We have all experienced constipation at one time or another. Some reasons include stress, travel, and temporary dehydration. Occasional constipation is not a big issue but chronic constipation can literally make you sick and cause many diseases.

Learn five key ways to address your constipation naturally.

Most of us understand that regular elimination is important. A bowel movement is one of the key ways that we get rid of toxins in our body. Therefore, it is very important to have at least one bowel movement (BM) everyday (if you are having extensive amounts of daily BM, that’s a whole new topic). Constipation is a symptom that can lead to many disorders and diseases such as rheumatism arthritis, regular occurrences of hemorrhoids, cancer, thyroid issues, and skin disorders.

Before I discuss the five remedies, I would like to mention a quick word about eating the right foods. If you are eating unhealthy foods devoid of any nutrition or fiber, your constipation issues will continue to exist and the natural remedies may not work. So address the issue with the foods you eat first as well as whether you are drinking 8 or more glasses of pure water everyday.

if you have a healthy diet and you continue to experience constipation on a regular basis, here are 5 things you can do:

Take a high quality probiotic

A good quality probiotic has as many different strains (types) of bacteria as possible. I recommend minium of 3 or more strains and 7 or more is optimal. Most commercial cheap probiotics only have 1-2 different strains. The probiotic will help provide an optimal balance in your gut flora. The Sedona Labs iFlora probiotic is wonderful with 15 different bacteria strains.

Drink raw organic apple cider vinegar

I wrote an article on benefits of raw apple cider vinegar. This will really help you clean out your system and it has so many benefits beyond getting rid of constipation. I suggest taking one tablespoon of ACV in 12-16 oz of water and sip with a straw gradually as you go about doing other things in the house. Drinking with a straw helps to protect your teeth enamel.

Drink a high quality aloe vera juice or gel

Similar to apple cider vinegar, aloe vera juice is a potent healing liquid where the benefits go beyond constipation as it naturally reduces inflammation, and heartburn. Aloe vera juice has vitamins and minerals that nourish your body. Quality is very important so please try to buy organic and read the ingredients to make sure it does not have preservatives and other chemicals.

Eat foods rich in fiber

This goes back to my point about eating a healthy diet. High fiber foods include brown rice and other “whole grains, nuts, dried fruits such as prunes, legumes and beans, and fresh greens, vegetables and fruits. Healthy foods normally have a high fiber content.

Herbal remedies

I am a strong believer in herbs and their power of healing. Sometimes drinking a warm chamomile tea before going to bed can give you a head start in a good bowel movement in the morning. “Triphala”, meaning “three fruits”, is an Ayurvedic herb that detoxifies your body by cleaning your colon. it also purifies the blood and is a liver detoxifier. You can buy Triphala in powder (often referred to as “churna” in Hindi) form or capsule form. I recommend the powder form but it does have a bitter taste so if you have sensitive taste buds, capsule form is fine. Another great herbal combination is making a cleansing herbal tea with licorice, dandelion, ginger, and yellow dock.

First start with addressing your food habits. Just making adjustments to that alone can make a huge difference. Then implement some of the remedies above and you should see your constipation issues improve.

Please leave a any comment or feedback, I would love to hear from you!