Causes and Home remedies for Constipation by Dr. Eric Berg

Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass.

Essentially, constipation causes food to move more slowly than normal through your digestive tract. This can result in a wide range of health issues. Typically, constipation is associated with hardened feces or difficulty having a bowel movement.

It’s normal to experience some problems going to the bathroom occasionally—especially if you’re traveling or under a lot of stress. But, chronic constipation can really affect a person’s overall quality of life.

With these effective constipation remedies—it doesn’t have to.

Causes

Unfortunately, there are many different things that can cause you to become constipated. In a lot of cases, it has something to do with your diet. But, how active you are, your stress levels, and whether or not you’re getting enough water can play a role too.

Internally, several things are happening within your digestive tract that can cause this uncomfortable feeling. Stool slowly passing through the colon, not enough stool being formed, a delay in emptying of the colon from the pelvis, or a combination of these things may result in constipation.

Here are several factors that may be contributing to your constipation:

• Poor diet (processed foods, sugar, refined carbohydrates)
• Stress
• Inactivity
• Poor sleep
• Older age
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Imbalance of intestinal flora
• Thyroid or hormonal problems

Symptoms

Constipation is undeniably uncomfortable, and the symptoms of this condition can last throughout the day.

Someone is usually considered to be constipated when they have fewer than three bowel movements a week, or if the bowel movements are hard, dry, small, and difficult or painful to pass. But people with chronic constipation may even experience pain in the lower back as well as fatigue.

Here are common symptoms to watch out for:

• Gas
• Bloating
• Difficulty emptying the bowels.
• Painful bowel movements
• Fewer than normal bowel movements

Conventional Treatment

Laxatives are inexpensive and widely available. They’re probably the most common way of relieving constipation next to fiber supplements. Over-the-counter laxative tablets or teas may temporarily give you relief. But I believe there are better options, and most importantly, better natural options.

Laxatives can often be overused either on accident or on purpose, which can be dangerous. Using laxatives as a sort of “purge” diet is also harmful and should never be done. Symptoms related to laxative abuse like dehydration could actually contribute to constipation.

Over-the-counter laxatives can also have a lengthy list of side effects that natural options don’t. You need more than the temporary relief laxatives offer. You need a more effective and lasting alternative.

Healthy remedies for natural constipation relief do exist; you don’t have to resort to laxatives.

Top 4 Incredible Constipation Remedies

The natural remedies for constipation you need depend on what specific symptoms you’re feeling and also what the cause may be. Get an idea of what your symptoms are and check out these incredible constipation remedies.

One of them, or a combination of them, may be right for you.

1.) Microbes
What is it?

Microbes are microorganisms that live inside of your body—like bacteria. You might only think of bacteria as a bad thing, something you should stay away from. But there are actually good types of bacteria as well. These friendly microbes are essential to healthy digestion.

In fact, you need about four to five pounds of these friendly microbes in your digestion system. The lack of these healthy bacteria is one of the most likely causes of constipation.

What does it do?

The great majority of digestion happens in your small intestine. This is where microbes like to hang out, and they’re there to help break down the things you eat. These friendly microbes are responsible for about 90% of your digestion.

Do you need it?

Overall, yes, you need these friendly bacteria. Everyone, even if you’re not constipated, can benefit from these microbes in many different ways. If you eat an unhealthy diet, have a history of using antibiotics, or you’re constipated—you probably don’t have enough of these friendly microbes.

How to get it

You can add more of these healthy microbes to your digestive system by taking probiotic supplements. Probiotic supplements are live microorganisms. They’re the good guys, and they will help replenish the friendly microbes you’ve lost.

You should take a probiotic that includes a wide spectrum of different microbes. This way they will work synergistically to support a healthy gut. Try taking your probiotic before bed, and when you wake up, you should feel relieved and less bloated.

You need to take this probiotic supplement for about a month, and then go off of it for a month, and alternate like that. This is because at a certain point, your body will have enough microbes, so you will need to stop for a little bit. But then you want to start taking them again to help replenish any microbes you’ve lost.

2.) Bile

What is it?

Bile is an alkaline fluid that aids in healthy digestion. The liver makes bile and it’s stored in the gallbladder. It helps you break down fats and absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

What does it do?

You can think of bile as a detergent that dissolves grease—it’s breaking down that fat. The body really needs healthy bile. But, several different things can cause you not to have enough bile. Without enough bile, you can become constipated. Bile is also recycled, so it may be that you need to supplement bile to kick-start this recycling process and get it working correctly again.

Do you need it?

People who don’t have a gallbladder will especially benefit from taking bile in a supplement form. But there are other causes that can also result in not having enough bile.

For example, you might not have enough bile if you:

• Don’t have a gallbladder.
• Have a sluggish gallbladder.
• Have high stress.
• Have high estrogen levels (maybe from pregnancy)

If you do have a lack of healthy bile, you might notice symptoms like:

• Bloating
• Right shoulder pain
• Headaches
• Constipation

How to get it

If your issues with emptying your bowels are due to a lack of bile, once you add that, you’ll have almost immediate constipation relief. This is incredibly important for healthy digestion.

You can start adding bile to your diet by taking a simple gallbladder formula supplement.

3.) Acid

What is it?

The type of acid I would take for this issue is betaine hydrochloride. Betaine is a vitamin-like substance found in some foods. Betaine hydrochloride is the acidic form of betaine. Betaine hydrochloride is often recommended as a supplemental source of hydrochloric acid for people whose bodies aren’t producing enough stomach acid.

What does it do?

Hydrochloric acid aids the digestion process. If you don’t have adequate levels of hydrochloric acid, you won’t be able to break down the food you consume. The whole cycle of digestion will be thrown off. Undigested food will just sit there further down from where it should be because it’s not being broken down at the stomach level. You also won’t be able to absorb the nutrients provided by your food. Essentially, without enough hydrochloric acid, you will suffer from digestive dysfunction.

Do you need it?

If you’re experiencing indigestion or heartburn along with your constipation issue, give betaine hydrochloride a try.

How to get it

A fantastic way to get betaine hydrochloride is by taking a supplement specifically designed to support digestive health. Just be sure the supplement actually contains this essential ingredient. The best option might be a formula that also contains apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has incredible benefits for the digestion system as well. Betaine hydrochloride should handle the issue on its own, but these two ingredients working together can really work wonders.

4.) Fiber

What is it?

In many cases, when people are having problems emptying their bowels, they turn to fiber. Fiber is good for this issue, but it needs to be the right kind of fiber.

There are different types of fiber. You have fiber from grains, like bran, and then you have fiber from vegetables. The thing is if you’re getting fiber from grains, you’re not getting any other nutrients. But, if you get your fiber from vegetables, you’re actually getting other nutrients to support your health as well.

What does it do?

People seem to increase their fiber intake when having trouble with their bowel movements because they think it will push everything through the bowels. But, that’s not how the process works. Fiber doesn’t push anything.

Fiber is actually food for your microbes.

Do you need it?

Fiber is one of the best things to add to your diet if you’re experiencing constipation. It aids the digestive process and should really help you see a long-term difference.

How to get it

Try to get more fiber by consuming fiber-rich vegetables. Just make sure the vegetable you choose won’t overwhelm your microbes and make you even more bloated. Cruciferous vegetables, like beetroot and brussels sprouts, are a great source of fiber. If you have a difficult time adding these types of vegetables to your diet, you can also try a cruciferous superfood supplement.

* One More Tip

The four alternative remedies above should really do the trick when it comes to finding relief and handling constipation. In the process of handing and correcting the constipation issue, you may also need a natural laxative.

Find an herbal laxative you feel comfortable with and start taking that as a short-term coping mechanism. The above effective solutions are more so long-term corrective mechanisms.

These four home remedies for constipation have helped many people. Let me know how they work for you.