEST, most widespread healing practices in the world. From Traditional Chinese Medicine to Indian Ayurveda to modern Naturopathic Medicine, it has withstood the test of time for centuries in cultures all over the globe. It is the practice of applying castor oil to a piece of organic cotton flannel then placing it onto the body (traditionally over the liver) and wearing it for 1 hour or more (I wear mine overnight). Can help with constipation and diarrhea. As far as when you’ll see the benefits to using the castor oil pack, everyone is unique and some may take weeks or even months to notice the benefits of the pack. Often when the body is imbalanced it’s taken a long time to get this way, so it can sometimes take awhile for the foundation to re-balance. So be patient with your body and it’s healing journey.
Recipes
I’ve included a few recipes that are high in fiber to get you started.