Not able to go

[Mildred_Sugar]

Hate this to be the way I start posting to this forum again but here it goes. I was 100% raw for a few months then went back down to 80% just to make sure this was the right thing. It is, so I've been back at 100% raw for 3 weeks but I've been terribly constipated ever since.

So a little background, I've never had a problem with my bm prior. I do not eat a lot of nuts or seeds. My daily menu usually looks like this:
breakfast:
green smoothie w/ coconut/flax oil and a rotating stock of superfoods

lunch:
greens (usually collards kale or watercress) w/1/4 or 1/2 avocado, cucumber, olive oil

dinner:
large lettuce salad with various veggies

for snacking I'll have green juice, fresh fruit or a young coconut

I've tried adding flax to my smoothies and swear it got worse. Anyone have any ideas?

[Conscious Midwife]

HAndful of raw cashews in the AM followed by a smoothied thats majority fresh OJ. That usually does an explosive trick for me no matter what my diet.

You probably have an obstruction from something you consumed while 80% if it was a meat product it could stay in there for eons. :D

(exaggeration)

[Mildred_Sugar]

In desperation about a week ago I did take some Swiss Kriss thinking that it was an obstruction and I went a lot but have gotten blocked up again.

That being said I have been having a crazy craving for cashews so I'll try your suggestion!

[luckitri]

Slippery elm bark powder. Make as a tea. Sweeten with honey and add cinnamon if you need. (I use a heaping spoonful and make it like a jello.)

Also Turkish apricots help some people. Flax seed (brown) were great when I tried them - but I had no control over it and could not leave the house. Some people get help from SAD apple juice. Slippery elm is not painful and cannot harm you.

[Mildred_Sugar]

Thank you so much for your advice. I'll definitely try the slippery elm.

I'm also trying to figure out the root cause of this. Is it just a detox thing or is there something I'm missing or eating to much of in my diet?

[vgloveforlife]

I had this problem too. I haven't had a problem ever since I can remember with going to the bathroom but as soon as I added smoothies to my diet every morning, I would get constipated. I stopped them for awhile and everything was back to normal. I'm starting them again and we'll see what happens.

[Mildred_Sugar]

You know, I was just sitting on the couch looking through my food log and was just coming to the conclusion that it must be the smoothies. Last time I was 100% raw I did have smoothies for breakfast but not green smoothies, usually fruit and superfood smoothies. I think I'm going to lay off the green smoothies for breakfast for a few days and see if that helps. Thanks so much for writing exactly what I was just now suspecting! Sometimes its so hard to decide what little tweak to make next.

[Sharon in Colorado]

You are eating a lot of fat. Fat slows down and inhibits many functions in the body. Try eliminating all the fat in your morning smoothies, lowering it the rest of the day and eating the majority of it at night with your salad.

Then get water-rich foods in you and extra water if necessary. Extra fiber and water will help it all go out.

P.S. Green smoothies should make you go - but you just need fruit and greens, not oils and superfoods in there.

[Mildred_Sugar]

I have tried green smoothies w/out anything but fruit and greens and was experiencing no relief, I find that my blood sugar stays much more even with a little oil (I'm only adding about 1 tsp. of oil to the smoothie). I'll definitely try it along with the other suggestions though. Thanks!

[Linda1970]

I agree with Sharon. I think reducing fat and replacing them with fruits will help. For me, everytime when I increase my fruit intake & decrease others, I get lots of bowel movements.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I think the fact that you are blending the fruits and not extracting the juices and then using greens, it should be easier on your sugar levels. Or just eating whole fruits without blending might be a good idea.

Let us know how it comes out! :)

[Sunshine9]

I think something like this is really individual and it isn't always as simple as just cutting down on the fat, though that might help. How much water do you drink in the day? Do you do any exercise like walking or rebounding? Water with lemon first thing might do it for you. Also it could be a simple issue of increasing magnesium. A large glass of green juice with an apple or pear in there would be good.

I think that the bowel is a very unique part of the body, and that sometimes we need to just relax and let it work itself out. The more you stress the less it likes it.

[Mildred_Sugar]

Thanks for all the great advice. I do agree with Sunshine9 about us all being individuals. I've been reducing my fat intake more and more and honestly this is the only prolonged period of constipation I've had in my life. I do normally eat a very high fat diet and have at least 3 bm's a day on a diet like that.

I do drink a lot of water, I try and have water with lemon first thing and throughout the day and my main snack food or rather drink I should say is a nice green juice and fresh fruit. Really the only thing that I'm doing differently is the morning green smoothie. I eat so many greens through all my other meals that I don't really feel that the green smoothies are adding anything to my diet that I'm not already getting. I do exercise regularly; usually 2 of the following per day: strength, elliptical and yoga. And I live in NYC so I walk at least 40 blocks a day just doing errands

I think I'll try an alternate breakfast for a few days and see how that comes out. I'll try and update with what worked!

[Revvell]

Soak dried, unsulphered prunes, black figs and raisins overnight. In the a.m., drink the juice and eat the fruit. Good for iron as well w/out the contstipation of iron pills.

Revvell

[vgloveforlife]

Just wanted to say that I am positive it was the smoothies for me and not high fat. I've always eaten high fat since I started raw and it's never caused problems. Soon after starting the smoothies though I started getting constipated and this is very NEW for me and the only difference in my diet was smoothies. Salads don't do it, just smoothies.

[Lay-Lay]

I love many of the suggestions above. What works for me everytime is to eat watermelon all morning and then all is good!