Recommendations for a Healthy Diet and to Eliminate Constipation

1. Eat a high-liquid, high-fiber diet: Ideally, consume plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Dried fruit, nuts and seeds are best when soaked before eating, such as raisins in water, chia seeds in water or juice, any whole grains cooked in water or broth, even soaking almonds and sunflower seeds in a little water improves their digestibility. Stay away from isolated supplements of hard dry bran from grains (rice bran, wheat bran) as these can irritate - not recommended as a supplement. The best choices are whole foods which already contain or easily absorb water, and that also contain additional nutrients.


2. Drink plenty of fluids: Drinking plenty of fluids is important, especially when you increase fiber. Drink 6 -10 cups of fluids each day: best are pure water, fruit and vegetable juices, non-caffeinated herbal teas. It is the combination of a high fiber diet and lots of liquids that best eliminates waste. Sweat, hot or humid climates, and exercise may increase your need for additional fluids.


3. Take a good Probiotic: Take probiotics with a variety of strains of beneficial bacteria. Friendly bacteria soften the stool, break down foods for easier assimilation, and manufacture B vitamins all day long in your gut! You'll feel happier as well as healthier, and have an easier time eliminating.


4. Exercise routinely: If you are inactive, you have a greater chance of constipation. Walking, swimming and other moderate exercise helps the intestines work by stimulating your bowel muscles. Schedule some variety of exercise at least three times a week for 20-30 minutes each time.


5. Do a Deep Cleanse Twice a Year. It is a fact that the modern diet doesn't have the nutrients and natural fiber we need, and is constipating. If you eat any processed foods, you should probably cleanse again for a clean slate every six months.

Some Good Foods to Eat During and/or After a Cleanse:
Beets . Apples . Fresh Vegetable Juices . Celery . Cucumbers . Cabbage . Lettuces . Spinach . Chard . Kale . Broccoli . Brussel sprouts . Green Beans . Snap Peas . Carrots . Red Peppers . Tomatoes . Berries . Cherries . Oranges . Peaches . Plums . Pineapples . Kiwi . Mangos . Papayas . Grapes . Cole Slaw . Lentil Soup with Vegetables . Vegetable Soup . Beet Soup (Borscht) . Chia Seeds added to Juice . Soaked Flax with Raisins . A handful of Raw nuts like Almonds -Walnuts -Sunflower seeds with Apple . Almond Butter with Apples . Celery with Hummus . Salads . Israeli Salad (Chunky Cucumbers, Onions, Tomatoes, Peppers, Herbs) . Sprouts . Gazpacho Soup . Tabouli with Parsley & Tomatoes . Soaked seeds like Sunflower . Fresh raw or steamed Organic Corn (non-GMO) . Quinoa prepared with vegetables . Oatmeal with Raisins and Nuts. Plain Yoghurt with Bananas or Berries. Omelettes with Vegetables . Egg Salad with Celery and Onion . Chicken Waldorf Salad . Hamburger with Green Beans and Salad . Stir-fried Shrimp with Vegetables . Caesar Salad with Salmon or Chicken....

You get the idea? Eat Fruits and Vegetables with all your meals and in between! Eat high-water content foods.

Some Foods to Avoid:
Pizza . White Bread . White Flour and other Refined Flour . Cakes, Cookies, Crackers, Chips . Pancakes . Processed Cereals . Cereal with Milk but no Fruit . Bologne Sandwich . Candy . Hamburger on a Bun with Fries . Chicken with Gravy . Pasta . Cheese . Fiberless proteins without vegetables or fruit (like Meat, Fish, Chicken, Dairy without enough vegetables or fruit) . Instant Mashed Potatoes . Soy Flour and Processed Soy Proteins . Egg and Meat Substitutes (processed) . Vegetable Seed Oils (corn, canola, soy, safflower . all are processed) . Deep-fried, Breaded Foods . Sugar, especially Processed Sugars (NutraSweet, Splenda, High-Fructose Corn Syrup). Anything Hydrolyzed. (hydrolyzed soy or vegetable proteins) . Anything with ingredients you can't understand ...

Dry, hard or sticky, greasy foods, and fiberless proteins (meats and dairy) can clog up your system. Reduce these low-water fiberless foods and increase high-water, high-fiber vegetables and fruits for an easier time! Cleansing with herbs will create a better internal environment and is valuable no matter what you are eating, but for those who can - eliminating the foods to avoid temporarily while cleansing will help cleanse more deeply.x

Foods that are over-cooked, or which contain processed and artificial ingredients will leave your body starving for nutrients. Result: You will feel hungrier the next day when your body has tried to absorb the non-nutrition and comes up empty or clogged. You'll want to eat even more, trying to get something that really "sticks to the ribs!".

The solution is to eat real food, unprocessed slow food, a good mix of plentiful fresh plant foods and natural protein foods of your choice (plant and/or animal), along with some healthy fats. You will start feeling satisfied from eating, because your body can utilize the nutrients and is able to function better.

A good rule of thumb for any meal is to eat 3/4 plate of cooked and/or raw vegetables and 1/4 plate of proteins. Another choice is to eat 1/2 plate of vegetables, 1/4 plate of proteins, and 1/4 plate of fruit or natural starches (like sweet potatoes) or whole grains.

Eventually you will build up regular energy and regular bowel movements that won't be stopped by an occasional lapse. You can develop an instinct for eating, so you'll reach for more high-water fiber nutrient-dense foods to round out what you eat.

A Cleanse is the perfect way to restart your system and your taste instincts. We recommend using a Vital Nutrition Plus wholefood/superfood green supplement (in powder or capsules) to give you the energy and nutrition you need when cleansing and to be successful making a diet change.

Note: For patients with other problems that might cause constipation, such as molds or fungus, stress or medications, Intestinal Cleansing and a good diet will keep the bowels moving and the patient more comfortable with less toxic back up, until a proper resolution to the other problem is found and implemented.

Note on Constipation in Pregnant Women and Intestinal Cleanse #1: Any types of laxatives, herbal or otherwise, are not recommended for the treatment of constipation during pregnancy because they might stimulate uterine contractions. Intestinal Cleanse #1 increases peristalsis and might stimulate contractions in the uterus as well. Therefore, it is not for use by pregnant women.

The above diet is a good one to follow during pregnancy to alleviate constipation which commonly occurs during pregnancy.

You may like to add some super green food nutrition in the form of Vital Nutrition Plus whole food supplement to your prenatal and postnatal diet. Get more energy for you, and powerhouse building-block materials for a healthy baby.

Also ask your doctor about reducing or eliminating iron supplements: Iron supplements may contribute to constipation. Good nutrition can often meet your iron needs during pregnancy. Animal sources of iron such as eggs, fish, poultry and beef are more readily absorbed than vegetarian sources. Also taking smaller doses of iron supplements throughout the day rather than taking it all at once can reduce constipation. But be aware that iron supplements tend to destroy Vitamin E when the two are taken together. Talk to your health care practitioner about checking your iron levels and recommendations to manage iron intake during pregnancy.

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