Lots of people, including many doctors, think that constipation is no big deal. You take a laxative and, bam, things get moving again.
Well, guess what? Many alternative and complementary health practitioners strongly disagree with that cavalier attitude. For centuries, traditional Indian Ayurvedic healers have seen constipation as a toxic condition that poisons the body. And modern naturopaths are every bit as adamant.
“Constipation is more than a warning sign,” says Decker Weiss, NMD, a naturopathic physician in private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. “It’s a giant red flare shot up every day of your life. Constipation in the conventional medicine world is not a problem. In the natural world, it’s a very big problem. When we think of constipation, we’re thinking of chronic irritation of the digestive tract. If you don’t deal with it, you’re going to get sick.”
Whether you think of constipation as a minor, passing episode of discomfort or a harbinger of potential illness, the solution is generally easy. Here’s Dr. Weiss’s three-step formula for banishing constipation, which he says does the trick for 90 percent of the people who try it.
Drink more water. Folks who experience regular bouts of constipation generally don’t drink enough water. Most experts call for a full six to eight glasses daily.
Take plant enzymes. These help break food down all the way from mouth to anus, says Dr. Weiss. Better digestion means less constipation all the way around. Follow directions on the package.
Take a fiber supplement. You need to use an absorbent fiber, such as oat bran, psyllium, or apple pectin, he says. While technically fiber is not a nutrient, because it is not absorbed into the body, it helps digestion work better so all the important nutrients can get into the body.
Another good way to get more fiber is, of course, to simply eat more fruits and vegetables. In a British study done in 1994, researchers found that people following a vegetarian diet had a lower incidence of a variety of gastrointestinal problems, including constipation. The researchers who conducted the study did not conclude that it is necessary to become a vegetarian to gain these benefits, however. “The benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle,” they noted, “may be conferred to non-vegetarians by eating a carefully planned non-vegetarian diet consisting of increased fruit, vegetables, and fiber.”
If you have high blood pressure, one immediate benefit you should see from eliminating constipation is a drop of up to 15 points in your blood pressure, says Dr. Weiss.
In addition to the three-step formula described above, there are also a couple of individual nutrients that can help keep your bowels healthy and functioning as they should.
Taking a daily fish oil supplement is an excellent way both to prevent constipation and to help you deal with single episodes, says Dr. Weiss. It’s good for you in so many ways, plus it acts as a kind of lubricant, he says. He advises taking four to eight gel caps of Norwegian or Swedish fish oil.
“If people want to have loose bowels, magnesium is their friend,” says Rebecca K. Kirby, MD, RD, clinical physician and senior scientist at the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning in Wichita, Kansas. For this purpose, she advises taking magnesium citrate in capsules. The Daily Value is 400 milligrams. Magnesium helps muscles relax, and that includes the muscles responsible for moving things along in the digestive tract, she explains.
It’s not surprising that magnesium is mentioned for constipation. Remember Milk of Magnesia? It’s still around. The active ingredient is magnesium hydroxide, which is an excellent treatment for bouts of constipation, says Dr. Weiss. A number of products that treat constipation have this as the main active ingredient.
Magnesium hydroxide is a better treatment than many herbal products, says Dr. Weiss, and he’s an advocate of herbal treatments in general. Why is it better? Herbal products, such as cascara sagrada, work well for a while, but they work by irritating the intestines. That works for a period of time, but then the intestines stop responding to the irritation, he explains. You can safely take a product containing magnesium hydroxide for a long time, and it will continue to do the job, he says.
Your intestines are naturally home to mostly beneficial bacteria that actually help you digest your food and even manufacture a little bit of your essential vitamin K. While taking antibiotics wipes out bacteria in your body, taking probiotic supplements introduces more of the good kind of bacteria into your gut, where they take up residence and multiply.
Probiotics, of course, do not fall into the category of nutrient, but they can have a profound effect on how food moves through your body and how your body absorbs nutrients. They can even help you deal with constipation.
One small study that took a close look at this phenomenon was done in Spain in 2006. Researchers gave yogurt to two groups of volunteers. One group received standard yogurt, the other a yogurt preparation that contained a couple of specific beneficial strains of bacteria—Lactobacillus gasseri and Lactobacillus coryniformis. Those who received the yogurt containing these bacteria experienced an improvement in the “fecal moisture and the frequency and volume of the stools.” In other words, the probiotics created results that would help with constipation.
You’ll find a wide variety of probiotics supplements, including those with Lactobacillus strains, in health food stores and natural grocery stores. If you wish to give this therapy a try, follow the directions on the package.
Fiber |
An absorbent fiber supplement, such as oat bran, apple pectin, or psyllium. Follow the package directions. |
Fish oil* |
4 to 8 gel caps |
Magnesium |
400 milligrams† |
Plant enzymes |
Follow the package directions. |
Probiotics |
Follow the package directions. |
*Fish oil has a blood-thinning effect. If you’re taking any kind of blood-thinning drug, talk to your doctor before taking fish oil supplements.
† For single bouts of constipation, take a product containing magnesium hydroxide. Follow the directions on the package.