Do you often feel like your bowel movements aren’t normal? Are your bowels causing you discomfort? Do you have infrequent bowel movements and feel backed up? While these are signs of an unhealthy digestive system, fear not because these are issues people regularly experience. There are steps you can take to help keep your bowels healthy or improve upon your current situation.
Here’s an important thing to remember: What goes in must come out. If we go along with that, eating unhealthy foods will only disturb your bowels. To promote healthy bowel motion it only makes sense to eat healthily. If you maintain a more plant-based diet, you can get essential nutrients that make everything flow smoothly. It is normal to poop 1-3 times a day, not 3 times a week. Having 1 or 2 bowel movements a day means your body is healthy, and you can help the elimination process by eating your daily dose of fiber (leafy greens, apples, raspberries, lentils, lima beans, broccoli, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, or chickpeas).
Constipation affects a lot of people with poor diets. This can cause discomfort, bloating, or gastrointestinal pain. It’s not fun to be backed up and it isn’t normal to only have three bowel movements in a week. If you experience infrequent bowel movements, it may be beneficial to participate in a full body cleanse or a colon cleanse to eradicate any built-up waste. The following foods should be eliminated from your diet to avoid constipation.
- Red Meat
- Milk
- Cheese
- Green Bananas
- Fried Foods
- Sugar and Artificial Sugars
- Eggs
- Bread
- Chips
- Processed Foods
There are many ailments that can stem from built-up bacteria and waste in the colon. Colonics are an excellent option to help safely eliminate or loosen up old, hardened fecal matter, which you may not be able to get rid of on your own. If you are opposed to colonics, you can perform an at-home enema to cleanse the colon and promote healthy bowel movements.
Even though colonics, enemas, or cleansing can help rid your bowels of toxins, bacteria, and even parasites, keeping your bowels healthy comes back to what you put into your body. You want to look after your bowels, considering that 80-90% of diseases originate in the colon. Here are some tips that may help you maintain normal and healthy bowels.
Drink Water
Hydrate, hydrate, and then hydrate some more. A lot of people do not drink enough water and that can be a cause of constipation. A good rule of thumb to stay properly hydrated is to drink eight 8oz glasses of water every day. You can also use your body weight as a measurement to ensure proper hydration. Drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day (i.e. you should drink 75oz of water if you weigh 150lbs) will keep you hydrated.
Eat Organic Apples
An organic apple a day keeps the…well, there isn’t a rhyme, but eating organic apples can provide you with dietary fiber that will help you empty the tank. The pectin in the apples binds with excess toxins and helps flush them out of the body.
Avoid Antibiotics
Believe it or not, there are many herbal remedies that can help you avoid antibiotics. Antibiotics can be rough on the stomach lining and can cause constipation. They negatively affect stomach acids as well as the balance of good to bad bacteria, which help us properly digest food. You may want to take natural probiotics or eat fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut to get things moving.
In addition to employing the above methods, you can eat the following foods to help keep your bowels healthy.
- Beans
- Kiwis
- Sweet Potatoes
- Pears, Plums, & Apples
- Berries
- Flaxseeds
- Broccoli
- Prunes
- Avocados
- Coconut Oil
Don’t let your bowels cause you discomfort. They can be easily managed if the right, healthy measures are taken to keep them happy. Put healthy foods into your body to keep your body healthy.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
