Do you have any tips for constipation?
Any change of diet, even to a really healthy way of eating, can upset bowel regularity. Please note that you should only see bowel activity as constipation if you are in discomfort. If you are putting less (fibre) in and therefore less needs to come out and you are not in discomfort, this is a good thing, not a bad thing! Only if you are in discomfort should you be concerned and then these suggestions should help:
Constipation can be greatly helped by the following:
– Drinking as much water, decaf coffee and tea and herbal teas as you can. Constipation is usually due to not having enough liquids, rather than the food being eaten;
– Find your ‘Poo tolerance level of Vitamin C’. (If you take too much Vitamin C, the body will get rid of it in your poo and it can cause loose bowel movements, or even diarrhoea if taken in excessive quantities). This is what nutritionists mean when they talk about the ‘poo tolerance level of Vitamin C’. This means taking Vitamin C in quantities just below that which makes you go to the toilet. This is generally seen as the level of Vitamin C that your body can tolerate and, therefore, needs.
You can find this by having, say, 500mg of vit C on day 1. If nothing happens, have 2 x 500mg tablets on day 2 (that’s the same as 1g vit C). If nothing happens, have 3 x 500mg tablets on day 3 etc – the earth will move at some point! You may then find that you’re fine without vit C for a while. Some people like to take it on a daily basis at the level that they find works for them. It is very much trial and error and it changes depending on your vit C need at the time. In the winter, when you’re fighting off colds and flu – you may need more vit C anyway and therefore may be able to tolerate more before your bowels become comfortably loose.
I had previously advised increasing the fibre in your diet to help with constipation. Having read this book, I no longer think that this is a good idea. If you are in discomfort and you increase your fibre intake, you will simply be adding to the problem. Far better to clear any blockage with liquids/vit C before adding more blockage to the blockage!
Think of it like having a blocked sink and putting more stuff into the sink in the hope that this will unblock it! More pure liquids, yes – but no more block-size kind of stuff!
Can one drink squeezed limes in water for the vitamin C and roughly how much is there in the average lime?
One lime is about 20mg of vit C, but this article recommends 500mg and more. So probably not practical, even if just from a tooth enamel point of view.
Whoops. I started putting 1g,then halved it, then confused myself. Pesky decimal places!
500g would be 25,000 limes…. 🙂
That might take a while.
You’d need a lot of tequila and salt…… 😉
We can but try.
Love you ALL! Xx
We love you tooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Ignoring.
500g of vitamin C?????????????????????????
Yikes!!!! – You’d be going for years with half a kilo of it!!!
Not…………………….. going to…………… comment…………………………………..
You were really straining there I see …
Absolutely!!
Very grateful for original post, I had never heard of the vit c solution and will certainly try it, as constipation on phase 1 during January Blitz is the no1 de-motivator for me.