Chronic Constipation: Eliminating It Naturally
December 25, 2007 | 39 Comments
I used to suffer from chronic constipation although I was rarely doubled over in pain from the lack of bowel movements, heaviness, and occasional cramps I experienced were uncomfortable. It surprised me because well… I was healthy as a whole food vegan I was eating the right foods so why in the wold was I experiencing this problem? I decided to do some research as it turns out I wasn’t eating enough fiber rich foods.
Greens such as collards, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens, were something I didn’t eat a lot of about five years ago. I wrote about this in my guest post at Face-Natural you can read about it in New Years Resolution: Eating For Beauty. I ate greens daily, mainly lettuce and spinach, but the amount of dark leafy greens I consumed was very small. In my case simply upping my intake of greens caused me to have bowel movements again. Also I incorporated self massage using specific essential oils. That did the trick in one day I was having bowel movements a few times daily.
Why do people become constipated? I’ve listed a few reasons below…
Constipation: Why does it happen?
- Not eating enough dietary fiber
- Not drinking enough liquids
- Lack of exercise
- Poor eating habits
- Ignoring the urge to have bowel movements
I was guilty of #1 and #5.
Regarding #1, I realized that although I was consuming fiber daily I needed to increase the amount of fiber that I was adding into my diet. Now I usually eat at least three cups of some type of greens daily. It has been extremely effective in helping me have bowel movements a few times daily.
With #5, there were times when I did not want to have a bowel movement, for example, if I were in a public restroom I “held it” until I was in a private location, my own home. However the more I read about bowel health the more I realized that this isn’t a good practice and can contribute to a lazy bowels. I changed my ways.
If you listen to the mainstream view about bowel health having a bowel movement three times a week is considered normal and healthy. Really, if that is healthy why are there so many bowel related diseases in westernized cultures? I’m not buying it. Doesn’t it make sense that we should be eliminating shortly after we consume our foods? I observe my pets and how quickly, and easily they have bowel movements shortly after eating (they’re raw fed.)
I look at the examples of people in third world countries and compare their health to ours. Although we have more money than they and the best health care we rank lower than they when it comes to our own physical health. I imagine we do need the best health care money can buy, right?
When we look at the high amount of processed foods that invade our diets, the lack of exercise, and the poor excuse many of us make when it comes to changing our eating habits is it really any wonder that our health is so poor and many of us are plagued with diseases?
Constipation: How Can I Prevent or Eliminate It?
- Eat fiber rich foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains)
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water
- Avoid sugar and processed foods
- Exercise regularly
- Drink peppermint tea (peppermint has long history of relaxing muscles on the gastrointestinal tract.)
Photosource: Indiamart
Technorati Tags: chronic constipation, bowel health, fiber rich foods
Essential Oils: Can Essential Oils Promote Hair Growth?
November 16, 2007 | 10 Comments
Can essential oils promote hair growth? This is a question that many of my customers have asked me. A natural remedy for hair growth sure they are out there.
My hair has always grown fairly quickly I believe a lot of that is do partly to my lifestyle. I eat healthy, I exercise, and I don’t let things get to me. Aromatherapy is part of my daily lifestyle over the past few months I have noticed that my hair has been growing incredibly fast? What has changed?
Iwork out in the gym and after my shower I immediately use a mixture of essential oils on my scalp. I massage my scalp and apply a few drops of oil to it not only does it make my hair & scalp smell nice, the essential oils Read more
Cleansing: Juice Fasting
November 13, 2007 | 5 Comments
This week I thought it would be a good idea to have a liquid fast. I’ll only be consuming liquids. I started this past Sunday. Usually when I start a cleanse I tend to become “foggy” and that happened this Sunday of course now I’m at the stage where I have more energy than normal. I feel like I can work for hours. I usually do that in real life anyway but I’m noticing an extra boost to my energy levels. I always notice this when I’m on a liquid diet.
What’s a Juice Fast?
When you are on a juice fast you are only consuming raw vegetable and fruit juice, and water.
I Eliminate A Lot More
When I’m on a juice fast I notice the amount that my urine and bowels movements increase. I normally have a bowels movement shortly after I eat a meal. This is ideal, but it’s something that many people aren’t doing in westernized culture since a lot of us have strayed away from a whole food diet to a highly processed diet.
Juicer
I would recommend that you invest in a good juicer. I purchased mine on sale for a little under $400. few hundred dollars but they are worth it. Whenever I felt that I might be exposed to a lot of germs my first choice for natural defense was consuming a high amount of freshly prepared juice.
Thinking about the time this has saved me from not becoming sick this has been a good investment. I recommend the Green Star juicers. That’s what I use. It uses the twin gear technology and blasts thought anything I put into it even the hard vegetables. I had another juicer before my Green Star and I burned up the motor trying to juice beets & jicama.
What I’m Juicing
- Carrot - These are an excellent source of provitamin A. I usually mix carrots with greens, daikon, beets, and celery. Occasionally I’ll toss in cucumbers.
- Celery - I use this in small amounts although very tasty it is also high in sodium.
- Beets - Considered a blood builder/blood purifier. It’s considered to be a powerful cleanser. Do not drink this alone. I mix mine with greens, celery, and daikon or carrots. It’s important to note tat beet juice can color your bowels movement.
- Cabbage - I like the taste of cabbage juice mixed with other vegetables. Cabbage juice was used by Dr. Garnett Cheney, M.D. to cure his patients of peptic ulcers. They drank it daily and were cured in half the time. The American Cancer Society has been urging people to eat more cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli) because of their protective effects against cancer.
- Zucchini Squash - I love eating this raw and it’s also tasty when it’s juiced.
I’ll be adding some of the juicing recipes I prepare on The Raw & The Cooked. I’ll update this post at Healing Yourself Naturally once they have been added.
Lavender Essential Oil: Managing Pain Naturally
October 29, 2007 | 4 Comments
It comes as no surprise to those that know me that my natural healing cabinent aka medicine cabinent contains essential oils, herbal remedies, etc. In many cases there is a natural way to soothe whatever ailment I might experience. Yesterday I was brewing a pot of ginger tea. Ginger is good for the digestive system, stomach upsets nausea, etc., Although I make ginger root tea often yesterday I made it because my daughter said she had a stomachache.
I burned the top of my hand yesterday. This happened several minutes after I had removed the pot off the stove. I wasn’t thinking and brushed the top of it with my hand. Ouch! That really hurt. Instantly I rushed upstairs and pulled out lavender essential oil and put it on my hand after a few moments the pain was gone. Guess what? It left no mark. Not only is lavender essential oil effective in burns it can also be used to reduce itching and swelling.
Technorati Tags: aromathrapy, lavender essential oil, alternative remedies
There And Back Again: Eliminating the Common Cold Naturally
October 1, 2007 | 10 Comments
If you are a Lord Of The Rings fan, like myself, perhaps you know where I chose part of this title? There And Back Again was a book written within a book you will see it mentioned in Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. I’ve read both books several times.
Why did I choose that title? This next series is completely unexpected you see it involves my four year old daughter getting sick with her first cold. I will start the series at my main website Vegan Momma I’ll move it on to The Raw & The Cooked it will come back to Healing Yourself Naturally.
If you’ve read Healing Yourself Naturally for any length of time you will know that I’m passionate about healing myself, and my family, through natural means. I don’t believe that all allopathic medicine is bad, but I do think many of us reach for it too quickly when we could be reaching Read more
