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1. Causes and Home remedies for Constipation by Dr. Eric Berg
2. Who is Dr. Fuhrman, MD? What about his Diet, etc.
3. Dr. Martin on Inflammation and What Causes It
4. Causes of Neuropathy Articles

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Causes and Home remedies for Constipation by Dr. Eric Berg

Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass.

Essentially, constipation causes food to move more slowly than normal through your digestive tract. This can result in a wide range of health issues. Typically, constipation is associated with hardened feces or difficulty having a bowel movement.

It’s normal to experience some problems going to the bathroom occasionally—especially if you’re traveling or under a lot of stress. But, chronic constipation can really affect a person’s overall quality of life.

With these effective constipation remedies—it doesn’t have to.

Causes

Unfortunately, there are many different things that can cause you to become constipated. In a lot of cases, it has something to do with your diet. But, how active you are, your stress levels, and whether or not you’re getting enough water can play a role too.

Internally, several things are happening within your digestive tract that can cause this uncomfortable feeling. Stool slowly passing through the colon, not enough stool being formed, a delay in emptying of the colon from the pelvis, or a combination of these things may result in constipation.

Here are several factors that may be contributing to your constipation:

• Poor diet (processed foods, sugar, refined carbohydrates)
• Stress
• Inactivity
• Poor sleep
• Older age
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Imbalance of intestinal flora
• Thyroid or hormonal problems
• Symptoms

Constipation is undeniably uncomfortable, and the symptoms of this condition can last throughout the day.

Someone is usually considered to be constipated when they have fewer than three bowel movements a week, or if the bowel movements are hard, dry, small, and difficult or painful to pass. But people with chronic constipation may even experience pain in the lower back as well as fatigue.

Here are common symptoms to watch out for:

• Gas
• Bloating
• Difficulty emptying the bowels.
• Painful bowel movements
• Fewer than normal bowel movements
• Conventional Treatment

Laxatives are inexpensive and widely available. They’re probably the most common way of relieving constipation next to fiber supplements. Over-the-counter laxative tablets or teas may temporarily give you relief. But I believe there are better options, and most importantly, better natural options.

Laxatives can often be overused either on accident or on purpose, which can be dangerous. Using laxatives as a sort of “purge” diet is also harmful and should never be done. Symptoms related to laxative abuse like dehydration could actually contribute to constipation.

Over-the-counter laxatives can also have a lengthy list of side effects that natural options don’t. You need more than the temporary relief laxatives offer. You need a more effective and lasting alternative.

Healthy remedies for natural constipation relief do exist; you don’t have to resort to laxatives.

Top 4 Incredible Constipation Remedies

The natural remedies for constipation you need depend on what specific symptoms you’re feeling and also what the cause may be. Get an idea of what your symptoms are and check out these incredible constipation remedies.

One of them, or a combination of them, may be right for you.

1.) Microbes
What is it?

Microbes are microorganisms that live inside of your body—like bacteria. You might only think of bacteria as a bad thing, something you should stay away from. But there are actually good types of bacteria as well. These friendly microbes are essential to healthy digestion.

In fact, you need about four to five pounds of these friendly microbes in your digestion system. The lack of these healthy bacteria is one of the most likely causes of constipation.

What does it do?

The great majority of digestion happens in your small intestine. This is where microbes like to hang out, and they’re there to help break down the things you eat. These friendly microbes are responsible for about 90% of your digestion.

Do you need it?

Overall, yes, you need these friendly bacteria. Everyone, even if you’re not constipated, can benefit from these microbes in many different ways. If you eat an unhealthy diet, have a history of using antibiotics, or you’re constipated—you probably don’t have enough of these friendly microbes.

How to get it

You can add more of these healthy microbes to your digestive system by taking probiotic supplements. Probiotic supplements are live microorganisms. They’re the good guys, and they will help replenish the friendly microbes you’ve lost.

You should take a probiotic that includes a wide spectrum of different microbes. This way they will work synergistically to support a healthy gut. Try taking your probiotic before bed, and when you wake up, you should feel relieved and less bloated.

You need to take this probiotic supplement for about a month, and then go off of it for a month, and alternate like that. This is because at a certain point, your body will have enough microbes, so you will need to stop for a little bit. But then you want to start taking them again to help replenish any microbes you’ve lost.

2.) Bile

What is it?

Bile is an alkaline fluid that aids in healthy digestion. The liver makes bile and it’s stored in the gallbladder. It helps you break down fats and absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

What does it do?

You can think of bile as a detergent that dissolves grease—it’s breaking down that fat. The body really needs healthy bile. But, several different things can cause you not to have enough bile. Without enough bile, you can become constipated. Bile is also recycled, so it may be that you need to supplement bile to kick-start this recycling process and get it working correctly again.

Do you need it?

People who don’t have a gallbladder will especially benefit from taking bile in a supplement form. But there are other causes that can also result in not having enough bile.

For example, you might not have enough bile if you:

• Don’t have a gallbladder.
• Have a sluggish gallbladder.
• Have high stress.
• Have high estrogen levels (maybe from pregnancy

If you do have a lack of healthy bile, you might notice symptoms like:

• Bloating
• Right shoulder pain
• Headaches
• Constipation

How to get it

If your issues with emptying your bowels are due to a lack of bile, once you add that, you’ll have almost immediate constipation relief. This is incredibly important for healthy digestion.

You can start adding bile to your diet by taking a simple gallbladder formula supplement.

3.) Acid

What is it?

The type of acid I would take for this issue is betaine hydrochloride. Betaine is a vitamin-like substance found in some foods. Betaine hydrochloride is the acidic form of betaine. Betaine hydrochloride is often recommended as a supplemental source of hydrochloric acid for people whose bodies aren’t producing enough stomach acid.

What does it do?

Hydrochloric acid aids the digestion process. If you don’t have adequate levels of hydrochloric acid, you won’t be able to break down the food you consume. The whole cycle of digestion will be thrown off. Undigested food will just sit there further down from where it should be because it’s not being broken down at the stomach level. You also won’t be able to absorb the nutrients provided by your food. Essentially, without enough hydrochloric acid, you will suffer from digestive dysfunction.

Do you need it?

If you’re experiencing indigestion or heartburn along with your constipation issue, give betaine hydrochloride a try.

How to get it

A fantastic way to get betaine hydrochloride is by taking a supplement specifically designed to support digestive health. Just be sure the supplement actually contains this essential ingredient. The best option might be a formula that also contains apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has incredible benefits for the digestion system as well. Betaine hydrochloride should handle the issue on its own, but these two ingredients working together can really work wonders.

4.) Fiber

What is it?

In many cases, when people are having problems emptying their bowels, they turn to fiber. Fiber is good for this issue, but it needs to be the right kind of fiber.

There are different types of fiber. You have fiber from grains, like bran, and then you have fiber from vegetables. The thing is if you’re getting fiber from grains, you’re not getting any other nutrients. But, if you get your fiber from vegetables, you’re actually getting other nutrients to support your health as well.

What does it do?

People seem to increase their fiber intake when having trouble with their bowel movements because they think it will push everything through the bowels. But, that’s not how the process works. Fiber doesn’t push anything.

Fiber is actually food for your microbes.

Do you need it?

Fiber is one of the best things to add to your diet if you’re experiencing constipation. It aids the digestive process and should really help you see a long-term difference.

How to get it

Try to get more fiber by consuming fiber-rich vegetables. Just make sure the vegetable you choose won’t overwhelm your microbes and make you even more bloated. Cruciferous vegetables, like beetroot and Brussels sprouts, are a great source of fiber. If you have a difficult time adding these types of vegetables to your diet, you can also try a cruciferous superfood supplement.

* One More Tip

The four alternative remedies above should really do the trick when it comes to finding relief and handling constipation. In the process of handing and correcting the constipation issue, you may also need a natural laxative.

Find an herbal laxative you feel comfortable with and start taking that as a short-term coping mechanism. The above effective solutions are more so long-term corrective mechanisms.

These four home remedies for constipation have helped many people. Let me know how they work for you.

Who is Dr. Fuhrman, MD? What about his Diet, etc.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a Seven-time New York Times best-selling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing.

He specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional methods. Dr. Fuhrman is the President of the Nutritional Research Foundation and on the faculty of Northern Arizona University, Health Sciences division. He coined the term “Nutritarian” to describe a nutrient-dense eating style, designed to prevent cancer, slow aging, and extend lifespan.

Read about him and information about his books and Diet.

He also has a Vitamin Advisor and a Health Tracker for you use.

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. board-certified family physician & nutritionist

Dr. Martin on Inflammation and What Causes It (MartinClinic)

Hey, it’s Dr. Martin here…

I previously shared the results of a new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology that showed: There is a direct link between low vitamin D and high C-reactive protein levels (CRP).

Remember…CRP is a "marker" that gets produced when there's any inflammation in your body - such as when you suffer an acute injury, an infection, or when you ingest damaging elements such as alcohol, cigarette smoke, air pollution, or toxins.

Chronically elevated levels of CRP reveal a state of systemic inflammation - which means your entire body is in an "irritated" condition. And this is what causes many different kinds of lethal diseases.

In short…You want LOW inflammation levels.

There are a lots of questions about inflammation…Many were asking what's the best way to lower inflammation…I'm going to share with you 3 ways to rid your body of inflammation.

You need to know like everything else that goes wrong with your health…Inflammation follows the law of CAUSE and EFFECT.

Inflammation is an effect, not a cause. Inflammation is not Houdini Tt doesn't just magically appear. Something else is the CAUSE

Inflammation is a two-edged sword. Without the right kind of inflammation — a virus, bacteria, fungus, or parasite would kill us all. On the other hand, inflammation in the ABSENCE of infection is terrible news. This causes our immune system to turn against its own tissue —friendly fire — and that's what happens in inflammation caused by arthritis and other autoimmune problems.

You want to eliminate the harmful and excess inflammation.

Let's talk about the 3 most common causes of chronic inflammation.

HIGH INSULIN

Doctors have known for a long time (or should have known) that high circulating insulin directly causes inflammation. One study — done 21 years ago — looked at the relationship between CRP levels and insulin and concluded:

"We suggest that chronic subclinical inflammation is part of insulin resistance syndrome." Many with chronic inflammation have way too much insulin.

I also want to notice the word "subclinical" mentioned in the study. Inflammation is often called the "silent killer" because a person can have high levels…and have NO symptoms.

Now… I'd argue that they probably do have some symptoms… but they're often overlooked or minimized.

LEAKY GUT SYNDROME

The "wall" of your gut, or your gut lining, is the barrier that protects the rest of your body against toxins. It is the ONLY barrier between your BLOOD system and the food you eat.

You don't want candida, bacteria, parasites, undigested food, or toxins in your bloodstream. That's when your health is at risk.

When your gut lining begins to break down, toxins' leak' into your bloodstream and other systems of your body… creating a significant health hazard.

Leaky Gut Syndrome has to be one of the best-named conditions… Because it simply means that the contents of your gut (candida, bacteria, parasites, undigested food, toxins, and even pieces of poop) are leaking into your bloodstream.

And, when that happens… your body makes inflammation.

Now, you may be thinking this isn't a common problem… I wish that were true. But, after 45+ years and over 100,000 patient visits, I can safely say, Leaky Gut Syndrome affects almost everyone at one time or another in their life. It's common.

Mix in a diet high in sugar or refined crappy carbs, alcohol, weak immune system antibiotics and medications (oral contraceptives, cortisone, prednisone, etc) And it's a recipe for disaster.

FREE RADICAL DAMAGE

You know what happens to a sliced apple left on the counter for a few hours. It turns brown and nasty. That's free radical damage at work, and it's the same damage they're doing inside your body right now. You can't see the process on the inside, but you can see and feel it on the outside.

If you already notice unsightly age spots on your hands or face, fine lines, wrinkles, or less energy and vitality — that's free radical damage in action. All you need to know is that free radicals cause inflammation. And the more free radicals… the more inflammation.

Let's talk about the best ways to lower inflammation.

#1 LOWER INSULIN

Lowering insulin always starts with FOOD.

#2 FIX YOUR GUT

The FIRST and most important thing is to take a GOOD probiotic.

If you've been with us for a while, we know we talk about probiotics. A probiotic is a healthy gut bacteria that stick to your gut. Similar to the way icing sticks to a cake.

Probiotics create a healthy barrier in your bowels to keep dangerous bacteria from crashing through the lining of your intestines and entering your bloodstream (which is very bad).

#3 FIGHT FREE RADICAL DAMAGE

To fight free radical damage, your body makes antioxidants.
Antioxidants neutralize and eliminate free radicals… but not all of them. They work 99.9% of the time. But, the 0.1% buildup over time adds up.

Plus, after 30, you make fewer antioxidants — you can no longer eliminate free radicals fast enough. When that happens, free radicals attack the DNA of every cell (including the ones in your skin), and you start to age much faster.

The biggest weapon you've got in the fight against free radicals is antioxidants. But, as I mentioned earlier, after the age of 30, you make less of them…

This is why EVERYONE should be taking antioxidants.

When you have enough antioxidants in your system, it's almost as if you're pouring water right back into your fountain of youth.

Learn more in our Site Index

Causes of Neuropathy Articles

Understanding the causes of neuropathy and how it comes about will enable you to make sure that the damage is still not being done.

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