Last week we started looking at bowel health with a look at natural ways to take control of constipation. This week I am going to look at ways we may be able to help those struggling with recurrent or even daily we will diarrhoea. Some people suffer with a fast track digestion. Food is moved too quickly through the digestive tract. Waste that is moved too quickly through the colon will not lose enough fluid on its journey, resulting in a sloppy movement or even diarrhoea. For others the problem may lie with inflammation or poor bacterial balance in the bowel, which means that again the waste is passed too quickly through the colon leading the a loose motion. This can lead to fatigue, pain, cramping and can also be very embarrassing.
The key points to consider when trying to regain control of this situation are:
Fibre! Many people with diarrhoea try and avoid fibre because they think it will make things worse. But this is not always the case. No you don’t want to eat lots of bran based products because they can be purgative, but some fibres actually absorb lots of fluid and swell in the colon – slowing things down and giving your movement better form! We have had some great results using Pukka Fibre Plus a psyllium husk fibre – for those with lose stools, with people reporting that it has slowed things down and helped to give them a proper bowel movement which is easier to control. As well as the bulking Psyllium husks this product also contains soothing aloe Vera and licorice too.
Bacteria! Good bacteria discourage the growth of the unfriendly bacteria which lead to diarrhoea. Topping up your good bacteria then can actually help to slow things down, particularly if your diarrhoea problems have followed a bout of food poisoning, anti biotics or is they are related to diverticulitis. My favourite in this case is Solaray Mightidophillus12, a high strength, broad spectrum probiotic which replaces all the beneficial bacteria in your colon. This can be particularly useful where the problems hare started after a tummy upset. One gentleman we saw said that his bowel issues had started after a bout of food poisoning, so we put him onto the Mightidophillus12 and after a month he reported that everything had returned to normal with no further upsets.
Soothing herbs. Sometimes the diarrhoea can be accompanied by pain – this indicates that the colon is inflamed and that having any matter in it is painful – so everything is sent through as quickly as possible. Soothing that inflammation with herbs like Vogels Tormentil Complex can therefore help to ease that pain and slow the movement down. This has long been a favourite product of ours. One customer in particular always sticks out in my mind, he had struggled with diarrhoea for a number of years and it had started to restrict his life. He was scared to go anywhere new or anywhere where he didn’t know he could quickly and easily get to a toilet. We suggested that he try the Tormentil, which he did and he swears it was Tormentil complex which has given him his life back, by bringing his bowels back under control!
Tag: IBS
Controlling Constipation
Over the next few weeks I am going to be taking a closer look at bowel health and bowel function. This week constipation.
For us, constipation is the failure to move your bowel effectively EVERY DAY! You eat three times a day (hopefully), therefore you should be eliminating at least once a day. If you are not, then we would regard your colon as sluggish – the less you go, the worse the problem!
The bowel relies on muscular contractions to move the waste around your colon, for elimination. If the waste is moved too slowly though because of a sluggish or lazy bowel, the stool becomes hard, dry and difficult to pass.
What is helpful then in trying to prevent constipation?
Ensure a good bowel contraction – this will speed up the rate at which the waste is moved throughout the colon. We often suggest Magnesium to help with this. Magnesium is vital for proper healthy muscle function, but it is easily depleted from the body by tea, coffee, cola, sugar and salt. Decreasing the intake of tea, coffee and cola whilst supplementing magnesium then, should help to improve bowel contractions.
Get the right type of fibre. This is important – you want to get things moving, not just fill up the colon with swelling fibres or alternately purge it, which would be very uncomfortable. We often suggest FOS for this. FOS is also a great fibre for people suffering with constipation because it increases the amount of water being carried to the colon, but does not swell too much, softening the stool, making it easier to pass. FOS also works by improving the strength and tone of the bowel, helping those who suffer with a stretched or lazy bowel, achieve a more normal bowel function.
Improve water intake – if the stools are hard and dry, it may be that you are not drinking enough plain water – try and get at least 2 pints of plain water into you a day.
Finally boost your beneficial bacteria – good bacteria are vital to the proper functioning of the colon, so taking a good probiotic once you have got things moving can be really supportive in maintaining the health of your bowel. Personally, for those who have struggled with constipation, my favourite pro biotic is Higher natures Pro Bio Daily as the bacteria it provides have been found to be particularly useful in dealing with a sluggish bowel.
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In the diet:
Cut out sugars – including fruit and fruit juices – for a couple of weeks. This is because sugar feeds the fermentation process that causes the bloating and wind. It also leads to sugar cravings. So cutting it out of your diet for a few weeks can help flatten your tummy and keep sugar cravings in check.
Also cut out alcohol and limit tea and coffee, whilst increasing herbal teas and water – this will help to flush your system out. Again easing that bloating feeling. For those who would like it we do have a diet sheet available to help with this – if you would like a free copy, please contact us to let us know, we will email it to you.
Additional help:
Make sure your bowels are working daily – this is important because your bowels are the main elimination route for toxins. You are never going to effectively detox if you are not emptying your bowels each day. To help with this if it is a problem try some Coloclear Extra – a capsule which combines great fibres with things which help improve bowel function like Aloe Vera. We have had some great results with this, one lady who was only going to the toilet once a week swore that it was Coloclear that got her going to the toilet normally again!
Kill off ‘bad’ bacteria – it is often thought that it is a build up of the putrefactive, fermentative bacteria which lead to many of the symptoms of IBS, including wind and bloating. Using a supplement like citricidal, which is a natural anti fungal and anti bacterial supplement, over a couple of weeks could help to reduce their numbers and therefore in turn reduce bloating and wind.
Boost up your good bacteria – as well as killing off the fermentative bacteria, you need to make sure you have good levels of your friendly bacteria, which are involved in maintaining a healthy bowel function. This will ensure that the unfriendly bacteria you have killed off with the citricidal have no room to grow back and also that your guts are in the healthiest state possible. One of my favourite good bacteria supplements is Higher Natures Pro-Bio Daily a robust pro biotic which is not killed off by stomach acid and works hard to boost your colonies of good bacteria in the gut.
We have often found that addressing these simple issues has made a big difference to how our customers feel – one girl who had been struggling for years with bloating and IBS told us that she felt better than she had in years after only two weeks of this – so it’s definitely worth a go. To give this a go for yourself, click here.