If you are not having at least one thorough bowel motion each day, waste builds up in your intestines. Retaining waste products in your colon encourages bacterial and fungal overgrowth. The increased microbial load can inflame your gut lining, making it excessively permeable, or leaky. The wastes leak through the gut and make their way to the liver, compromising its function.

Constipated people usually have a sluggish liver. This means their liver doesn’t do a great job of fat burning, resulting in a slow metabolism. Gallbladder function is also compromised, and this can result in bloating and digestive problems. Keeping your intestines moving is essential for good health.

After you have digested the food in your intestines and broken it down into its building blocks, most of the nutrients get absorbed into your bloodstream via a vein called the hepatic portal vein. This vein travels directly to your liver. If you are having regular, thorough bowel movements, the waste in your intestines will be eliminated from your body. However, in a constipated person some of that waste gets reabsorbed back into the bloodstream, and travels straight to your liver.

Constipation also worsens the common hormone imbalance in women known as estrogen dominance and relative progesterone deficiency. Women are supposed to break down large quantities of estrogen each day in their liver, and excrete it in bowel motions. Constipated women reabsorb much of that estrogen and it ends up recirculating back to the liver. This can produce unpleasant symptoms such as PMS, menstrual cramps, heavy periods and tender breasts, but it can also raise the risk of breast or uterine cancer in the future.

Some people can easily and quickly resolve their constipation just by drinking more water and following a healthy diet. Unfortunately for others the solution is not so simple.

Here are some other strategies to help manage constipation:

  • It is vital to drink a lot of water each day
    If you don’t drink enough, the fecal matter will become dry and hard and then become extremely difficult to pass. Aim to drink between 8 and 12 glasses of water each day, depending on the climate you live in and how much exercise you obtain. Drinking too much tea can worsen constipation because of the tannins in it.
  • It is essential to move your body each day
    Exercise stimulates peristalsis (intestinal contractions). Fast walking, dancing and sports are all beneficial, but even just going for a 5 minute gentle stroll is better than sitting all day.
  • Make sure you’re getting adequate fiber in your diet
    Vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds are all high in fiber. Grains and legumes are also high in fiber but they can be irritating to the gut lining and can actually worsen constipation and bloating, therefore are best avoided. You may need to take a fiber supplement to ensure you obtain enough each day. Fibertone powder can be stirred into water or added to smoothies, yogurt, cereal or sprinkled over chopped fruit.
  • Make sure you’re eating adequate healthy fats and digesting them properly
    It is important to include some fat in your diet because it enhances digestion, lubricates your digestive lining and helps to stimulate a bowel action. Olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, oily fish and nuts are all great sources of good fats. Many constipated people don’t produce enough bile, therefore they don’t digest essential fatty acids properly. Bile is your body’s own natural laxative, so if you’re constipated you’re likely not making enough. Taking an ox bile capsule with each meal should help.
  • Make sure your liver is not sluggish
    Sluggish bowels are usually associated with a sluggish liver. If your liver isn’t keeping up with the job, you can expect your bowel function to slow down. The herbs and taurine in Livatone help to promote efficient liver function.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

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