Occasionally when I cleanse I get constipated. One of the symptoms of candida is constipation. While I’m not sure if my constipation is related to candida, I do know that’s it’s something I did not want to keep within my body. Speaking of candida… I will say that a lot of my candida symptoms have disappeared.
When constipation hits, I do specific exercises and eat produce that will increase my regularity, but I’ve found that does not always work when I’m juicing. That’s when I reach for herbs; senna or black walnut hulls. However since I was out of both, I went to my last resort, purchasing an herbal laxative tea.
Yesterday morning you could find me at my local Target, looking for Traditional Medicinals Organic Smooth Move tea. It’s a brand I’ve used in the past and for me at least, it’s been very effective to get my bowels moving again. Initially I was only going to purchase one box, but since it was on sale I bought four boxes. If I’m constipated, I’ll normally drink the tea first thing in the morning. I prepare the tea the night before, let steep for at least an hour and drink one cup before bedtime and one the following morning. The teas will last me a long time! I don’t use them daily. In addition to using it as a laxative I also use it as an herbal rinse for my daughters and my hair.
I’ve read where some experts recommend not using laxatives (even natural) for bowel elimination while cleansing. I’m sorry, but being constipated is way too uncomfortable for me to be doing that and there is no way I want to keep carrying around waste. It’s meant to leave my body not to stay hanging out in my intestines 😉
Cleansing update
Consuming only freshly prepared juice and raw foods is going great! I’ll be sure to post some more of my recipes (juice and raw foods) throughout the week.
I bought some of that back in the day but thankfully haven’t had to use it in a year and a half
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@Jennifer, When I eat regularly constipation is not an issues, however, occasionally when I do juice only cleanses, sometimes I will experience constipation. Judging by the feedback I’ve read from some other juicers it’s not uncommon. I’m always direct when it comes to what I’m doing or have experienced.
I will say that I do wish more folks that write about health would also talk about their complete health and that includes bowel elimination. Is it functioning properly or have they faced digestive issues? It would help out those that stumble upon their site or are experiencing similar issues to let them know that they aren’t alone. Not everyone will have perfect bowel elimination while fasting. However all too often, many people still seem to view bowel elimination as a dirty little secret. Knowing the importance it does play with our health if left unchecked, for me it makes sense to write about that also and ways I combat constipation.
The one time I did juicing and smoothies only I sort of had that problem, I guess…now that I think of it 🙂
I only did about 3 days at the time.
You are right…it’s almost a taboo topic these days!
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@Jennifer, Most of my daily meals are juice. I do eat something around 1:30. That’s my raw meal for the day. I always have a lot of energy, but as I mentioned in the other post I’m on another level now. I always feel that way when I do eat raw, which explains why I eat a high amount and really don’t like processed. Even with ‘healthy processed foods’, I can detect the difference since my tastes buds have changed since swapping to mainly raw years ago.
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