Constipation Causes And Treatment

Do you struggle with constipation?

Our digestive health impacts all areas of our body so ensuring your bowels are moving regularly is essential!  Ideally you should be having a bowel movement every one to two days, it should be easy to pass and formed - not pellet like or too loose.  Check out the Bristol Stool Chart  -  type 4 is ideal, and 3 is the next best type.

Optimal digestive health is essential for nutrient absorption, mental health, immunity and removal of wastes and toxins.

If you've been struggling with constipation a good place to start is ensuring you're drinking enough water (at least 1-2L depending on your diet and exercise level) and consuming adequate vegetables.  Include a variety of vegetables with each meal, along with some quality protein and fat. Including some fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut can also be a great way to support digestive health - start with 1 tbsp with one meal per day.  (If fermented vegetables cause you any digestive upset you may need to start smaller or you may have a more serious imbalance or overgrowth of gut bacteria which needs correcting first).

Dysbiosis - an imbalance in gut bacteria, can contribute to constipation, so a good quality multi-strain probiotic can be useful.  Our gut bacteria become imbalanced over time from antibiotics, antacids, steroid medication, chemicals, stress, alcohol, sugar and processed foods.

Magnesium citrate can also be used to help relax your nervous and digestive system to help get things moving.  If you are stressed your digestive system is literally shut down, as it is not seen as critical during a fight or flight response.  Ongoing stress, which is experienced by many people, has a huge impact on your digestive function. 

Sometimes just giving yourself enough time to sit on the toilet can help!  With our busy lives, some people just don't give their body enough time to relax on the toilet!  

Liquid herbs are amazing at improving digestive function especially chronic constipation.  Cascara, Yellow Dock, Globe Artichoke and Schisandra can be used safely and have a laxative effect.  They also work by stimulating liver function and improving bile production which are essential for optimal digestion and bowel movements.  A more frequent dose of herbs can be used initially until your digestion is moving more regularly.  A calming herb, such as Chamomile is ideal to use alongside the stronger action of Cascara, to help calm and soothe your digestive system.

Constipation, especially if chronic can also be caused by hypo or under-active thyroid function - which can be assessed by a Naturopath.  Testing TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) alone does not give you an accurate picture of thyroid function - you also need to check T3 and T4 levels.

Other conditions such as SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth) can also contribute to constipation - a Naturopath can help you work out which underlying issues and testing are relevant to you.

If you'd like to improve your digestive health I'd love to help you.  

  Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

5 TIPS TO REDUCE SUGAR CRAVINGS

Do you find yourself reaching for the sweet stuff more and more?

This is a very common experience for many women and one that can be tricky to break free from due to the addictive quality of sugar!  

There are a number of reasons you may be experiencing sugar cravings such as nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, stress or emotional issues.

There are also a number of reasons why you may want to limit sugar consumption including an increase in insulin resistance and risk of diabetes, ageing, weight, inflammation, triglycerides and blood pressure (an indicator of heart disease risk - which more women than men die from!).  

Sugar also reduces skin quality, sleep quality, energy and can cause an imbalance in other hormones, including ghrelin and leptin which regulate your appetite and satiety. 

While our bodies are designed to handle 1-2 pieces of fruit per day, they are not able to deal with a daily onslaught of added sugars! 

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Here are my 5 top tips to help reduce sugar cravings - 

1. Include adequate protein and fat at each meal - this helps to keep your energy and blood sugar levels more stable.  Focus on eating a variety of vegetables along with some protein and fat - free range eggs, grass fed animal products, butter/ghee, wild fish, avocado, olive oil, coconut products, nuts and seeds.

2. Have some low sugar snacks handy - tamari almonds, unsweetened yoghurt and berries, cheese and olives, hummus and veg sticks, apple slices with tahini or nut butter.  

3. Try some herbal tea - cinnamon is great for blood sugar and licorice gives a sweet taste to any herbal tea.  You could also try some kombucha or soda and lime. 

4. Take notice of any underlying reasons that are contributing to your sugar cravings - fatigue, stress, boredom, loneliness.  Sweet food can offer us a quick and easy fix to however we're feeling - but unfortunately this is only temporary and doesn't offer us any real solution.  Be kind to yourself as you become aware of any of these and work on changing your habits to ones that truly make you feel good - both now and in the future. 

5. Take a good quality Magnesium and B vitamin powder - these nutrients are important in regulating blood sugar and insulin, and are also great for energy production and stress.  Chromium and Gymnema are also great - a couple of drops of gymnema on the tongue will make anything sweet taste like cardboard!

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If you'd like to investigate any of these underlying issues, or would like some support in reducing your sugar addiction, I'd love to help you.  

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.