Sometimes it can be hard to let go of things, can’t it? Earlier this week I had a client with my-definition-of-severe-constipation which was that she didn’t have a BM for a full week. In the past, she’d been told to be grateful, some people didn’t move their bowels but once every three weeks!

Did you know, ideally your bowels are supposed to move with every meal? Food in, waste out! So if you eat three meals a day, it should be three times a day of formed stool.

Now, if you’re like most nutrition minded people these days, two solutions probably spring readily to mind for constipation: FIBER & probiotics. Those can absolutely be true, although people with certain digestive disorders like leaky gut or Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth may need to be careful about their intake of fiber and avoid most probioticts. If you are finding yourself constipated, trying those two things might really help.

There’s another really easy one to try that can get overlooked especially this time of year as summer comes into full swing. Let’s call it: WATER, the SUPER-POOP tea! :-). Remember, it’s HALF your pounds of bodyweight in ounces of water. So if you weigh 200 lbs, you need 100 oz of water per day.

But sometimes, you’re doing all those things right, and things still aren’t moving. Classical Oriental Medicine has many different “pattern differentiations” or reasons why it got that way. Here are some first steps to take, before you need to call your Acupuncturist or functional medicine nutritionist & herbalist:

  1. Yangming Syndrome: Have you ever noticed when you come down with a bug, your tummy often gets off? That imbalance in the digestive system is often the root of the imbalance in the immune system, and is WHY you were vulnerable to getting sick to begin with. Most likely, the symptoms of your illness happened after you missed some sleep, ate some of the wrong food for you, or were stressed out. What to do first? Take your currently supplements, and take it easy. Take a nap if you’re able to, and get a little exercise in the sunshine. Something that makes you feel good but not tired, like a nice 45 min walk when the sun is out, but it’s not too hot or cold yet.
  2. Excessive heat: Heat will dry the intestines, making it difficult to move. Water is the first go-to here; if you can tolerate it, coconut water is the next step as it is deeply hydrating. Note: Some coconut water is better than others. Harmless Harvest coconut water tends to have more of the hydrating nutrients needed. I have no affiliation with them.
  3. Food stagnation: Eating certain foods that tax the digestive system, like heavy fried foods. Best to avoid them in general, and just have a small amount if you do indulge.
  4. Blood deficiency: Not having sufficient quality of nutrients in your blood. You can think of this as pre-anemic state. This is a more long-term chronic condition. Foods that can help: ginger and sweet potato.
  5. Qi Deficiency: Not having enough energy to move the bowels. This can happen when we get sedentary, either due to laziness, busy lifestyle, or injury that doesn’t allow us to move easily. Lack of movement results in lack of blood flow to the nerves of the digestive system, known as the enteric nervous system. Exercise helps the most – this is why a walk after dinner can be very beneficial!
  6. Food Poisoning: If bad food is rejected quickly by the system, it is vomitted out; if it penetrates more deeply then both vomitting and diarrhea can occur. Then we say both the Upper and Middle Jiaos are affected with dampness and heat. There is one herb that is very good for clearing this; in fact it is so effective that it is used in disaster relief! As you may know China has had its share of earthquakes, after which both water and food sources are compromised. The herb Huang Qin, also known as Skullcap, is litterally put into the water so that people don’t get sick from unclean water or food. It’s even safe for pregnant women.
  7. Liver Qi Stagnation: Toxins that congest the liver build up over time. The liver produces bile, which gets stored by the gallbladder – and congested bile tends to contribute to gallbladder stones. What to do? Some at home remedies are celery (this is where the popular Medical Medium’s recommendation comes from) or Cinnamon. Celery is cooling, and is appropriate to use when there’s heat; cinnamon is warming and is appropriate to use when there’s cold.
  8. Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency: When you see Yin Deficiency, you can think of “Fluid Deficiency” so we’re back to dryness. Yin deficiency can be caused by excessive heat from the outside, like the change of weather we’ve been having. Or it can be caused heating up from the inside. You can still start with the coconut water, but this type of syndrome will need appropriate intervention by a skilled herbalist.

There’s a wise old saying in Chinese Medicine for treating constipation: You have to move the boat AND float the boat! This refers to the need to both hydrate the intestines and stimulate them. Many people use herbs like Senna for bowel MOVEMENT. That’s a great 1-2 times use herb, but using it daily can create reliance on it. Yes, that’s right, even your BOWELS can become ADDICTED! LOL!

There’s something else really great you can do for your bowels: MEDITATION and MOVEMENT! Many of you have met Vicki Somoya, one of the new additions to our team. But you probably don’t yet know that MOVEMENT with MEDITATION is her SUPERPOWER! I can’t say enough about how beneficial this type of practice is, AND how great a teacher Vicki is! To see for yourself, just click the video below. :-). You can feel her years of degrees and certification in dance, yoga, and movement in this lovely video – I’ll be you can even feel her time spent living in Hawaii! AND this type of practice is even more powerful in person, and in a group! So Vicki will be sharing the MOVEMENT and MEDITATION LOVE with us on Thursday, July 28 at 3 pm at Longevity Wellness! This introductory class is just $20 – please email DrCynthiaLWC@gmail.com to sign up and join us!