Thursday, February 16, 2012

Constipation in Pregnancy (or in general:)

Have you ever met someone who always seems to be in a foul mood? You know, those people you find it almost impossible to get along with. Chances are they may be suffering from constipation.  Yes, constipation can effect your attitude according to master herbalist, Dr. John R.Christopher.  In his practice, he saw many a personality transformed once their bowels were working properly.  According to Christopher, you should have bowel movements every single day, preferably multiple (3) times per day.

Now, why in the world am I blogging about constipation you may ask?  Well, pregnancy is on the forefront of my mind, and constipation tends to be an issue for women in pregnancy.  I was so ill  my last pregnancy, that constipation is the last thing I want to worry about...but as it turns out there just might be a relation between the two.  The better the bowels work, the better overall wellness you will feel.  A friend who is currently pregnant  notices that the more constipated she is, the worse she feels. Christopher had this to say about the subject (and I highly recommend reading more about it here): 

Over ninety percent of all diseases and malfunctions of children's bodies (as with adults) stem from the unclean intestinal tract. The body of man must be kept clean inside and out, to perform his daily tasks efficiently and smoothly. This body is the housing of the spirit and operating force of life. With the spirit commanding a good clean structure, a smoother, happier life is evident. The scriptures tell us that God will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle. We have been told that the body is a temple, or tabernacle of God. This structure must be kept in good repair, and clean, to be a comfortable abode.

Now, on the the Nitty Gritty:

Causes of Constipation:
1. improper diet and living
2. Meat also causes constipation through the fact that it encourages putrefaction of the colon both by introducing putrefactive organisms in great numbers and also by providing material which is best calculated to encourage the growth of putrefactive organisms in the colon.
3. 3. Most persons who suffer from constipation habitually drink too little water.

Herbal Aids
1. Dr. Christopher's Lower Bowel Formula (this stuff works well):The average person uses two capsules three times a day, but if necessary may want to use five or more capsules three times a day, and more if needed. Available online ( and most health food stores
2. Cayenne: And if you are brave, you can use it as an enema for obstinate constipation.
3. Kelp: So many of our illnesses result from constipation, and such a large portion of our population suffers from this ailment! Poisons accumulate in the large bowel and are absorbed back into the bloodstream, causing a host of disorders which are not specific in themselves but stem back to the toxic colon. Many people subscribe to enemas and colonics to cleanse the colon, and Dr. Christopher agreed that these may have a place in an emergency, but they should absolutely never be relied upon. In addition to his formula for toning the colon, Kelp can take an important place doing this job. Because of its high natural mineral salt content, Kelp builds the walls of the colon and the iodine, being highly antiseptic, deals with the toxic condition. For this reason, Kelp can be used in all cases associated with auto toxemia, especially in pregnancy. All constipated people should take Kelp daily, with the addition of blackstrap molasses if needed. Few people are really free from constipation, so almost everyone could benefit from the addition of Kelp to the daily diet.

NOTE: One should be wary of an incorrect use of laxatives and purgatives, because liquefied fecal matter is immediately absorbed by the intestinal villi into the bloodstream, and if there be excess, some of it will be thrown out of the bloodstream into the lungs, skin, kidneys, or other organs, producing a chronic toxemia thus laying the foundation for chronic disease.

Juices for Constipation: From personal family experience, any fresh fruit/veg juice (from a juicer) seems to do the trick.  Or try Rhubarb, prune, fig (prune works fast); 3 oz prunes (about 8) once or twice a day works good too (no more in one sitting as it could cause painful gas).

Vegetables for Constipation: Several glasses a day of cabbage broth.

More Vegetables for Constipation: Red Beet, chard, Jerusalem artichoke, green pepper, pumpkin, radishes, summer squash and zucchini.

Here's to a happy, healthy pregnancy!

Nausea in Pregnancy---Solutions

image source
I hesitated to entitle this post morning sickness---a more appropriate name from my experience would be All-day-and-night-will-I-ever-survive-this-sickness!?!   What was "morning sickness" like for me?
  • cooking, cleaning products, and all but 1 bath soap were banned in my house to avoid wretched odors
  • I couldn't even say the word "vegetable" much less eat any (or meat)
  • Don't get me started on bathrooms (they grossed me out in general...I remember thinking it was the most digusting idea ever to put a bathroom inside a bedroom).
  •  pets were banned from the house
  • Making phone calls or surfing the web were too taxing
  • I was borderline toxemia (high blood pressure)
  • Admitted to hospital for low potassium (from vomiting) which can stop your heart
  • And lets not forget the constant heaving while taking nausea pills meant for chemo patients
  • I basically carried around a "pet" throw-up trash can for 9 mo's
So here we are trying for baby number two so I've decided to pull out the big guns and prepare early should I suffer the same fate with the next little cutie pie.  What's my solution?  Natural Remedies. 

Why natural remedies? First of all, conventional meds didn't help one iota the first time around. Secondly, I've witnessed miraculous results among myself, friends and family using safe, natural remedies...for example stopping a miscarriage * instantaneous relief from various stomach ailments * re-grew bone, skin & tissue after accidents * Fast healing of cuts & abrasions * stopped appendicitis * Cold & Flu prevention or fast recovery * Pink Eye * Mood enhancement (natural anti-depressant) * infant earache * constipation * and infant colic to name a few

So here goes...Natural Remedies for Nausea:
Note: There's not a 1 for all cure unfortunately as each woman and pregnancy is different.  The key is to try a combination of these suggestions and remedies until you minimize your symptoms.  

    • Nutrition is how we give our body what it needs to heal and thrive.  We must give our body the proper nutrients to work with.  just as you wouldn't build a home with toothpicks and marshmallows, nor should you build a baby with soda and twinkies.  A living soul needs living foods (fruits, veg, grain, seeds, nuts...) Eat as healthy a diet as possible.  Eliminate/decrease mucus forming foods such as processed foods, flour & sugar, and even dairy.  
    • According to Dr. Tom Brewer, proper & adequate nutrition keeps the blood volume up in pregnancy and prevents a number of issues such as preeclampsia/toxemia (high blood pressure).  You can get his diet  here.
    • Legumes can reduce nausea.  I have a pregnant friend who says that eating small amounts of beans every 30 minutes is giving her relief (she said she thought she was better and stopped the beans only to get sick again within 2 weeks).  You can read about how beans works here but basically eating legumes help remove bile in your system that cause the nausea.  BTW, this bile is produced by the liver, thus a liver cleanse would be beneficial too (drinking 16 oz of juiced carrots has worked well for me)...there are also herbal liver cleanses you do (just make sure your bowels are working (see constipation post coming up next).C
    • Constipation:  Constipation and pregnancy seem to go hand in hand.  But if you can keep yourself constipation-free, it will help you feel much better ( read this post for details/solutions )

    • Prenatal vitamins: 
      Prescription and OTC vitamins are often difficult for the body to assimilate and will thus be treated as waste product.  Here are some better alternatives:

    • Vitalerbs by Dr. Christopher which is a nutrient dense, whole food vitamin and mineral. 2-6 capsules 3x/day. You can read more about it here.  I highly recommend it.

    • Floradix:  Some woman have a hard time with their pre-natal vitamins because of the iron.  Floradix is a natural iron supplement with a very highly absorbable form of iron
    • Dandelion: yes, I'm referring to the weed in your has the highest source of iron content found anywhere
Essential Oil for Nausea:

I've just recently begun using essential oils by doTERRA and they are amazing, even miraculous in their effect.  With oils, you generally get what you pay for.  As a rule of thumb, all quality oils will be in the same price range.  I personally would not use an oil you find at the local market.  doTERRA is a high grade, pure oil.

Digestzen by doTERRA has become a must have in my home...LOVE IT!! It has stopped upset stomachs (even severe) in literally seconds for myself, husband, toddler, and teen relative.  I have 4 pregnant friends who have tried it and found relief.  Put a drop under tongue and/or rub a drop over belly in a clockwise circular motion.  
Herbs for Nausea

Ginger Capsules - proven to work better than OTC (over the counter) motion sickness meds i.e. Dramamine.  I suffer from motion sickness and can vouch for this.
    • How to take ginger pills: take enough pills until you taste the herb in the back of your throat.  Take 2 capsules, wait a few minutes; continue taking 1 at a time (waiting a few minutes in between) until you taste in back of your throat (I don’t mean spitting it up either).  Go slow so you don’t overdue it and give yourself heartburn

Red Rasberry Leaf (capsule or tea):  I'm not talking about the actual fruit, but rather the leaves.  It's a great all around pregnancy and reproductive aid also good for nausea.  drinking a cup of tea (or more) a day will also build a strong, healthy placenta. available online, health stores, and some grocery stores sell organic tea.  fyi: also great during flu season as a preventative:)  A delicious MUST at my home

More herbal suggestions can be read at  Dr. Christopher was an LDS master herbalist with an  amazing story  whose products I can vouch for (they have worked miraculously on a few occasions in my own and extended family).  Suggestions include spearment tea (works great for upset tummies), cloves, cinammon, turkey ruhbarb, and wild yam.

TEAS: ginger root, peppermint, spearmint, raspberry leaf, chamomille, fennel and lemon and honey mix


Several homeopathic remedies can help; they include Nux vomica, Pulsatilla, Sepia, and Ipecac, depending on what kind of nausea and vomiting that you may have.  Choose the one that matches your condition most (I will sometimes rotate several until I get the result) offers a great description of some homeopathic choices:

Antimonium Tart: You will feel like vomiting soon after eating a meal - usually its undigested food and you feel really tired, like lying down on the sofa most of the time.Look at the vomit. Is there a thick and stringy mucus mixed with bile? If yes, then this remedy will work wonders.
Argentum Nit: You dread being sick, feel anxious about it all the time. You are farting a lot and want to eat lost of sweet foods.The sickness is made a little better from cold drinks and being in a cold atmosphere. Being in a warm room makes you feel unwell.
Ipecac: You just feel sick a lot of the time. Your mouth gets filled with saliva that you have to swallow. Look at your tongue. Is it clean? Ipecac has a clean tongue. You don't feel very thirsty and sometimes can feel a bit faint.
Petroleum: You feel generally sick but still you never loose your appetite. Mouth has lots of spit, some heartburn. You feel hungry in the middle of the night.
Pulsatilla: Emotionally you feel tearful and frail. The nausea and sickness comes and goes with no clear pattern. But you can't bear fatty foods and your tongue has a thick yellow/white coating on it. You would like to drink cold lemonade. Feeling a bit worse afternoons and evenings.
Nux Vomica;There is a hung-over kind of feeling to the nux state, a heavy head, a bit fuzzy. You may vomit or retch after breakfast, being generally worse in the morning. Your mouth has a bitter acid taste. You have become a bit constipated and generally irritable, snappy.
Anarcardium: This is similar to nux vomica but not so much in the morning and the nausea is relieved by eating.
Natrum Phos: A creamy yellow coating at the back of your tongue. Sour vomiting and burping, slightly greenish diarrhoea. Feeling achey in joints.
Carbolic Acid: Your sense of smell has become very strong. You long for stimulants, tobacco or alcohol but can't have any. Lots of farting, constipation and your breath has become smelly. - or you think it has.
Sepia: One of the most reliable remedies for morning sickness.All of the usual suspects.. but the nausea and sickness etc are accompanied by a dragging sensation around the lower abdomen. You are feeling tired and disconnected, no emotions, overwhelmed by the situation.
Sulphur: This remedy has burning acidic vomit which smells awful. You feel worse on waking in the morning, and may have an itchy skin rash and feel very hot.
Tabacum: This is a case of extreme nausea, which is made worse by the least motion, You mouth feels full of saliva all the time, you look pale and feel weak and have a sinking feeling at the pit of your stomach. Generally you don't want to be covered up and there may be some itching on the skin - this could be anywhere on the whole body during pregnancy.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Around 1 in 300 women suffer from a severe on-going nausea and vomiting called hyperemesis gravidarum which may necessitate a stay in hospital for bed rest, rehydration and nutrient replacement. This condition is linked to the very high levels of oestrogen and chorionic gonadtropin which is released by the placenta increasingly until the end of the first trimester.
Some specialists feel that this condition is a symptom of a deeper psychological reaction to stress and that the chance to get away from the causation is all that is required. IF you do have this diagnosed and have medical intervention for it, remember that these remedies are very good for 'AND ALSO'.. so never just rely on orthodox medicine when you can add a more individual remedy to help YOUR health improve on a physical, mental and emotional level.
Whatever the cause, it is a very harrowing condition and practical treatment should be offered. There is a homeopathic remedy specific for the condition, Symthoricarpus Racemosa 200c every other day is considered a specific especially if these characteristic symptoms are present.Violent vomiting with nausea and retching, better from lying on the back and worse for movement.
I LOVE Hyland's brand.  I started off buying them seperately and liked them so much that I bought these 2 kits.

This is a basic kit for children & a good starter kit

This is for those who already use homeopathic medicine, like their benefit, and want to have a variety on hand.

A final suggestion for nausea is acupressure wrist bands for motion sickness. 

 I'll admit I tried them once on an airplane and they did not help...but I also know of people who say they work great.

Whew!  That's it!!!  I'll end with my lit'l disclaimer---I'm not a doctor so this is not an attempt to give medical advice or treatment.  This is my personal arsenal of ideas to get me through my next pregnancy.