Constipation is defined as the inability to pass stool or failure to empty bowels after 72 hours of previous bowel movements.

Therefore, if you have not passed stool after less than 72 hours, it cannot be described as constipation.

The bowels can normally delay:

– When you are fasting.

– When you change your normal environment of defecation.

– When you change your usual time of toileting.

However, when you fail to experience bowel movements after 72 hours, do the following:

1. Avoid fibre and fibrous meals. Why? Because during a traffic jam, you don’t add more vehicles.

2. Drink saline water twice daily. Why? To stimulate bowel activity. The bowel is made up of smooth muscles that contract and relax based on the sodium-potassium pump.

3. Eat suerkraut. Why? Because bowel movements stop when bacteria get overwhelmed by huge boluses of food substrate in the bowel. Sauerkraut will stimulate and repopulate the gut bacteria.

4. Avoid antibiotics. Why? Because of number 3 above.

5. Avoid antacids. They are the reason your gut bacteria are ineffective. It is called SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth)

6. Get short-chain fatty acids from butter or ghee or another form of short -chain fatty acid called acetate that is found in Apple Cider Vinegar. So, you can also drink ACV. ( 5 tablespoons in a glass of warm water.)

Bonus:

– You can eat plums or drink milk because of their natural lactulose which pulls water into the colon to loosen the bulky stool.

—content supplied by @amerix

DO NOT be rushing to buy medicines. 80% of the time, you don’t need them

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