How to Avoid Constipation and Heal from Irritable Bowel Syndrome

FACTS:
It's normal to take in food and then to have a bowel movement. Watch your pets. After they eat a meal, they need to eliminate. You should have at least one good bowel movement per day. It is actually ideal to have 2-3 banana-sized bowel movements per day. Stool color should be walnut brown, but certain foods may darken the stool. The bowel should be the consistency of toothpaste. If the bowel floats, there may be too much fiber in the diet or undigested fat. If the bowel is hard and sinks, drink more water, and eat more fiber and vegetables, take a green drink, or make other dietary modifications. Some gas and odor is a normal byproduct of digestion. An overabundance is not.

WHAT CAUSES AND CONTRIBUTES TO CONSTIPATION?
Antacids containing aluminum
Lack of exercise
Not enough fiber in the diet
Diuretics and antibiotics
Iron supplementation
Change in routine such as travel
An extremely low fat diet
Refined and processed foods
Not drinking enough water
Frequently skipping meals
Adding fiber improperly to the diet. Too much psyllium fiber? It can suck water from your system and dehydrate the colon and then constipate. (This does not happen to everyone.)
Cheese and milk products (for some people)
Overuse of laxatives
Eating late at night
Hypothyroidism - see your physician
Too much caffeine, red meat, pasteurized dairy
Stress

HOW TO AVOID CONSTIPATION:
It sounds simple, but take the time to regularly eliminate the bowel. Get up earlier for work if you have to and create enough time to properly eliminate. We all have the experience of eating breakfast, then feeling as if we need to go to the bathroom, but hold off because we'll be late for work. Change your routine so you can create the time. Don't be too busy to eliminate.

1. Lubricate the colon! This is critical. The best way to is take essential fatty acids, like Flax Seed Oil and Borage Oil and other healthy oils. The colon needs (healthy) fats for proper elimination.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Avoid irritating the colon with laxatives.
4. Change your diet slowly! Eat as many organic foods as possible.
5. Take digestive enzyme s with your meals - this also helps to alkalize the system.
6. Exercise
7. Sit correctly on the toilet, not slumped over
8. Eat foods rich in Magnesium - a gentle mineral that brings water into the colon
9. Take a Probiotic product

TRY BODYWORK:
Massage - For constipation without painful symptoms, slowly massage the abdomen in clockwise movements. Turn so you are face up, and bend the knees. Press down under the left ribcage and sweep vertically down. Then sweep laterally across the top of the abdomen starting under the right ribs and continuing to the left ribs. Then sweep up, starting in the lower right abdomen up to the right ribcage. Do this a few times. Now perform continuous clockwise motions. Do this several times before getting out of bed in the morning. It often creates gentle peristalsis waves.

Sources and Helpfuls Books:
1. Eating for IBS, www.eatingforibs.com by Heather VonVorous
2. The First Year - IBS, www.firstyearibs.com by Heather VonVorous
3. Irritable Bowel Syndrome & the Mind-Body/Brain-Gut Connection, by Dr. William B. Salt, III
4. Relief From IBS, by E. Shimberg
5. The Yeast Connection, by William G. Crook
6. The Yeast Connection Cookbook, by William G. Crook