Help, please, with fiber page 3

[Bron]

As you say you don't like the taste of coconut, find ways to disguise it. As in curry! (i adore curry). You may also be able to buy a refined coconut oil, it has no taste or fragrance.

If I don't eat enough coconut, going to the toilet becomes painful.

[Sabine]

Also, try squatting to eliminate, instead of regular sitting. It really changes how things get out. It may make it easier while you are figuring out the diet aspect. Using the lumberjack analogy, a straight canyon is going to make everything easier over one with a u-turn.

[mph]

Are you grok squating daily?
And take a magniseum pill 2x's a day and if none of these work, go and do my late mom's recipe from greece- warm h2o w/honey,lemon juice, and olive oil and get ready!!!!!!
I have told many constipators, since I was one for 46yrs now primal and all gone, and much success!

[BestBetter]

I think the water and fat and Magnesium reccomendations are good ones for folks who have occasional constipation. Once it reaches the chronic stage, there is likely a lot of behind the scenes damage that needs to be addressed in order to get things working correctly again, without having to force all those additional logs through and continuing to create even more damage. And, unfortunately, once it reaches a chronic level, there is no miracle silver bullet; healing will require a lot of time, perserverance, and patience.

I have 6+ years of IBS experience. I actually had only 2 BM in 2.5 months a couple summers ago. I missed my cousin's wedding because I was so bloated that I couldn't fit into my dress and had so much pain that I couldn't walk. I tried every so-called remedy out there, no matter how ridiculous. I saw 2 gastroenterologists, accunpuncturists, herbalists, naturopathic doctors...took a shit ton of probiotics, tried colon hydrotherapy...nothing helped. I wasn't able to heal myself until the information in Fiber Menace gave me the missing piece of the puzzle. For me, it was a godsend.

I cured my IBS using a protocol I developed by gathering info and suggestions from a variety of resources. Basically, what I did was:

1) Eat very low fiber (in the beginning, as close to zero as possible, now less than 10g/day) 2) supplement with probiotics and fermented/cultured foods 3) drink lots of homemade bone broth 4) supplement with L-glutamine for about 2 months 5) eat smaller meals

***Replenishing and balancing your good gut bacteria is essential.

It took several months for me to improve, but once I did, it was like being a new person. I had been Intermittent Fasting for months, sometimes eating just one huge meal per day. While I think the science behind IF is sound, and is great for people with functioning digestive systems, I was surprised to realize that eating too much at once was actually a big IBS trigger for me.

Now that I'm significantly improved, I find that my system can handle a little more than it used to. When I was having flares, eating dried fruit was a trigger, and so were berries or any fruit with the skin. Even pureed pumpkin made me stopped up and bloated, which in theory doesn't make sense, because supposedly soluable fiber is good for the system. But mine just couldn't deal with it then and it was a source of misery. Now, I can eat dried fruit, the occasional unpeeled fruit/veggie, and stuff like pureed pumpin is no longer a problem. Now that I'm functional, I don't avoid soluable fiber, but I do avoid insoluable fiber as much as possible.

I know that the low fiber thing at first seems to make no sense...but once I started thinking about it from another perspective, it actually seemed like such common sense, I couldn't believe I ever fell for the 'fiber is necessary' bull. The fact is, humans don't produce cellulase, the enzyme that is required to digest cellulose (insoluable fiber). As a result, we must rely on a fermentation process to break down insoluable fiber. This process leads to the formation of gas, bloating, and when chronic and excessive can easily cause inflammation and digestive system irritation, which leads to constipation. The more fiber, the more inflammation. The more inflammation, the more jammed up the whole system gets. Shoving EVEN MORE fiber into an inflammed, malfunctioning gut in the short term may force some BM, but over time it makes the system more and more dysfunctional. We shouldn't need to rely on eating UNDIGESTIBLE matter to force our systems to do what they should be doing. Fiber is a short term fix that creates dependency and long term problems.

Also, I used the Hydro-C supplement from the gutsense website. I was a little wary about trying yet another thing to ease my constipation that wouldn't work, but this was the one and only ting that ever worked for me. There was no bloating, cramping, or dependency. Healing your guts is a long process, and I found this stuff to be helpful in keeping things moving along during the process until I got to where I don't need to rely on it anymore. It works like clockwork for me, and since I now only tend to get stopped up when travelling, I bought an extra bottle to travel with, and it is such a lifesaver for me!

[Squirrelly]

I promise, NZ, I won't give up. I've been trying to knock off this extra 20 pounds for well over 20 years. Having begun the Primal process on August 4, I'm almost, but not quite, up to 10 pounds gone. Still can't believe those almost 10 pounds are gone with no sense of culinary depravation whatsoever.

Heck, I don't even miss all those huge plates of pasta!!! Amazing in the extreme.

Thanks so much for your post.

Everyone has been so generous--and so gracious. You guys are GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks again.

ADDENDUM: I've been searching all evening for Natural Calm magnesium supplement and every one I've found has calcium and at least one other nutrient added in. I need to find a magnesium supplement that is nothing but magnesium. I want to be able to control my calcium intake completely, as well as controlling the other supplements most of the NC supplements I've found on line have in them.

Does anyone have a specific website, or a specific brand, or whatever, of magnesium supplement to recommend?

Any suggestions welcome.

[RitaRose]

I know this probably horrifies a lot of people here, but I had the best luck with the cheap crap from the drugstore. I'm sure it has other stuff in it (I'm kind of afraid to look), but most of them do (as you're finding out). The "better" stuff just didn't work as well for me.

Any particular reason why you're limiting calcium intake?

[Squirrelly]

BestBetter, this is very interesting indeed. But, after spending the last 3 hours researching magnesium supplements--and getting distracted by a host of "medical" sites, some good, some total BS, I'm afraid I'm on information overload. I am going to review your advice again tomorrow when I'm wide-awake again. I know I will have a few questions--but it does sound very interesting and very sensible, albeit--after the night I've had--complicated as all get out.

Thank you again, BB, for taking so much time and effort to reply to my dilemma. As I said, I will be giving your advice its full due respect tomorrow when I can once again think clearly.

Again--thanks so much.

[BestBetter]

Does anyone have a specific website, or a specific brand, or whatever, of magnesium supplement to recommend?

Any suggestions welcome.

I order Magnesium Citrate in powder form from iherb. I prefer this because since it's just pure magnesium citrate powder, you don't have to worry about any other weird fillers or binders or weird ingredients. Here is a link:

Now Foods, Magnesium Citrate, 100% Pure Powder, 8 oz (227 g) - iHerb.com

*Also, since it's in a citric acid base, it tends to promote BM even more. I have good results when I take this along with vitamin C, and my husband who is prone to diarrhea has to be careful not to take too much of this, or he's likely to get the runs.

[zizou]

I too bought Fiber Menace, and it opened up my mind to a fair few things. I was dissapointed most if not all the juciy info was on his website anyway, rendering the book a little pointless. But i thought i'd reward him anyhow with my service.

I mite have to re-read it, because i've hit the darn constipation wall again. Honestly, how such a simple thing can hinder day-to-day living is unbelievable! I've recently changed my diet a bit, by adding in more carbs, and i think my lack of bacteria is showing up with stool resembling short pieces, not pebble like, but not much bigger suggesting perhaps not enough good bateria. I thought fat was my answer, but i don't think my digestive system can handle it too much and i can't go on eating 2 meals for the day rather should focus on 3 medium meals for the day.

It's the one thing impeding my health at the moment, not being regular. It's friggen doing my head in and holding me back. I started squatting, which brought on some relief, but it isn't going to solve all my problems unfortunately, as it's hard to keep up at work with it and only feel comfourtable doing it at home.

I also can't believe how hard it is to avoid fibre, but at the least i should avoid raw veggies, which is hard cuz i love salads at the moment. I suppose peeling my zuchinnis would be a smart bet too dame it all!

[noodletoy]

magnesium, magnesium, magnesium.

prior to giving them up, i ate buckets of grains and legumes, so had giant bm's all the time. when i eliminated them, i went from low-fat to high-fat at the same time, so frankly everything was a bit too loose down there for awhile. ack.

once my body got adjusted i was having serious constipation issues. one vacation i thought i would die because i was so backed up. i started taking magnesium daily and have never had a problem since.

agree though, with others about healing your gut. DO NOT!!!! DO NOT!!!! DO NOT!!!!!!! add more fiber in any form. do not take any kind of fiber powder. stay away from raw and cruciferous veg. start having bone broth, even 2x per day. work with fermented foods like kimchee and sauerkraut. have good yogurt if you tolerate dairy.

be patient. this will take awhile.