In order to achieve optimal thyroid health, one needs to have a properly functioning digestive system. After all, if a person is unable to digest their food properly, this can lead to nutritional deficiencies, affect their immunity, as well as other systems of the body. This in turn can ultimately lead to the development of a thyroid condition, or can worsen an existing thyroid disorder. I’m not suggesting that constipation by itself will directly cause a thyroid condition. And of course constipation can be caused by a hypothyroid condition. However, while a thyroid condition can in turn lead to constipation, most people who don’t move their bowels on their daily basis also have problems with their digestive system, and this need to be addressed in order to achieve optimal thyroid health.
I’ll discuss the relationship between hypothyroidism and constipation shortly, but first let’s take a basic look at the digestive process. One obviously needs to eat something in order for digestion to occur. Then once they chew their food, the stomach acid will further break it down, and the nutrients from the food is then used to supply nourishment and fuel to the cells, etc. Ultimately the digestive process concludes through eliminating the toxins in your body, which happens when you have a bowel movement. Obviously the digestive process is more complex than this, but the overall point is that having a healthy digestive system involves having regular bowel movements.
In order to further understand how constipation can potentially affect thyroid health, it’s good to know some of the different factors which can cause constipation to develop. The most common problems are nutritional in nature, as sometimes just eating more fiber-rich foods can correct this problem. However, this alone doesn’t always help. Take my personal example, as I was constipated for many years growing up, and would only have one or two weekly bowel movements. When I began chiropractic school and started eating healthy, just incorporating fiber-based foods such as apples, seeds, and increasing my vegetable intake didn’t help too much.
How To Correct Constipation When You’ve Had It For Many Years
Part of the reason behind this is that you can’t correct years of eating junk simply by making a switch to eating health foods again. Don’t get me wrong, as eating healthy is important to correct this problem, but doing this alone isn’t the solution. For someone who has had such problems for many years, usually a detoxification is required. However, this too also doesn’t always solve the problem. Sometimes people’s systems are so screwed up that they need additional support to correct this problem.
So if you have been suffering from constipation for many years, this is what I would recommend for you do in order to correct this problem for good:
1. Begin cutting out the refined foods from your diet and eat more whole foods, especially fiber-rich foods such as apples, raw nuts and seeds, plenty of fresh vegetables, etc. Eating organic meats and eggs are fine, but they don’t provide you with the fiber you need. This another reason why it’s important to have a “balanced” diet.
2. Drink plenty of purified water. You should drink at least half of your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, then you want to drink at least 70 ounces of pure water each day. Keeping well hydrated is important to prevent constipation.
3. See a holistic doctor (not necessarily a natural endocrine doctor, although this of course would be fine), and have them put you on a detoxification program. Not everyone needs to go on a detoxification program, but most people can benefit from one. And rather than you try doing it on your own, it’s best to consult with an expert, and there are many holistic doctors out there that can help you with this.
4. If the problem persists, taking some nutritional supplements or herbs on a temporary basis might be required to help restore your digestive health. There are certain supplements and herbs which can be helpful in in restoring someone’s digestive health. So some people will not only need to eat a diet high in fiber-rich foods and drink plenty of purified water, but will also need to take certain supplements and herbs to help with their digestive system. And in some cases a second or third detoxification will be necessary over time to fully restore someone’s digestive health.
The Role Of Hypothyroidism & Constipation
If you have hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, then your lack of bowel movements might be due to this condition, rather than nutritional problems. Or it might be a combination of both factors. Either way, the goal will be to control the hypothyroid symptoms, whether it’s by taking thyroid hormone, or by following a natural thyroid treatment protocol. Of course my preference is to try to correct the hypothyroid condition naturally, if at all possible.
In summary, millions of people suffer from constipation, and while this usually won’t directly lead to a thyroid condition, in some cases it can contribute to the symptoms, and it definitely can have an impact on restoring your health back to normal if beginning a natural thyroid treatment protocol. There are two reasons why I wrote this post. The first is because many people suffer from constipation and rely on medication or other methods in order to move their bowels. So I wanted to discuss ways to help restore their digestive health so they will eventually be able to move their bowels daily. The second reason why I wrote this is to reinforce the message that digestive health is important to anyone who has a thyroid condition. In fact, one can argue that proper digestion and elimination is the most important factor when following any natural thyroid treatment protocol. So if you have constipation, or any other digestive issues, you definitely need to get them addressed.