Constipation

Constipation is a red flag that something is wrong in the body. It can be caused by issues with the liver and gallbladder, vitamin D deficiency, stress and emotions, and microbe overload. Leaky gut and food intolerances can also contribute. Constipation is linked to brain-gut communication problems and can be an early sign of Parkinson's disease. It's important to have a healthy gut for overall immune function and to address underlying issues like liver and gallbladder dysfunction. A sedentary lifestyle and excessive exercise can also affect motility. Hello and welcome to the Are You Awake Yet podcast. I'm your host Mary Kate and today I wanted to talk about constipation and why it's so important not to ignore it and to be aware of deeper signs of dysfunction. So constipation is a big red flag that something isn't going well in the body because healthy motility means that you have a daily bowel movement. And typically we say one to three bowel movements is normal in a typical day and this is in order to remove any toxins from the body and other compounds the body doesn't need any longer. So imagine if you go multiple days without a bowel movement, you know those compounds and toxins are recirculating, not getting out of the body and you're not making space for new food to come in and absorption to happen. So one of the first places we really look at when someone is dealing with constipation is the health of their liver and gallbladder. And the liver and gallbladder are critical in detoxification and also making bile. And making bile and releasing it is critical for a lot of things but we're going to talk about some of the specifics for this reason of constipation. And one of the reasons we're going to talk about today is the role in the small intestine and colon for detoxification. So actually it's known to activate certain receptors that create peristalsis and detoxification in the body. And actually something very interesting is that vitamin D receptor and bile acid receptors are closely intertwined. And so what I mean by this is if you don't have optimal vitamin D stores, you're not going to have optimal bile. And if you don't have optimal bile, you're not going to have optimal absorption of vitamin D which then in turn leads to less vitamin D receptor ability. And that ultimately can affect your immune system. And then, you know, not having a healthy immune system can affect your nutrient status which then makes you more susceptible to infections and immune dysfunction. And then this can further deplete you and lead to further gut dysfunction. So this is not, you know, just a simple easy topic. This is very complex and that's what's really important and a really big reason we don't want to overlook constipation. And then, you know, as we keep going, there are other things. So intestinal permeability. So I'm talking about leaky gut and specifically referring to the proteins occludin and zonulin that are not able to do their job. These proteins actually hold GI cells tightly together and protect our bloodstream from foods and toxins and viruses and other things that aren't supposed to cross those GI cells. And so the GI cells, they actually spread apart and are destroyed and make you more susceptible to constipation because the cells can't do their job, right? They're not protected. They're damaged. And so they're not going to be relaying signals back to the vagal nerve which relays signals back to the brain. And, you know, definitely can be a whole other issue going on. And then another issue I see, really, really pertinent, is stress and emotions. And people don't realize that like 80% of IBS and other bowel disorders are closely related to the enteric nervous system. And this is greatly influenced by the brain, so neurons and stress chemicals. And the enteric nervous system is the largest, most complex unit of the peripheral nervous system, which is a part of the central nervous system. 600 million neurons releasing a multitude of neurotransmitters that facilitate motor, sensory, absorptive and secretory functions of the GI tract. So it's really important. And I saw this in practice all the time because I worked with individuals teaching them heart rate variability biofeedback. And, you know, a lot of these bowel disorders, individuals, these patients were sent to me. And we would work on creating basically a safe space in their nervous system in order to heal. Getting them out of fight flight and getting their body into what we call low frequency mode, which is where the vagal nerve can really turn on, which then in turn, you know, helps the parasympathetic nervous system turn on. And so many of these individuals were able to basically stop their IBS that they had for years. It was pretty incredible. And so it just tells you that these issues tend to be much deeper and always tend to be multifactorial, not just, oh, you know, I had dairy and now I'm running to the bathroom. It's like, OK, what else is going on in terms of your stress and emotions? If you actually know that, you know, say you're anticipating eating dairy because you're like, oh, I'm going to, you know, have issues, that anticipation can actually be creating more issues than dairy itself. But, of course, dairy can create constipation. And when I say dairy, I'm talking about typically conventional dairy, which is pasteurized and, you know, all the nutrients are stripped of it and, you know, the animals it's coming from aren't really well taken care of. So there's a lot of maybe stress hormones involved in this type of dairy. Of course, there are some individuals that can't do dairy at all, even if it's clean, raw, A2, those kinds of things. We see a lot of brain disorders closely intertwined with gut dysfunction. One of the most common symptoms that is related to the first signs of Parkinson's disease is constipation, and it typically shows up years in advance. And the motor dysfunctions in Parkinson's primarily manifest due to impaired ability of the basal ganglia to regulate movement and stemming from dopamine depletion. And so you can see how this is a brain-gut communication gone wrong. And so that's why one reason we absolutely don't want to ignore constipation is, is there some brain inflammation that is happening and going on and causing this poor communication to happen with the brain and the gut's ability to, you know, have motility. And then another area of concern is microbe overload, including things like yeast and parasites. So usually the immune system and gut dysfunction happens first, and then the body becomes susceptible to these microbes and can't fight them off. But parasites are actually known to secrete certain chemicals in the large intestine to create constipation, because parasites are incredibly adaptable, and their main goal is to survive. And they don't want to be secreted by the body, so they'll release chemicals so that they can stay in the gut longer and continue to populate. And parasites obviously lead to significant issues because they start stealing your nutrients, they deplete your bile, your stomach acid, then you can't absorb your food, and you become more susceptible to other things that are overgrowing, and it kind of keeps this whole dysfunction going. And they also love yeast and heavy metals to hide. And so then somebody gets even more sick because now they're, like, pulling in more of these heavy metals, and, you know, it just creates a lot of, lot of issues going on. Another thing that's related to the leaky gut is food intolerances. And, you know, if you start creating antibodies towards certain foods, they can become a trigger for GI inflammation, leading to constipation. And specifically, there's certain inflammatory foods, like conventional gluten, dairy, corn, eggs, sugar, that can have a significant impact on the gut. And, of course, these have a significant impact on your overall flora. And your flora is critical. Like, it's literally how we think and feel. It's how we create neurotransmitters. It's how we create hormones and detox hormones. So it's really important to have healthy gut function because when the GI tract goes, you know, array and starts having dysfunction, that's when a lot of other immune dysfunctions will set in. Specifically, I see a lot of individuals in my practice with thyroid issues, that being hypothyroid or Hashimoto's most commonly. And a lot of them have liver, gallbladder, gut issues. And if you think about it, most of these people, it's rarely ever the actual thyroid gland itself that went astray first. It's actually the transportation of thyroid throughout the body that's being shut down because the gallbladder, liver, gut aren't healthy. And the bioconversion of the inactive form of thyroid to your active form of thyroid happens in the liver and the GI tract. So you can see how this is all related. And so in order to really help these thyroid patients, we have to make sure their detox processes are going well and their liver is healthy. And they're creating enough digestive enzymes and bile and stomach acid. And, you know, all these things are interrelated and play such a big part in healing. Another thing to be aware of is a sedentary lifestyle. This affects motility. So physical activity actually stimulates intestinal muscles, which aid in bowel movements. And that's really important in your overall function. Of course, I always say there needs to be a balance with physical activity because if you are overworking out, you can be creating a lot of extra stress on the body. And cortisol is known to beat up the gut and can create, obviously, leaky gut, which then can lead to constipation. So just make sure that, like, when you're working out, you're feeling really good before, after your workouts and the days after you're still feeling good. It's not like you're, you know, working out and feeling like you got hit by a train the next day. I have some patients like that that do, like, high-intensity training. Or if you're struggling to lose weight while working out, there's likely something going on with your metabolic system. And another good rule of thumb is if you're going to be working out, you are stimulating fight-flight activity. And if you're going to do that, you're strengthening the fight-flight system, so your sympathetic system. You also need to be strengthening your parasympathetic system. So if you continue working out, that's great. Just make sure that you have other things in place, like tai chi, yoga, qigong, breathing activities, you know, slow-moving activities that are known to help the parasympathetic nervous system turn on. Because you don't want to strengthen one side of your nervous system and leave the other one, you know, untouched. Because then, like, I used to see people in their 40s, 50s, 60s who had basically no vagal tone or parasympathetic tone at all. And these people were dealing with significant arrhythmias, just a lot of, like, anxiety, stress disorders, adrenal, I should say, HPA dysfunction. So that's not the camp you want to be in, right? You want to make sure that you're balancing. That's really important. And then there's certain medications that can affect, you know, motility, like opioids, calcium-rich antacids, and antidepressants. Antacids are awful. Oh, my gosh. They create so many issues in the body. So if you are, like, constantly taking antacids, please reach out to me because I will just give you, like, a little paragraph of some advice of what you can do instead. Because really, antacids are known to, I mean, they stop your hydrochloric acid. They stop your stomach acid. And then you can't break down and absorb any of your nutrients. And long-term, antacids are, like, related to Alzheimer's, dementia, certain brain disorders. Because think about it. You haven't been absorbing your nutrients for years if you're taking antacids. So there are many other ways to make sure that, like, if you're dealing with GERD or acid reflux, there's another issue going on. I've talked about this so many times in the last 10 years, how a lot of times people think that they have high stomach acid because they have GERD or they're told by their doctor, you know, you're having acid reflux and go take an antacid. But in reality, most of these people have low stomach acid. And what happens is the food goes into the stomach and it can't be digested because acid helps you digest things. And so then the food sits in the stomach and starts to ferment. And these bacteria have to come into the stomach to break the food down. And they spew a byproduct that mimics acid. And so, of course, you take an antacid in the moment. It's going to, you know, dampen that response. But long term, you're leading to more issues. When in reality, if you just, you know, took things that stimulate acid or you took straight, you know, hydrochloric acid, you could actually change this whole situation, create a better pH in the stomach and not continue to have, you know, acid reflux. So at the end of the day, constipation long term can be very serious. And there are many things that, you know, really help. So first identifying what is going on is the first critical step. And then we use specific strategies to help a person. So, for example, there are different herbal cleanses that an individual can do if a person is dealing with a microbial imbalance. That can be helpful. There are enemas that can be really helpful. They do need to be closely monitored. And I wouldn't just, like, Google one and do it online. There's usually, like, I do a three-step, you know, enema process, and it's really, really impactful. Ozone can make a really big difference to gut distress. That's a whole can of worms. I can talk about that at another time. There's multiple ways to actually use ozone. What else? What else? Oh, things that help the gallbladder and liver, you know, are really critical. So, like, digestive enzymes. Also, coffee enemas do really help the liver specifically, creating more glutathione, which in turn helps with immune function. And removing inflammatory foods that are creating inflammation that might be leading to brain and GI inflammation affecting the body. Oh, stress management is obviously very critical because we said the enteric nervous system can be greatly affected. And constant and chronic stress, you know, needs to be monitored so that you're not, you know, secreting cortisol and beating up the gut. So, there's a lot of strategies that I have that can help people navigate stressful times in their life, releasing stored up emotions. In Chinese medicine, the colon is related to sadness and grief. So, if you're having a really hard time processing these deep emotions, it can really affect your ability to let go and detox. That is something I've seen so many times. You know, somebody going through something tragic, going through a very deep loss of something and just having a hard time letting go and actually shows up in the same physical way of their body not being able to let go of stool. There are specific formulas that are known to help heal and seal the gut lining. This is really important when you're removing food triggers to also be taking a formula possibly that's, you know, helping the GI tract heal. There's a lot of nutrients that help do this. Another really important thing is to take time with your food. It's important to actually make your food because the whole digestive process starts at the time our brains see us making food. Our bodies start prepping by creating enzymes and stomach acid before food even comes in our body. Because your brain sees it, you're smelling spices, and, you know, it actually stimulates neuropeptides. So these are from the brain, and then they get sent to the pancreas to tell the pancreas to start creating pancreatic enzymes. And then the pancreatic enzymes stimulate stomach acid, and stomach acid stimulates bile, and it all works together. So if you have a meal in which you're not cooking, it's important to actually smell your food. And I know that sounds a little funny, but this is a really critical step in digestion is the brain seeing your food, knowing that it's about to come in, smelling it, so it has an understanding of, like, what it needs to be creating because that's how brilliant our bodies are, that it can actually smell, like, protein and compounds and know, like, okay, I've got to start really working on this kind of stuff. You can also stimulate your vagal nerve before eating, like gargling or humming or breathing, calming down the body, anything that stimulates the gag reflex really helps as well. And lastly, these are all things that I help my patients identify and get to the root of. And we actually do, there's so many tests available. And obviously, there's a lot of routes we can go without doing testing, too, just because I've seen this for such a long time. Usually, I can get an insight of what's possibly going on. But, like, there's things like a gut zoomer that can look at the GI tract, and it looks at the breakdown of all the bacteria. If you have yeast overgrowth, it does look at some parasites, but it's not all inclusive. So just because it says no parasites on the lab doesn't mean that, you know, you don't have any. But it can also look at, like, your malabsorption issues. So if your, like, stool shows that there's, like, vegetable fiber or meat fiber or, like, phospholipids or fat in your stool, that can be very indicative of not breaking down your food and absorbing it. And then, you know, we're seeing it in the stool. And so that's one thing we can do. We can look at food panels that look at what foods might be irritating your gut. Even foods that are deemed healthy can sometimes be an issue for us. And this is, like, a whole rabbit hole because once the gut becomes inflamed and someone has a leaky gut, it's kind of unfortunate. But most of the foods that you're eating a lot of tend to be foods that you end up creating antibodies against because they're leaking into the bloodstream because they're commonly coming in the body. And so you then develop, like, IgG or IgA antibodies against these foods. And so they're creating inflammation. Cool thing is, is typically you can heal the gut, remove these triggers for a period of time, and then bring foods back in and, you know, not have issues. So it's not like it's a true allergy in which you have to, like, avoid it for the rest of your life. There are a micronutrient panel to see deficiencies because deficiencies can be playing a big role. For example, like, vitamin B1 is super helpful in creating stomach acid. Cholesterol and phospholipids are important in bile production. Vitamin D is important in this area as well. Thyroid receptors play a role in this too. So as with almost all things, it's typically multifactorial. So it can be really helpful to have a professional look into what might be going on deeper. But please do not ignore it or mask it with things like coffee. A lot of people say that, oh, you know, if I just have my morning coffee, I'm fine. I'm glad you're going to the bathroom. That's great. But it's not getting to the root. And, you know, what if you didn't have coffee for a week or so? Like, you know, what then? And then also, it's being used as a mask. So it's like you're not getting to the root of a deeper issue. For example, say there was brain inflammation going on, but you were using coffee to stimulate a bowel movement, and then your brain inflammation just continues and continues and continues until one day coffee doesn't work anymore. That's not what we want, obviously. So we want to be looking at this deeper. So as always, if you have any questions, please reach out. Send me a DM on Instagram. My handle is MaryKateSmith__. And I can definitely help guide you if you're looking for some guidance. So thank you for listening, and take care.