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Constipation

ghost_whistler said:
This is such a difficult subject because if it weren't for this I'd be ok. I've been losing weight and am now at 72.6 kg - just under 11stone which is really good news. Hopefully I might make my ideal weight (near enough) by christmas which would be ideal.

I appreciate the recommendations, but these supplements contain ingredients I've no wish to use, which is a shame. I don't klnow why we need to 'sweeten' everything as a society but that's the norm unfortunately. Also that includes bicarb of soda which, to my udnerstanding, is not good for the gut bacteria.

The issue of fibre seems entirely subjective. There are people who swear blind either way that it is good/bad for you and the evidence seems to reflect that. For some it's healthy, for others it isn't. I don't know which side I'm on; last week my movements weren't so bad. This week it has been different. Tuesday wasn't too bad, bt until today it has been uncomfortabel. I eat breakfast this morning and felt a bit 'heavy', iykwim, but didn't produce a movement for a couple of hours during which i went for a walk but felt uncomfortable. I was even reluctant to go out fearing i might be caught short!

Prior to this woe, which in all other respects seems simple and healthy, i went every morning around 8-30 am almost to a fault. And when i did i wasn't sat waiting, even pushing, to produce anything. THat's not quite the case now; I feel i have to push a little (not too much, except on the odd occasion), as transit is slow and stiff. I have yet to try increasing fibre and will only do that as a last resort because having to rely on fibre supplements is not what i want to do given they are difficult to incorporate on a LCHF and more importantly because they are expensive. Last time i tried, i had a flaxseed muffin, and felt rough afterwards.
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in what way does veg affect your blood sugars? I assume you mean they go higher, but what is that in terms of numbers? what is your pre and 2 hours post figures for a meal with veg? It may be that the raise is small enough to not matter when it comes to keeping your bowel movements healthy. often, if we have multiple health issues, we have to balance our treatment of any one issue to take account of the needs of our whole body health, and find a compromise.
 
serenity648 said:
in what way does veg affect your blood sugars? I assume you mean they go higher, but what is that in terms of numbers? what is your pre and 2 hours post figures for a meal with veg? It may be that the raise is small enough to not matter when it comes to keeping your bowel movements healthy. often, if we have multiple health issues, we have to balance our treatment of any one issue to take account of the needs of our whole body health, and find a compromise.
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The IP isn't diagnosed with any form of diabetes....
 
Chook said:
The IP isn't diagnosed with any form of diabetes....
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I know, but in his post number 13 he said "Because eating carbs affects my blood sugar." and i understand that to be his reason for eating low carb. So if he is reducing his carbs to avoid his blood sugars being affected, then surely it is important to know what that means in terms of numbers and intake, so he can maybe tweak his intake.

@ghost_whistler 's blood sugar levels must be of concern to him for him to make that statement, even if he has no formal diagnosis yet. I mean, if he has normal blood sugar levels, why would he be reducing his carbs, which would make them lower than normal? It wouldnt make sense to do that.
 
serenity648 said:
I know, but in his post number 13 he said "Because eating carbs affects my blood sugar." and i understand that to be his reason for eating low carb. So if he is reducing his carbs to avoid his blood sugars being affected, then surely it is important to know what that means in terms of numbers and intake, so he can maybe tweak his intake.

@ghost_whistler 's blood sugar levels must be of concern to him for him to make that statement, even if he has no formal diagnosis yet. I mean, if he has normal blood sugar levels, why would he be reducing his carbs, which would make them lower than normal? It wouldnt make sense to do that.
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According to previous threads /posts he has normal blood sugarr. You need to look at previous threads.
 
Chook said:
According to previous threads /posts he has normal blood sugarr. You need to look at previous threads.
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I know. Thats my point. He/she has normal blood sugars, so why is he using higher blood sugar readings as a reason for avoiding anything which might help his constipation? Maybe something has changed since he posted about normal blood sugars. Without the figures, we dont know, hence me asking for the figure to see if his blood sugars are actually being made higher by veg etc.

The problem with the posts by @ghost_whistler are that he/she isnt answering the questions or being specific enough for us to offer any suggestions which might help, because we dont know the problem.

All I know is:

He/she has constipation
He/she apparently has normal blood sugars
He/she has raised blood sugars when eating carbs, including veg so wont eat veg or carbs to deal with the constipation, or anything, including natural constipation aids suggested on here by several people.

I do not know why the raised sugars are happening, and
If those raises are actually a real problem rather than a perceived one

I have been trying to pin him/her down for months now, making lots of posts, to get accurate and helpful info, but its like chasing a ghost
 
@azure has been active in responding to the OPs previous threads and might remember more specifics than we do.
 
serenity648 said:
I know. Thats my point. He/she has normal blood sugars, so why is he using higher blood sugar readings as a reason for avoiding anything which might help his constipation? Maybe something has changed since he posted about normal blood sugars. Without the figures, we dont know, hence me asking for the figure to see if his blood sugars are actually being made higher by veg etc.

The problem with the posts by @ghost_whistler are that he/she isnt answering the questions or being specific enough for us to offer any suggestions which might help, because we dont know the problem.

All I know is:

He/she has constipation
He/she apparently has normal blood sugars
He/she has raised blood sugars when eating carbs, including veg so wont eat veg or carbs to deal with the constipation, or anything, including natural constipation aids suggested on here by several people.

I do not know why the raised sugars are happening, and
If those raises are actually a real problem rather than a perceived one

I have been trying to pin him/her down for months now, making lots of posts, to get accurate and helpful info, but its like chasing a ghost
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What is the relevance of blood sugar with constipation? I'm not aware that the veg i eat has any appreciable impact, if at all, on blood sugar.

i think you've misunderstood what's happening here. I eat veg. I dont' do zero carb
 
NoCrbs4Me said:
What do you typically eat?
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currently pork belly, spinach, kale, mushrooms, avocado and/or broccoli, chicken thighs, coconut oil and olive oil along with salt and losalt and some Mg Citrate tablets for electrolytes. I manage about 4oz veg a day which i calculate at roughly 3g fibre.
 
In response to @Chook 's post:

" You don't have diabetes so you aren't forced in to a low carb diet like many of us are - so why not eat more veg and fruit? You don't have to eat bread, rice, pasta and other major carbs if you don't want to but a more varied diet might help."

you replied:

ghost_whistler said:
Because eating carbs affects my blood sugar.
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I am going to reply to this post rather than the later ones, as this going back and forth is frustrating.

You said that you wouldnt eat more carbs like veg and fruit, to help with your constipation, as it affects your blood sugar. Then you say, in post 29

" I'm not aware that the veg i eat has any appreciable impact, if at all, on blood sugar. "

and say I have misunderstood. I havent misunderstood, you are posting contradictory sentences.
 
@ghost_whistler - Have you tried a bit of habit training?

At one point I was having "issues" and my OH suggested I retrain my habits. I did a bit of reading around it, and what works for me is if I haven't been, erm,.... productive by, say 10am (the time is irrelevant), I go to the loo. I certainly do any straining or anythings, but if nothing happens within 5 minutes, I get on with my day, but then repeat that process later in the day. Again, 5 minutes only. No longer.

Within a very short while I no longer required any re-visits.

My OH had been recommended this approach following surgery many moons ago, and there are plenty of similar recommendations out there.

In all of this it is very important to be drinking enough fluids.

Good luck with it all.
 
ghost_whistler said:
currently pork belly, spinach, kale, mushrooms, avocado and/or broccoli, chicken thighs, coconut oil and olive oil along with salt and losalt and some Mg Citrate tablets for electrolytes. I manage about 4oz veg a day which i calculate at roughly 3g fibre.
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Magnesium citrate is supposed to treat constipation.

I'd try removing the kale, broccoli and spinach.
 
Water. Drink excess of 4 pints water and it will shift. Add more if not working - up to 10 pints if necessary.
 
serenity648 said:
In response to @Chook 's post:

" You don't have diabetes so you aren't forced in to a low carb diet like many of us are - so why not eat more veg and fruit? You don't have to eat bread, rice, pasta and other major carbs if you don't want to but a more varied diet might help."

you replied:




I am going to reply to this post rather than the later ones, as this going back and forth is frustrating.

You said that you wouldnt eat more carbs like veg and fruit, to help with your constipation, as it affects your blood sugar. Then you say, in post 29

" I'm not aware that the veg i eat has any appreciable impact, if at all, on blood sugar. "

and say I have misunderstood. I havent misunderstood, you are posting contradictory sentences.
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Yes the amount of veg that i currently eat doesn't seem to affect my blood sugar.

And I eat no less veg/fruit (if you include avocado as its a fruit) than I ever did. The sources of fibre i got prior would have come from wheat, rice, pasta, cereals.

I sense that you are telling me to eat more fruit and veg, but to get the 30g that the authorities recommend (assuming that's correct) for daily fibre would necessitate eating roughly 10x the amount of veg I currently eat. I don't think that's feasible let alone affordable. It would almost certainly take me well over 20g carbs
 
NoCrbs4Me said:
Magnesium citrate is supposed to treat constipation.

I'd try removing the kale, broccoli and spinach.
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what would you suggest instead? Those are very nutrient rich foods?

I've not found Citrate to be helpful (afaict) in this regard. I take the Holland and Barrett stuff as it's the most cost effective and least full of additives (though not completely). Perhaps their recipe isn't so great?
 
DCUKMod said:
@ghost_whistler - Have you tried a bit of habit training?

At one point I was having "issues" and my OH suggested I retrain my habits. I did a bit of reading around it, and what works for me is if I haven't been, erm,.... productive by, say 10am (the time is irrelevant), I go to the loo. I certainly do any straining or anythings, but if nothing happens within 5 minutes, I get on with my day, but then repeat that process later in the day. Again, 5 minutes only. No longer.

Within a very short while I no longer required any re-visits.

My OH had been recommended this approach following surgery many moons ago, and there are plenty of similar recommendations out there.

In all of this it is very important to be drinking enough fluids.

Good luck with it all.
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That's interesting, I'll try it.
 
ghost_whistler said:
Yes the amount of veg that i currently eat doesn't seem to affect my blood sugar.

And I eat no less veg/fruit (if you include avocado as its a fruit) than I ever did. The sources of fibre i got prior would have come from wheat, rice, pasta, cereals.

I sense that you are telling me to eat more fruit and veg, but to get the 30g that the authorities recommend (assuming that's correct) for daily fibre would necessitate eating roughly 10x the amount of veg I currently eat. I don't think that's feasible let alone affordable. It would almost certainly take me well over 20g carbs
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So you are not diabetic but you are keeping to 20g of carbs a day - WHY?
 
ghost_whistler said:
I have hypoglycemia, and because it is healthy.

LCHF isn't just for people with diabetes.
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It may be that that level of low carbing will have to be adjusted to any other health condition, such as constipation, you are experiencing. We have to take out whole body welfare into account when making dietary choices. Did you find out what was causing your very dark, oily urine problem? the two (dark urine and constipation) may be linked as, despite having plenty to drink, your body may not be processing the liquid properly. Can you talk to your doctor about it?
 
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