Supplemental Support for Constipation

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by iHerb. My opinions remain my own.

Constipation is by far one of the most common digestive complaints at large, as well as with my own clients. While the cause of constipation largely depends on the person, most frequently I can attribute it to:

• dieting or not eating enough, slowing gastric motility
• low carb or carnivore diets (carbohydrates increase motility)
• low potassium levels
• high processed food diet combined with low fiber intake
• chronic stress (low mineral levels, especially magnesium)
• dehydration
• Rx medications that cause constipation (especially true with pain medication)
• microbiome imbalances — dysbiosis, bacterial overgrowth, sibo, etc.
• poor bile flow

Getting constipation under control is always my #1 priority with my clients, because of the way it can impact appetite, mood and energy levels in very undesirable ways, creating a vicious cycle of misery.

In working with iHerb on this post, I picked out some of my favorite digestive products to support gut motility. The products I chose all come from different angles to support digestion (depending on what the trigger is) because constipation support is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Most of my go-to products fit under the category of bile support, fiber, magnesium or probiotics to increase motility to ease constipation naturally. Here's a few products from iHerb that I think you should know about:

Bile Support

• Flora, Red Beet, Soluble Crystals: Beets are one of my favorite tools for helping to thin bile and encourage bile flow. What does bile have to do with constipation? Well, healthy and adequate bile flow does a number of things for your digestive system, like: act as an antimicrobial substance to keep pathogens at bay, bile gives your stools their healthy brown color (pale stools can indicate bile issues), helps you digest and absorb your fats properly and plays a role in gut motility. So in short, beets support a healthy digestive system. These beet crystals from Flora make it super easy to get benefits of beets into your diet effortlessly. Just stir a spoon into water to get digestive supporting beets into your daily routine.

Fiber

• Natural Factors, Organic Low Fodmap Reliefiber: Not everyone gets enough fiber in their diet, especially if you do not eat enough fruits, vegetables and legumes. While there are a host of genetic factors that determine how much fiber one needs, it's at the top of the list of things to try when you are feeling constipated. Fiber increases fecal bulk helping to ease constipation. This particular fiber comes from a pre-digested form of guar gum (called partially hydrolyzed guar gum — PHGG) that is well-tolerated and stirs into coffee or a smoothie effortlessly to give a fiber-boost when needed. However, fiber doesn't work for everyone, especially if there are certain overgrowth conditions in the gut, so always test using a small amount at first to see how your body responds.

Magnesium

• Aerobic Life, Mag O7, Digestive Cleanse & Detox: Magnesium is a very popular helper when it comes to constipation. Magnesium works in two major ways to ease constipation — it relaxes the muscles of the intestines, and draws water into the colon to help initiate peristalsis (propel matter through your digestive tract).
  While there are many forms of magnesium on the market, magnesium citrate and magnesium oxide are the commonly used laxative forms (while great for their laxative effects, they are not a good choice for reversing magnesium deficiency). Other forms are better for that purpose. Mag 07 by Aerobic Life supplies a form of ozonated magnesium oxide that is an incredibly effective digestive mover. Just be careful not to overdo magnesium, or your body will let you know in the form of loose stools.

Probiotics

• Culturelle, Probiotics, Health & Wellness: Probiotics can be effective at helping to remodel and influence the makeup of bacteria in your gut microbiome. This particular probiotic contains a strain called Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG which is linked to your digestive health, cognition, mood, nutrition and immune system.
• Jarrow Formulas, Jarro-Dophilus Infant: These probiotic drops are a perfect starting point for someone who is sensitive to probiotics and needs to start low and slow. Typically probiotics made for infants are in liquid dropper form, so it's easy to titrate the dose up slowly as compared to capsules. This particular probiotic contains a single strain called bifidobacterium longum subsp infantis M-63 which is abundant in the microbiome of breastmilk fed infants. B. infantis is positively associated with intestinal membrane integrity, and may even support mental health. [1]
• Jarrow Formulas, Jarro-Dophilus Mood: Did you know that your mood impacts your digestion? Stress and anxiety play a huge role in reducing digestive function (especially decreasing gastric juices), which can contribute to constipation. This particular probiotic contains strains that are backed up by research to support mood. [2]With probiotics, it's also important to note there are dozens of commonly used probiotic strains and different ones work for different people. There is no silver bullet when it comes to probiotics and it may require some trial and error to find one that works well for you and your unique digestive situation.

Shopping with iHerb

Finding supplements online can feel like a huge chore, especially if you're trying to find all the products you're looking for in one place. Shopping at iHerb for your supplement needs is so easy (plus super quick shipping!). With a wide variety of products (over 30,000 natural products and ships to over 180 countries), it's perfect for my global clientele. iHerb orders are shipped from climate-controlled distribution centers to ensure the quality of their products (so you don't have to worry about counterfeit products which is a problem on other popular online stores). They also provide customer service 24 hours a day / 7 days a week in 10 different languages and free shipping over $20 (which is pretty easy to achieve in even the smallest orders)!

iHerb Rewards You For Shopping!

iHerb just launched a revamped Rewards Program that's Give 5% - Get $5. That means, iHerb Rewards will allow you to share your favorite iHerb products with others. They will get a 5% discount on their orders, while you will get $5 Rewards Credit for their orders.

You can share your favorite products, previous orders, wish lists and more using your personalized Rewards link or code. Review the products you have purchased at iHerb, and get $1.00 USD in Rewards credit for each review you post.

Plus, get $0.10 USD in Rewards Credit for each helpful vote, up to $100.00. Answer questions posted by other customers or visitors regarding the products you have purchased in the past, and get $0.10 USD in Rewards Credit for each helpful vote your answer gets, up to $100.00.

I hope this post helps give you some information about possible tools to use in your battle with constipation.

Shop my favorite iHerb products here and save!

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References: 

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329553515_Bifidobacterium_infantis_M-63_improves_mental_health_in_victims_with_irritable_bowel_syndrome_developed_after_a_major_flood_disaster
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6682904/