Constipation

One of the most frequent conditions in gastroenterology, affecting ten per cent of the population of the Western world, inexplicably mostly women.

Constipation can be defined as a slowing of intestinal transit leading to the delayed, irregular, and difficult evacuation of too few stools Normally food takes four or five hours to travel from the mouth to the beginning of the colon, and the residues can remain there for 24 to 36 hours before evacuation through the anus. Every day, about a litre and a half of liquid produced by digestion reaches the entrance to the colon.

The main function of this two-metre long tube is to concentrate the liquids, then expel 100ml to 150ml of stools composed of 80 per cent liquid and 20 per cent 'dry weight'. If the colon concentrates the contents too much, the stools will be low in volume, dry and hard: the term constipation is used when there are less than three stools per week, with a daily weight of less than 35 grams.

General advice

There are three essential elements:

• Educating the patient to adopt a new, healthy way of life, by acquiring new eating habits and new treatments
• The education of the patient is fundamental: the evacuation of stools is easier when the need for it is felt

There is a moment in the day, often in the morning, when this desire is at a maximum. This moment should not be allowed to pass, because evacuation will become more difficult later, so much so that a vicious circle may be established in which the rectum gradually becomes distended, its tolerance to stools increases, and the constipation gets worse.

• The diet should be rich in fibre, because the volume of the stools partly depends on the amount of fibre ingested. Choose from the following foods and drink plenty of water

Foods rich in fibre (per 100g)

- All Bran@: 27g
- Dried coconut: 23g
- Dried figs: 18g
- Wheatgerm: 17g
- Dried prunes: 16g
- Almonds: 15g
- Wholemeal bread: 8g
- Haricot beans: 8g
- Raspberries: 7g
- Oat flakes: 7g
- Hazelnuts: 6g
- Rye bread: 5g
- Walnuts: 5g

At the start, bran may cause flatulence, especially if not taken gradually. Raise the amount to twenty grams a day in increments of five grams every five days

• You can use Solgar Apple Pectin Powder:
  - Available in 113g bottles
  - Take 1/2 teaspoon in an 8 ounce glass of water

Advice for children

• Give the child a little orange juice and vegetable broth
• Train the child to go to the toilet regularly, preferably after a meal
• Encourage physical exercise
• Explain that one should not hold oneself in
• Give the child paraffin oil, which slows the absorption of water and increases hydration of the stools

Oligotherapy

Magnesium almost as a matter of course, the more so because in large doses it is laxative. Trace elements are normally supplied in the diet, which should be varied and of good quality When there is a deficiency, as is often the case with magnesium, the element can be given as a supplement.

Dietary sources of magnesium

Present in almost all foods, but unfortunately particularly in those rich in calories, magnesium is found mainly in citrus fruits, bananas, whole grain cereals loat flakes, bran...), cocoa and chocolate, shellfish (winkles, shrimps, oysters, clams..) and oily fish, snails, figs hard cheeses, dried fruit and nuts (almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts ), vegetables (spinach, dried haricot and green beans, split peas, soya), wholemeal bread.

• Magnesium preparations: there are many different brands and forms: Organic Minerals (Colloidals) which contains 70+ trace minerals:
  - Available in 946ml bottles
  -Take 1-3 caps just before breakfast and/or evening meal
  - Children one teaspoon daily for each 20lbs of body weight

Or Maximol (Ionized colloidals):

- Available in 500ml bottles
- Take 1/2 capful once or twice daily on an empty stomach

• You can take higher doses of magnesium by using remedies such as as Magasorb@ (Lamberts) Containing 150mg of magnesium (as citrate):
  - Available in containers of 60 and 180 tablets
  - one to three tablets daily

Homeopathy

Alumina, Lycopodium

- Four granules of one of these products at 5c, to be sucked like sweets, two or three times a day, increasing the interval as improvement occurs

Alumina

- Mineral origin: aluminium oxide from the ore, bauxite
- Homeopathic remedy for constipation or when even small, soft stools are difficult to expel

Lycopodium clavatum

- Vegetable origin: the spores and powder of lycopodium, or stag's horn club moss
- Homeopathic remedy for constipation with spasm
- Characteristic sign: swelling of the lower part of the gut after meals

• You can take Proctheel@ (Heel), which contains Lycopodium D4, Alumina D8, Sulfur D6 and Phosphorus D6
  - Available in drop bottles of 30ml
  - ten drops three times daily
• You should also add a constitutional remedy decided upon after consultation with your homeopath, in this case it will often be Lycopodium, Nux vomica, Sulfur. . .

Herbal treatment

Watch out for irritant plants such as aloes, black alder, cascara, bladderwrack, rhubarb, and senna, because they carry a risk of laxative colitis. However, they are found in many commercial preparations and should not be taken for long periods of time.

Psyllium seeds are fine, as are isphagul and mallow.

Artichoke, dandelion and rosemary increase the amount of bile secreted, aiding digestion.

Artichoke

Artichoke is highly effective in ridding the liver of its toxins. It activates the secretion of bile, thus providing a mild laxative effect.

• You can use Cynara Artichoke, a dried artichoke extract (320mg):
  - Available in packs of 30 capsules
  - One capsule daily, preferably before meals
• You can also use Lamberts@ Artichoke 8000mg:
  - Available in containers of 60 tablets
  - One tablet daily, preferably before meals

Dandelion

The dandelion leaf we can eat is diuretic, and the root is a potent depurative that helps the liver and kidneys to eliminate toxins more easily.

• You can ask your herbalist to prepare a 60ml bottle of a fresh whole-plant suspension of dandelion and/or artichoke. A half-teaspoonful to be taken in a little water, twice a day

Thanks to a method of cold stabilization, fresh whole-plant suspension provides the full therapeutic effect naturally present in the whole plant.

Rosemary

This shrub is recognizable from afar by the beauty of its slender leaves, the colour of its flowers and its penetrating smell. Rosemary is an outstanding general and cerebral stimulant, improving both concentration and memory. In addition, its effect on biliary secretion gives it a very useful laxative action.

• You can use Dr. Gillian McKeith's Liver Tone powder, containing dandelion, artichoke, milk thistle, psyllium, slippery elm bark and the amino acid taurine:
  - Available in 200g bottles of powder
  - Adults take 1/2 teaspoon mixed in water or fruit juice daily and build up to 1 teaspoon twice daily. Take before meals.
  - You can take Herba Naturelle tincture of rosemary leaf:
  - Available in bottles of 50ml
  - Take as directed
• You can take a dessertspoonful of psyllium seed in a glass of water in the evening before going to bed. For a constipated child, give an infusion prepared with one teaspoonful of mallow flowers.

Psyllium

This plant originated in southern Europe and North Africa. Its mucilaginous seeds contain the main laxative ingredient.

Mallow

Mallow, which can be recognized by its pretty mauve-coloured flowers, is found everywhere in Europe. It is extremely effective in calming a cough, and eases the respiratory tract during an infection. It is also used in poultices to soothe inflamed skin through its emollient action.

• You can use Solgar Psyllium Husk Fibre:
  - Available in 280g bottles
  - One tablespoon daily in an 8 ounce glass of water. Take between meals and drink plenty of water throughout the day .