Daily Constipation Relief Protocol

Your body relies on electrolytes to control muscle contractions, including the muscles that move food through your digestive tract.

If your electrolyte levels are off, your colon literally cannot contract properly.

Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium play a critical role in digestion by helping trigger peristalsis, coordinate muscle contractions, and pull water into the stool.

When these are out of balance, it can lead to sluggish or weak bowel movements, dry and hard stools, a constant feeling of incomplete evacuation, and even needing higher and higher doses of supplements just to go.

This is extremely common in people who:

• drink a lot of water but don’t replenish electrolytes
• eat low-carb or low-calorie diets
• sweat frequently (exercise, sauna, hot climates)
• rely heavily on caffeine or stimulants

The best ways to support proper electrolyte balance are:

• adding 1/2–1 tsp of high-quality salt to water daily
• eating potassium-rich foods (avocado, leafy greens, bananas, sweet potatoes, coconut water)
• using a bioavailable form of magnesium like magnesium glycinate.
• avoiding excessive plain water intake without minerals

You can’t just “hydrate” your way out of constipation. Your body needs the right balance of minerals to actually move things forward.

Your body has built-in reflexes that trigger bowel movements.

Ignoring the urge repeatedly can:

• dull that signal over time
• lead to stool sitting longer in the colon
• make constipation worse

I know some people get embarrassed by going to the bathroom at stores or at work, but if you get the urge to go, suck it up and do it.

It’s a completely natural human instinct that you should never feel ashamed for. You can either feel embarrassed or constipated. The choice is up to you.

If you’re not eating enough food, your body simply doesn’t have enough material to create strong, regular bowel movements.

Your colon relies on volume, stretch, and pressure to trigger contractions. When your food intake is too low (usually less than 1200 calories per day), this leads to less frequent urges, smaller stools, and incomplete bowel movements.

Even if you eat very “clean”, if you’re skipping meals, eating low calorie or low carb (lower than 100 grams of carbs per day), or fasting frequently it will throw your body out of rhythm.

The best solution for this is to get on a consistent schedule for when you eat each of your meals. This will train your body to get in a rhythm and improve digestion overall.

While bile is essential for helping to emulsify and digest fats, it also helps stimulate intestinal movement, lubricate stool, and trigger bowel movements.

When bile flow is sluggish:

• stools may become dry or difficult to pass
• bowel movements may feel slow or incomplete

This is more common in people who:

• eat very low-fat diets
• have gallbladder issues
• have elevated estrogen levels
• experience bloating after fatty meals

The best ways to support optimal bile flow are to eat a 20-40 grams of healthy fats each day from omega-3’s, nuts/seeds, avocado, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

You can also include bile supporting supplements like digestive bitters, ox bile, TUDCA, phosphatidylcholine, and taurine.

This is one of the most overlooked causes of constipation.

Instead of relaxing to allow stool to pass, the pelvic floor muscles tighten or don’t coordinate properly.

This can lead to to:

• straining
• incomplete evacuation
• feeling like stool is “stuck”
• needing to rely on suppositories or laxatives

Some of the best ways to address this are through biofeedback therapy or pelvic floor therapy. You can even go on YouTube and find pelvic floor exercises for constipation that you can start doing immediately if you feel this may be an issue for you.

A pelvic floor physical therapist or a gastroenterologist specializing in motility can diagnose this using tests like anorectal manometry or balloon expulsion.

Biofeedback therapy helps retrain these muscles to relax and coordinate properly. Success rates are high, with about 70-80% of people experiencing significant improvement in symptoms.

Imbalances like SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) or fungal overgrowths like Candida can also slow gut motility and contribute to bloating and constipation.

These are imbalances that can be identified through a BiomeFX stool test and SIBO breath test, and we will be working to eliminate any of these issues as you go through the steps in this program.

Your thyroid is your primary metabolic hormone that controls the speed & function of almost every system in the body, including your digestive tract.

When thyroid function is low:

• gut motility slows down
• transit time increases
• constipation becomes more persistent

Other signs may include:

• fatigue
• cold intolerance
• weight gain
• dry skin
• hair loss

When you get your thyroid tested, you want to be sure to ask for a full panel that not only looks at TSH and T4, but also tests for:

• Free T3
• Reverse T3
• TPO Antibodies

There are many possible reasons why your thyroid may be slow, but some of the most common are low carbs/calories, nutrient deficiencies, and poor liver/gut health. Depending on your levels you may consider trialing Thyroid Glandular supplements to see if it improves your symptoms.