by Kinjal Bali

Created on: September 01, 2009

Persistent constipation is a signal that you need to evaluate your life habits and fix something. Your diet may have too much refined foods and not enough fiber. You may not be exercising enough; you may be eating and living at a hectic pace; you may not be drinking enough water; you may be stressed-out, you may be deficient in certain nutrients or you may be overeating nutrient-poor foods or foods to which you are allergic.

Natural Answers For Acute Constipation -

1. Fruit Smoothies - Blend a cut -up apple, diluted apple juice, and a handful of raw almonds with the skins left on. Blend an apple and diluted fruit juice with The Ultimate Meal or some other excellent protein/high-fiber source.

2. Cultured Cottage Cheese Delights - Soak dried black mission figs and dried cherries overnight in hot water. Add to cultured cottage cheese, shredded carrots, and diced apples. Serve over lettuce.

3. Fruit Cereal - Soak black mission figs overnight. Add to either cold or hot cereal.

4. Fresh Vegetables - Eat more greens and darker greens. If you don't like them or if they aren't available, make a green drink. If you don't want to do this, at least take commercially available capsules or powders made from greens, algae, or other chlorophyll sources.

5. Tasty Greens - Put a little water and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a pan. Add a large amount of spinach, cover, and heat. This cooks the spinach somewhere between steaming and sauteing. Serve with a little lemon juice or balsamic vinegar and a bit more olive oil or butter to taste. You can use the same method for chard, collard greens, beet greens and kale.

6. Tasty Broccoli - Cut up broccoli. Put in a saucepan with a little water and olive oil. Heat. Add several tablespoons of either hoisin sauce or plum sauce.

Optimal: Dice garlic and sprinkle over top for the last several minutes of cooking. Serve over rice with strips of any of the following: chicken, lamb, tofu, tempeh, or seitan.

Other Food Ideas for constipation -

Buy whole flaxseeds, keep refrigerated, grind in coffee grinder, and sprinkle on cereals and salads. Tastes nutty.

Use a blend of 2/3 olive oil and 1/3 flaxseed oil to make salad dressings. Add balsamic vinegar, soy sauce.

Use more garlic in cooking. Garlic contains allicin, a unique substance that stimulates the muscular action of the walls of the intestinal tract.

Soak black mission figs overnight. Blend with vanilla yogurt and water. Or eat figs whole over yogurt.

Eat whole berries on top of yogurt, or mix together in a blender.

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