Elimination

Yes, regular bowel movements are important. Best to eliminate first thing in the morning, just after arising from bed.  You can start the morning by drinking warm to hot water with some lime or lemon. Drink 1 full cup, wait, drink another full cup and wait. Water is needed by the colon to expand the fibre and stimulate peristalsis. Sometimes it can take up to 3 cups of water before there is enough water to stimulate the colon to eliminate.

Another very useful tool to keep the colon healthy and able to eliminate regularly is the herbal product called Triphala. (3 fruits). Triphala is astringent in quality and reestablishes the intelligence of the lining of the colon.   You can take 1-3 tablets or 2 teaspoonfuls before bed and this will generally give you an excellent bowel movement in the morning.  Do not take more than 4 tablets at bedtime or it will give you nightmares.

Another wonderful way to get fibre into the system is a smoothie of Pineapple with prunes.  Soak 3-4 prunes in a cup of hot water. Once they are swollen up (make sure they have no pits in them) add them to 1/2 cup of pineapple pieces cut up small and blend them together. This makes a delicious snack or dessert and is sure to get things moving the next day.  Pineapple is full of enzymes and prunes a famous for their eliminative capabilities.

The above three are my favourite ways of dealing with constipation. However, in a pinch, I have resorted to a product called Nutracleanse which is sold at most Pharmasave drugstore.  Add a small scoop to your porridge in the morning.  Make sure you stay well hydrated as the psyllium fibre in the products needs lots of water to work.  I would not take this product too long as the ground flax seed can be overheating to the spleen

If you go back and read the entry on November 2010 most of the information I would still agree with except taking Magnesium capsules orally.  If you take Magnesium over a long period of time it can irritate and damage the lining of the colon.  That is why it can work as a laxative by irritating the colon.  So there are better ways to deal with the problem.