Everyone jokes about constipation, but it’ s no joke if you’ re the one suffering from it. And suffering is the right word for it! It’ s a miserable feeling. You may feel bloated, sluggish, and often you’ ll have a low-grade headache. But perhaps we can make that feeling no more than a memory.
Constipation is, simply put, an inability to move your bowels. The body is designed so that waste products will move quickly through the system, and out of the body. Although several things can be the cause of it, the root cause is a lack of moisture in your digestive system, and water is the primary cure for that.
The best way to deal with constipation is to prevent it. And a regular system of getting water into your body is the best way to practice prevention.
Most conventional medical advice is that there is no normal routine for the human body to have bowel movements. Some will tell you with a straight face that for some people it’ s normal to have a bowel movement every 3 or 4 days.
And while I agree that our systems will vary widely in their normality it is not normal to go for days without a bowel movement. Your body is taking in food several times a day. It just makes sense that your body will also need to get rid of waste products at least once a day.
There’ s no need to become greatly concerned if you go a day without a bowel movement. But if skipping days becomes a routine, you might want to step up your prevention program — especially if you start feeling lousy.
Prevention starts off in the morning. During the night, your body has been fasting — on an involuntary basis! Unless you are in the habit of eating a midnight snack, your body will often have gone without food for 7 or 8 or more hours.
During that time, your digestive system has been resting — like the rest of your body. And you should give it the chance to rest! If you’ ve ever eaten a large meal, and then quickly gone to bed, you know it’ s not a recipe for a good night’ s sleep. Most people sleep poorly and restlessly after a large meal, because the digestive system’ s having to do a lot of work. And digestion is hard work.
When you awaken in the morning, immediately drink 2 to 3 glasses of lukewarm tap water. This is not the time to have ice water. You don’ t want to slow your body down, and that’ s what cold does. If you don’ t like the taste of your tap water first thing in the morning, you might try adding something to perk it up — a twist of lemon is a good water pick-me-up.
After drinking your water, do not sit down. Remain standing. This is the time to read the newspaper, empty the dishwasher, or whatever. Just remain in an upright, standing position. You see, chairs are not the optimal position for the human body. All of your digestive organs get scrunched together. Until a few hundred years ago, chairs were not common, and people traditionally stood or squatted in most situations. Now, I don’ t think I’ m going to get you to give up your chairs, but at least for the first 30 minutes of so of the day, pretend you don’ t have a chair, and give your body a chance to work without being scrunched up.
After 15 minutes, drink another 2 or 3 glasses of water. Your body will be working to get the digestive system kicking back in. A side benefit is that you will find yourself waking up much faster than you have in the past. Part of the grogginess most of us feel is simply a side-effect of dehydration.
For most people, your bowels will move after the second couple of glasses of water. If they haven’t, don’ t worry about it … it will happen later in the day as you continue drinking water. Remember, aim for drinking 20 glasses of water every day. As you get into that regular habit, you will find that constipation will take care of itself.
Jim Huffman, RN specializes in natural and alternative healing therapies. His first book is ‘Dare to Be Free: How to Get Control of Your Time, Your Life, and Your Nursing Career,’ and is aimed at helping other nurses find satisfying, dynamic careers. His website is http://www.NetworkForNurses.com and his health blog is at http://www.shababa.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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Using Natural Remedies For Constipation
Alexander Sviridov
There are two basic types of constipation - organic and
functional. Organic constipation is a result of some physical change, obstruction, or distortion in your colon. This type of constipation needs immediate attention from a doctor.
This article only covers Functional Constipation. This type of constipation is a result of not following a proper diet,
drinking enough fluids, having good emotional health and not having a good lifestyle - a lifestyle that promotes good movement of digested foods through the intestines and colon.
Even though there are many definitions for constipation,
constipation is simply a condition where the fecal matter
traveling through your colon remains too long in your colon before traveling out the rectum.
Constipation is a symptom and not a disease. It is a condition that tells you your colon is not working properly or that you have some underlying gastrointestinal disease you are not aware of.
Constipation may be a warning that your diet and lifestyle are causing an imbalance in your body. It is a symptom that many people ignore or that many people try to eliminate by using unnatural and oftentimes dangerous drugstore laxatives.
Drugstore laxatives should be avoided when you have
constipation. They can become habit-forming, damage your colon, and have nasty side effects if used too long. They sometimes have the tendency of creating the problem you are trying relieve - constipation.
To keep your body in chemical balance, it is important to use only natural remedies for constipation. Natural remedies such as herbs and foods bring into the colon those nutrients that can build up your colon and reactivate your natural peristaltic action.
As you use natural remedies, keep in mind that one particular remedy may not work for you. You may have to try a different remedy or increase dosage of the one you are using. If you supply what your body needs by using a specific remedy, then you will get results from using that remedy.
Experimenting is part of finding out what remedy is best for you. There are many different natural remedies you can choose from. Look on the internet for “natural remedies for constipation” and you will find many listings.
Keep in mind that most remedies should be used only for a short time, two to four days and not longer than 2 weeks. They should only be used for the time needed to clear your constipation. This might be just 4 or 5 times or sometimes it may take several weeks.
There are some herbal combinations that can be used for longer duration. These combinations can improve your colon’s health and get your bowels moving again.
If you have constipation, the natural balance and function of your colon has been affected. But, natural remedies can bring you colon back into balance.
About The Author: Constipation And Hemorrhoids, Alexander Sviridov is a practicing proctologist. More information about hemorroids symptoms and ways of treatment you will find here http://www.hemorroids-treatment.net