Constipation can happen for many reasons and can usually be treated with diet and exercise. Dietary fiber will help to push things through: prunes (or any dried fruit), leafy green vegetables, raw grain brans (oat and rice are easiest to digest), beans, berries, and nuts are all high in fiber.
Even moderate exercise helps your body work better; blood flows more freely, muscles are flexed, cells receive the oxygen they need, and your digestive system processes food more efficiently to give you energy. Drinking enough water is crucial for healthy stools–dehydration will cause your lower intestine to absorb as much moisture as it can to purge waste, leaving you with a very hard, lumpy product.
At the other end of the doodie scale is diarrhea, examples of Types 6 and 7. A funny word for a not-so-funny condition. Diarrhea is often accompanied by cramps and stomach upset. It can be caused by illness, allergies, medications, conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease, stress, or food poisoning. Dairy products and artificial sweeteners can also make food run through you. Chronically loose bowel movements are a real cause for concern and can indicate something serious.
Any significant changes should be addressed
If you routinely go from one end of the spectrum to the other, it could be a sign of irritable bowel syndrome and should be checked out by your healthcare provider.
If your stools are in the normal range, keep up the good work! There are things you can do to ensure you stay on the right track.
Probiotics are healthy bacteria that help your body break down food, keep the liver clean, and fight infection. Many delicious sources of these can be easily incorporated into your diet. Fermented foods are at the top of the list: sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, miso, tempeh, and yogurt are readily available.
Changing your body position while eliminating can help the physical purging of waste. Like giving birth in a semi-prone or upright position rather than lying flat on your back, gravity is already there so we might as well use it to our advantage.
Squatting improves the anorectal angle so waste has a straighter path to the outside world. Putting your feet up on a stool (the kind you step on to make you taller) while you sit on the toilet can accomplish this.
