Follow Your Gut Podcast

Constipation

Juniper Bennett Season 2 Episode 92

There tends to be two types of poopers. People who are more prone to constipation and those who are more prone to diarrhea.

Contrary to what your doctor will mostly likely tell you though, the answer isn’t a laxative like Miralax or a fiber supplement. These are bandaids that don’t heal your body. Your body isn’t constipated because it needs a laxative. The body gets constipated when something is off inside.

Your poop is a direct reflection of your internal health and if you, your child or someone you know suffers from constipation this episode is for your.

EPISODE LINKS:
Explore the Children's Gut Rebalance Kit
Explore the Women's Gut Rebalance Kit

Thanks for listening! I would love to connect with you ♡


Sending love and wellness from my family yours,
xx - Juniper Bennett
Founder of ōNLē ORGANICS

Constipation is a widespread issue, affecting millions of people worldwide. In a poll that I recently took, three out of ten children struggle with it. This is 30% of children. Why is this a big deal? Because pooping is how our bodies eliminate the waste we don’t need. When that waste sits in our body it begins to rot. This causes gas and toxins to build up, leading to not only discomfort, bloating, and potential serious health complications but also mental and behavioral issues. Now if you are one of the many mamas who have reached out to me saying your child only poops every 10-16 days, I know you are very aware that this isn’t good. I don’t want this information to scare you. I want you to settle in, receive validation that your mama intuition is spot on and as we work through the episode I am going to share different ways you can help your child to start pooping daily. 

For adults of any age, constipation is very serious. It tends to be one of several very common symptoms that western doctors shrug off. I saw this happen to my dad last year. And to really highlight how severe the problem was, my dad is a traditional man through and through. He respects the professionals and takes everything they say very seriously. He listens because he is of the generation where “they know best and they are there to help”. Well, he invited me to go to the doctor with him because he hadn’t been feeling right, was very forgetful, feeling really anxious, down and depressed or angry and wasn’t pooping like normal. I knew it all started with his poop and if he got to the root of that, the rest would heal. But his damn doctor - didn’t care about the constipation. He prescribed my dad antidepressants, a sleeping pill and told him to take MiraLax everyday. 

I was very surprised when we left, my dad grabbed my hand and stopped me. He said “what is wrong with doctors these days!” Why do they think I need medication? Something is wrong and I want to fix it. This was really bold and profound. And I just want to clarify something here - the doctor told my dad that he should just take MiraLax everyday. Not just for a few days or weeks. He said it works best if taken daily forever. 

I cannot tell you how many mamas have reached out asking my thoughts on MiraLax. That their child’s pediatrician told them the same thing my dads doctor told him. 

Laxatives are not the answer. Your body isn’t constipated because it needs a laxative. The body gets constipated when something is off inside. 

That something is an imbalance in the gut bacteria. Maybe this imbalance was triggered by stress, poor sleep, an illness or pathogen, a medication or vaccine, exposure to chemicals or bad water. Whatever the trigger, the gut bacteria became imbalanced meaning there was suddenly more bad bacteria and yeast in your gut than good bacteria. This imbalance causes inflammation throughout the body and depending on your genetics - this can often result in constipation.

The problem with laxatives like MiraLax is they are even more damaging to your gut so they exacerbate the root problem. 

This is why my dad was experiencing depression, anger and forgetfulness. Your neurotransmitters stem from your gut so when there is an imbalance you don’t get the happy chemicals to your brain. This results in depression, anxiety and anger. The gut brain axis is also really powerful and if your gut is imbalanced that communication pathway becomes blurry making it hard to focus and remember things. 

A lot of time for children this looks like behavioral issues, big tantrums and mood swings, negative thought patterns and restless sleep. Not to mention visible symptoms that many experience like acne, eczema rashes or hives. 

So what can you do to get your body moving daily? The first step is to rebalance your gut. I will attach my Women’s and Children’s Gut Rebalance Kits in the show notes. And just to answer the question - my dad used the Women’s Gut Rebalance Kit to heal his gut. It is just as effective for men as it is women, I just mostly serve women. 

Immediately after you order the gut rebalance kit you will get access to my course; The Essentials of Gut Health. You can start preparing you or your child’s body for the rebalance and begin the recommended food protocol. It isn’t a special diet, you will just eliminate a select few foods that feed the bad bacteria, pathogens, yeast and possibly mold, fungus and parasites that are in your body. Most people notice a significant increase in their pooping within days of officially starting the rebalance. 

If you haven’t gone by day two or three, it is recommended that you begin your day with warm lemon water. So just lemon in warm water. If you are rebalancing your child you can add a tiny bit of maple syrup to make it “lemonade”. I actually want to mention really quick that I personally do this every single day to support my digestive system and liver. It’s wonderful and even without constipation, I highly recommend it!

If by day four or five you still haven’t gone, a small amount of organic castor oil mixed with organic orange juice is really effective in getting things moving. 1-2 tsp for young children and up to 2 TBSP for adults. With the rebalance kits, you start with four days of a larger dose of Cleanse. You will want to maintain this larger dose until your body is pooping daily without the need for castor oil. 

It is very rare for someone to get to the point of needing castor oil. But I want to share it here as the next step of what to do. One other thing that is really important to know is that when you rebalance, it is going to kill the bad bacteria, pathogens, yeast, mold, fungus and parasites in your body. It is normal to see improvements immediately and then for symptoms like constipation to flare again. This is called die-off. Just keep working through it, this phase doesn’t happen to everyone and won’t last long if you do experience it. But it’s important to know of the possibility so you can work through it. Commit to your rebalance, trust in the process and before long your will feel so much better emotionally and physically. You’ve got this!