My mom came to visit me this week on her way back to the Prairies.  She just finished a 3 week stay in a  health retreat. The main emphasis of the retreat was to cleanse the body of toxins by juicing and exercise. For some reason she got constipated during her stay, and it was not going away. I am having similar symptoms such as bloating, stomach aches, etc and thought it was time I did something about it!  We went to our natural health food store and asked for advice. The first idea they mentioned was that we could both have low amount of magnesium in our bodies. They recommended a product called “Natural Calm”, a relaxing magnesium supplement. Many people get constipated because they do not have high enough magnesium levels. My mom also decided to get a natural laxative from Herbal Factors, called “Laxatif”. We hope that we both will be a little less bulky around the stomach soon!

Even though I drink 6-8 cups of water and herbal tea daily, exercise regularly, and have a healthy diet that does not include daily caffeine, right now I am constipated.  I feel that I do have a healthy diet(lots of fresh vegetables, lean protein, whole bread and grains, small to moderate amounts of sugar and caffeine), but I may not be getting the fibre amount I need. Health experts recommend 25 to 30grams of fibre every day and six to eight cups of fluid. I personally have  to take my symptoms seriously due to the fact I was in the hospital for 12 days for a diverticulitis attack, less then a year ago.

If you have some personal remedies that have worked , please let us all know!

Systems of constipation

headache

loss of appetite and nausea

abdominal distention (feeling bloated)
straining during defecation

Consequences of constipation

hemorrhoids (varicose veins in the anus and rectum)

diverticulae (small out-pouches in the intestine)

increased risk of developing colon cancer