Poop Big or Go Home!

Let’s Talk About Poop

You can still get your own throne toilet:)

Usually, only boys discuss poop with each other and make a big deal out of being constipated. Girls are not supposed to get involved into the dirty boys’ talk. Well, I will break this rule for today.

Our modesty around bowel habits is a relatively recent development. In the 1600s King Louis XIII had a toilet bowl built directly into his throne, says Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, and coauthor of IBS Cookbook for Dummies (Wiley, 2009). She also notes that “because we don’t talk about bowel movements, a lot of people don’t know what’s normal and what’s not.”

According to western doctors going to the bathroom once in 3 days is considered ‘normal’. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda disagree. According to the naturopaths the Western pooping norm is abnormal. Ayurveda and TCM claim that digestion is a cornerstone of health. They say that you got to cleanse your pipes at least once a day to maintain good health.

Constipated Society

The reason that I want to talk about this hush-hush subject is because by some estimates anywhere between 30-70% of the US population is constipated. The statistic is even worse for women and elderly.

Americans spend over $725 million is spent on laxatives each year. Plus add in endless fiber supplements, herbal colon cleanses and other digestive aids and you have a booming billion industry!

If you want to check on the gravity of the situation, ask your coworkers or friends if they went to the bathroom this morning. There is a very good chance that a person sitting next to you (especially if it is a female) is literally full of shit!

If you are not making a perfectly shaped banana every morning, something is not working right. Rock hard candies and soft serve is not what supposed to come out.

If you think that your digestion is perfectly healthy because you go to the bathroom after your morning coffee or strong tea, wrong! Caffeine irritates colon and makes you go but it does not mean that your elimination process is working well! It has to happen on its own and not be dependent on caffeine.

Why Should You Care About Your Poop?

Constipation can be scary!

We are used to hearing that ‘We are what we eat” but in reality “We are what you assimilate and eliminate“. If you can’t assimilate nutrients from food and eliminate leftover materials, no matter what you eat, you can’t be healthy. A healthy digestion is a corner stone of health and happiness.

Being constipated can lead to an array of problems: bad breath, weight gain, allergies, bloating, poor nutrient assimilation, fatigue, migraine, breakouts, heart burn, lower back pain and sadly, the list goes on, then you need to clean up your act and fast before disease sets in!

Healthy efficient digestion leads to:

Clear mind and no foggy feeling
Glowing skin (your skin is the reflection of your digestive system)
Good energy
Better self-image (since there is no bloated belly to worry about)
Great sex (sex organs and elimination organs are really close and interconnected)
Happy positive mood (good poop makes everyone happy!)
Better health and stronger immune system (since there are less toxins in the body
No bad breath

How to Restore Regularity

I wrote an extensive article on restoring regularity for Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Life a few months back: How to Put Your Stomach on a Regular Schedule. It got quite a few comments and a good discussion going. If you have irregular elimination habits, check it out!

Here are some more ideas for restoring regular elimination:

Stop fighting with your body, start cooperating: Do not ignore the urge. Sure you’re busy, but it’s important to respect your body’s rhythms and answer its calls to action. If you ignore those urges too often, or delay responding to them for too long, you can wind up desensitizing your body. As a result, it will be less likely to cooperate or respond to your cues when you finally decide it’s “a good time” to go.
Stop constant snacking: Don’t eat until the previous meal is digested. Do a quick check in with your belly before and after eating.
Stop eating non-food items: Packaged, processed foods that have an extremely long shelf life do not deserve to be on your plate.
Simplify your meals: The fewer ingredients, the easier it is to digest. Avoid bad food combinations
Stop eating dry shit!: One of the reasons you get constipated is because you are dehydrated. When your body is dehydrated, your colon is the first to suffer. A healthy colon has a very high % of moisture/liquid and in extreme situations like dehydration, your body takes liquid from colon to support other bodily organs.

Surprising dry foods. You might be eating way more drying foods than you realize:

Nuts
Sandwiches
Beans
Chips
Bars
Cookies
Fiber cereal and bars. Fiber is great but it needs liquid to move along – Hydrate your colon

Help everything to move along

Exercise – Being sedentary compounds constipation, while exercise increases the gut’s blood flow and improves gastrointestinal motility. Taking a short walk is often all it takes to convince your body it’s time to go. Certain yoga asanas are helpful in nudging sluggish systems into gear.
Abdominal massage – Agnisar kriya is a great option for self-massage. Ayurvedic massage therapists or holistically trained digestive specialists can be of wonderful help.
Breathe deeply (especially when stressed)

What It Comes Down To

The name of today’s post ‘Poop Big or Go Home‘ is catchy but does not fully reflect the idea I was trying to convey. It would be better to say ‘Poop Big and Regularly To Go Home‘.

Our body is our Home. It is a place that should feel comfortable and cozy for us to live in. When we fail to maintain our Home in a clean condition, it is impossible to be comfortable living in it. It becomes anything but cozy and welcoming!

When our body is clean and light, we feel ‘at home’ living in it. To find this amazing feeling of being ‘at home’ in your own body, you need to keep its systems functioning well! You need to take care of your body and clean the sewage system if it gets plugged up!

If you have been ignoring your digestive issues and feel like it’s about time you fix your digestion but not sure where and how to begin, sign up for the 40 Day Journey to Bliss. Your belly will thank you!

For more details about the program, read here or email nadyaand @ gmail dot com

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If you are would like some help getting started on your health and wellness journey, take a look at how I can help you. It is easier when you are not alone!

NOTE: big thanks Gerry for a great title:)

To Your Happy Clean Belly!