7 Simple Gut Hacks for Constipation
Have you ever woken up in the morning feeling like there was a brick in your stomach and feared what your day would be like if you weren’t able to go to the bathroom before leaving for work?
Do you find yourself daydreaming about a day where you won’t have to rely on an alchemy of laxatives, herbal brews, or high-dose magnesium just to be able to go to the bathroom? A day where you will have the option to choose to wear that body-hugging dress you love so much instead of shapeless shirts that conceal your inevitable food baby?
Constipation can play a major role when it comes to chronic bloating. Approximately 1 in 4 Canadians has symptoms of constipation, and according to the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research, chronic constipation affects between 15-30% of Canadians, impacting women more often than men. You are not alone in your suffering!
Constipation means your bowel movements are infrequent or difficult to pass. An infrequent bowel movement means less than once per day.
(Some sources define “abnormal frequency” as less than 3 bowel movements per week, but clinical reasoning suggests that if you are eating two to three meals a day, you should be going to the bathroom at least once a day to eliminate waste byproducts. Anything less than this could compromise your health and leave you feeling bloated and sluggish.)
It’s also possible to go to the bathroom once per day and still be constipated.
Constipation can look like:
More than 24hrs between bowel movements
Straining when having a bowel movement
Hard, rabbit-like pellets
Painful defecation
Not feeling like you’ve fully emptied
Relying on laxatives to go to the bathroom
If you’ve ever been constipated, I don’t need to tell you how uncomfortable it can be. Aside from relieving the discomfort, here are 5 additional reasons it’s important to have a regular bowel movement:
Slow gut motility makes you prone to further bloating from slowed digestive processes.
Constipation contributes to gut microbiome imbalance which is associated with chronic bloating, SIBO, inflammation, chronic disease, obesity, and mood disorders.
Constipation is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, peripheral artery disease, and irregular heart rhythms.
Constipation can increase your risk for gastrointestinal conditions like colon cancer, diverticulitis, and appendicitis.
Constipation may be associated with neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
Now that we’ve established how important it is to poop every day, here are 7 simple strategies you can use to have regular bowel movements and take the title as Queen of the Throne:
1. Hydration
Water is essential for pretty much every single process in the body. Digestion included. Put simply, if you aren’t hydrated, you become constipated.
Your body needs water to produce stomach acid which helps break down protein and liquifies the food you eat. Insufficient stomach acid leads to impaired digestion which can lead to constipation.
Water also acts as a lubricant in the intestines so food can slide through easily. In the colon, water is pulled in to mix with waste material to bring it to the right consistency so it can pass easily from the body. If you’re not drinking enough water, there won’t be anything for the stool to absorb and this dries it out and makes it harder to pass. Have you ever tried to push sand through a pipe?
2. Fiber
If you struggle with constipation, you have probably heard that it’s important to make sure you get enough fiber. The recommended daily intake for fiber is at least 25 grams per day. According to Health Canada, most Canadians only get half that.
First is important for constipation because it absorbs water and adds bulk to your stool so that it can slide more easily along the digestive tract. It also feeds your good gut bugs and keeps them happy, which contributes to overall gut health.
When increasing your fiber intake to relieve constipation, start slow and gradually bump up your daily intake. Increasing fiber too quickly may result in bloating and worsening of constipation. It’s also important to make sure you are drinking plenty of water. (For more tips on how to increase fiber without making bloating worse, check out my article, 8 Ways to Increase Fiber Without Making Bloating Worse.)
3. Food triggers
Food triggers are often overlooked for constipation, but any food that contributes to inflammation can also cause constipation. Some of the most common food triggers for constipation are dairy, gluten, high fat consumption, and sugar.
If you think food might be contributing to your constipation, consider using a food and symptom tracker to find the culprit(s). Watch out for inflammatory vegetable oils like canola, grapeseed, soy, corn, safflower, and sunflower; refined sugars like high fructose corn syrup, table sugar, brown sugar, and evaporated cane syrup; and dairy products. (Learn more about food triggers and constipation here.)
4. Nourish your nervous system
The nervous system becomes overwhelmed when you feel stressed all the time. The constant release of stress hormones like cortisol and norepinephrine has negative effects on the brain-gut connection and can slow transit time for food. When your body is in a stressed state, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, and blood and resources are shunted to the muscles, heart, and lungs – and away from digestive organs. Eating in this state leads to impaired digestion and often results in gas, bloating, and constipation due to slowed gut motility.
Nourishing your nervous system means shifting into a parasympathetic state, otherwise known as “rest and digest” mode. You can do this through daily movement, deep breathing, meditation, journaling, massage, listening to music, and doing activities that you otherwise find relaxing or restorative.
5. Eat every 3 to 4 hours
Many people have adopted the belief that they must eat every few hours to promote health and well-being. Unfortunately, this is not the case! Eating every few hours (this includes snacking) interferes with the migrating motor complex (MMC) in your gut. The MMC is a pressure-like wave that runs through your digestive tract and propels food and waste along so it can be digested and expelled out the other end.
Consistently consuming calories disrupts the MMC because it only activates when there is no food left to digest. When the MMC is slowed or functioning sub-optimally, bloating and constipation are often soon to follow. To support MMC function, eat every 3-4 hours with no food or snacks in between. If you get hungry before your next meal, this is a sign that you need to incorporate more protein, healthy fats, or fiber into your diet.
6. Move your body
Lack of movement or exercise is a sure-fire way to slow gut motility because your colon responds to activity. Regular physical activity decreases constipation and improves colon transit time (how quickly food moves through your colon).
Good muscle tone is also important for regular bowel movements as the muscles in your abdominal wall and diaphragm play a role in the process of pooping. Getting regular physical activity through walking, strength training, and yoga can improve core strength and make it easier for you to have a bowel movement.
7. Magnesium at bedtime
According to Statistics Canada, more than a third of Canadians don’t get enough magnesium. Magnesium is essential for more than 300 enzymatic processes in the body. If your levels are low, you may start to experience signs of deficiency which could include constipation, muscle tension, and restless leg syndrome.
One of magnesium’s main functions is to help with muscle relaxation. This includes the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract. Coordinating the contraction and relaxation of these smooth muscles is what moves food through your digestive tract so that you can have a bowel movement.
Even if you eat a healthy whole foods diet, soils are so depleted of nutrients that magnesium deficiency remains highly probable. Taking a good quality magnesium supplement can help support daily, healthy bowel movements. Magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate can be taken at night to promote relaxation, a restful sleep, and a regular poop in the morning. Most people can safely take 300-450mg of magnesium per day. Higher doses may result in diarrhea as magnesium causes water to be pulled into the bowels causing an osmotic laxative effect.
Although constipation is common, it’s not normal. And not going to the bathroom regularly can have a significant impact on your quality of life. While these strategies are a great place to start for management of constipation, sometimes the root cause runs deeper. (There are many contributing factors for constipation!)
If you are looking for additional support, I help women with chronic bloating decrease the belly ache, relieve constipation, and improve digestion without Band-Aid solutions or uber restrictive diets. Reach out for help through the contact form, or learn more about my offerings here.
