So how often do you go to the toilet and how much? Many people think that constipation is not being able to go to the toilet for a few days and then having to strain to get it out. Yes this is one type of constipation and can be very toxic to the body. You can imagine what happens if you leave food in your waste bin for several days it starts to rot and smell. This also happens in your digestive system and with meat it can be like rotting dead flesh. I am not opposed to people eating organic meat but if someone is prone to constipation it causes a lot of problems because it becomes so toxic. However unnatural food can also be toxic, for example preservatives, colourings, additives, refined foods and manmade drinks.
Constipation can be from the bowel being overly contracted and tight or being overly expanded and flaccid with weak muscles. The latter often happens from abusing laxatives or being chronically constipated, or a lack of nutrients which strengthen the bowel.
If you are an adult and you are eating three meals a day then you should be passing the amount of stool each day from your wrist to your elbow in length. Yes that may seem an extraordinary amount for some of you but this may be in several pieces and more than once a day. You want the diameter or width of your stool to be at least 2cm, this is about half the length of your thumb. Really thin stools indicate spasm of the bowel, or constipation or irritation of the bowel wall. Wide stools can be a problem if they overstretch the bowel and cause bleeding.
Now I know some of you are just passing rabbit stools or really small stools and there is hope. By the end of reading this book you will get lots of advice and if you follow it your bowel movements will greatly improve . Constipation can also happen when someone eats too much psyllium, dairy, fat or a lack of water.
The bowel relies on a wave like action called peristalsis. It moves a bit like a caterpillar and this wave like action causes muscular contractions of the bowel/intestines. If you have too much heat or stagnation in your liver you will get dry hard stools that are difficult to pass. If you have this type of constipation your tongue may be red with a thick coating at the back.
When the body is deficient or lacking in iron the strength of peristalsis is poor.
People can be constipated even though they go to the toilet every day. They just don’t go enough. If you want to test your transit time eat some sweetcorn and then have a look in the toilet bowel for the next two days, when you open your bowels note when the sweetcorn moves through. Ideally you don’t want food staying for more than 24hrs in your bowels. You can do the same with beetroot. Don’t get scared with beetroot when your urine and stools go red, this is a what happens when eating beetroot. When I worked as a nurse we used to get people coming in to casualty thinking they were bleeding to death and it was just that they had eaten beetroot. It’s also a great bowel cleanser and full of iron and vitamin C which helps iron absorb.
So what are the main causes of constipation and why do so many people have it?
-Lack of water
-Lack of fibre
-Lack of exercise
-Stress
