Five ways to get you pooping (and why it’s so important)

As an acupuncturist I am always curious by peoples popping habits! Having a daily poop (or three!) is so crucial for your health – in fact without this daily evacuation of our bowels, several imbalances start to occur, which can eventually lead to disease.

The health of the colon will affect every organ in the body. If the colon is backed up then the small intestine cannot empty the waste into the colon, which leads to the small intestine reabsorbing waste as well as the nutrients into the bloodstream – which will impact the health of the liver, spleen, and heart.

This toxicity in the blood will lead to an inflammatory response within the body – short term leading to brain fog, loss of concentration and memory, and longer-term leading to numerous health conditions like weakened immune system, muscle aches and joint pains and fatigue.

So! What to do? Get those bowels moving! Here are 5 tips on how to get them going so you can feel light, energetic, mentally alert and vibrant!

• Flush your system out with warm lemon water and apple cider vinegar every morning, lunch and dinner-time thirty minutes before you eat anything. This will flush through the liver and kidneys and intestines and kick start your metabolism which supporting better digestion, promoting bowel movements
• Eat a diet high in fibre! This includes the following; all fruit and vegetables – eat more fruit and vegetables! (Plums are a an number 1 amazing food to get the bowels moving too add a few plums to your day to get thing moving along)
• Eat less (refined) sugar, processed wheat and cashew nuts – these are seen as allergens and for a large majority of people cause an inflammatory response in the intestines. Inflammation in the intestine hinders peristaltic movement (the action of the muscles of the large intestine that pump the waste through) which then leads to poor elimination and constipation.
• Give yourself a regular belly massage, use oil – massaging in the direction of the colon – up the right side, under the right rib, across the middle towards to the left rib, down the left side, into just below the belly button and down and out. Repeat this for as long as you want to, or how much time you have. Start just with gliding movements and work up to massaging in small clockwise circular movements to encourage breakup of old waste and also activate the peristaltic movement of the bowels. This also tunes you into your belly and start to feel it, start to understand where you are holding and begin to create more of connection and relationship with your body and organs 

• Let go of what is not serving you emotionally in your life anymore. In Chinese medicine each organ has a spirit, that rules our emotions how to respond to life. The large intestine is paired with the lungs – which are ruled by the metal element – which is connected to Autumn time- which metaphorically is a time of letting go, of surrender. Of letting things die and fall to the ground. The large intestine is about the ability to let things go, emotionally and physically. To loosen the grip on what we don’t need anymore and allow space for the new. This can be even emotions of grief, that we haven’t processed and completely released yet.