Hi Im new here and really need some help. My transit time is somewhere around 5 days and I dont know what else I can do to try and reduce it. I've did the Colonix cleanse for 2 mos and since then (2 more months) have been taking 1 TBSP of physillum husk each morning with at least 64oz of water per day. I have also been eating more fruits and veggies each day and have cut back on my 'breads' intake. I still eat chicken and fish 3-4 times per week but am trying to cut that back to even less and replace it with more fresh raw foods. Do you guys have any suggestions as to how I can reduce my transit time to the normal 24-36 hours? My doctor told me to 'eat more fiber, now run along.' thank you for your help!

Drink more water.

Get exercise.

Take some probiotics.

That should do it.

Life Is Good!

alive!

I only weigh 140lbs and am drinking just about half my weight in oz of water each day, should I still be drinking more? If so, how much more do you think?

I do run 2-3 days per week for about 40 mins each time.

Do you have any suggestions on which brand of probiotics I should take and how long I should take them for? I was just looking into these but am not sure which are the best. I know its probably one that has many different strains.

Thx!

What do you typically eat in a day? How much fruits and veggies? which ones?

The psyllium might actually be causing you some problems. At first psyllium tones your insides and (theoretically) removes gunk from the walls. But if you use it everyday for a prolonged period of time, I'd imagine your body recalibrates itself and the psyllium is no-longer as effective. In fact you could end up in worse shape, needing even more bulk to get things moving.

The simple act of chewing is supposed to signal to your insides to move things down to make room for more food (something that doesnt take place when you just chug a bunch of psyllium).

Best to wean yourself from the psyllium and any other special program, and stick to a diet high in fruits and veggies. I've found strawberries are a great bulking food if you eat about 2 cupfulls. Also good are apples and pears.

Also, dancing is a great way to loosen things up inside. I like to pop in some chemical brothers and get my funky white boy freak on

The best think to do is start to cut out all dead foods the ones without fiber like animal products and replace them with ripe fruit and your will see a big difference ripe Bananas,oranges,papapyas ect are excellent.


Cherimoya

Love Peace and Happiness,

JoeSee,

I agree with Cherimoya. I used to have a terrible time with constipation and went to a specialitst. The same instructions from the doctor but he also told me not to lean on fiber supplements since they make the digestive system's abilility to expel weaker. So, I continued my SAD ways and wondered why I bothered to go to the doctor at all.

Then, I discover raw. I stopped eating all meat. I ate only raw fruits/veggies/nuts/seeds/grains. It took about a month before I noticed that I had a BW 2-6 times/day or more. Actually, I went through a phase of diarrhea so bad for 2-3 days that I was burning before the regulation occurred. I have yet to do a colon cleanse or even a colonic. I've not tried probiotics. Think I will end up doing the Blessed Herb colon cleanse in the future. I did do a lemonaide fast at one point. After the 6 months of 100% raw vegan, I had to cut back and put back in some cooked vegetarian. Since then, I have been eliminating more cooked vegetarian and I'm still regular except when I eat alot of rice or cooked grains or starches.

It seemed to me that the other day, excuse the expression, but I seemed to be a excrement factory as I went to the restroom 8 times in one day. Ha Ha.

Anyhow, Good luck.
Therese

The above suggestions are great!

1) Eat simpler, lighter (and mono-eat) for a quicker digestion.
2) Drink fresh cleansing juice first thing in the morning.
3) Do yoga / stretching that stimulates your core / abdomen.
4) Breathe deep into the abdomen
5) Massage your abdomen
6) Avoid cooked, processed, or packaged items
7) Do not take medications or supplements
8) Engage in light fasting
9) Get light exercise every day....get plenty of rest
10) Live a conscious & joyful & passionate life

-Just some additional suggestions.

-David Z. Mason

jono- I usually drink the psyllium first thing in the am, then a glass of water. Lately I have been eating a clif protein bar for breakfast, was eating oatmeal and that is usually followed by an apple and/or a banana with more water. Lunch is not so good since I eat out but I'll either eat a turkey/chicken sandwich with chips, a burrito(ckn,rice,beans,guac,salsa) and usually have 1 coke to drink. I stay away from McDonals and the like 95% of the time now and I avoid all dairy when possible. More H2O, then in the afternoon, I'll have a clif bar, granola, mixed nuts, usually another 1 maybe 2 of these: apple/banana/pear/orange. 2-3 pcs of fruit usually while at work and I get my 64oz+ of H2O also. I might have a soy ice cream sandwich before dinner. Dinner I used to eat pasta regularly, now I've cut back to ~1x per week. I usually go for chicken breast, aha tuna, salmon with brown rice or broccoli,green beans,corn,peas,spinach and a couple times in the last couple weeks, Ive eaten just veggies alone or just veggies with some brown rice. I try to have a glass of OJ w/Calcium.

I've actually been weaning myself off caffeine(coffee,mtdew,tea) which would make me have a BM but I havent had any for 2 weeks and my insides seem more backed up than normal. The psyllium never really helped to improve things, maybe the coffee and such counteracted its effects?? I guess I can try to get off the psyllium also but Im afraid nothing will move after that goes.



Cherimoya & life101 - I plan to continue eating less and less meat, more raw or at least cooked veggies and less fiber supplements. Probably less grains since I've read that is like paste once it gets inside us.



davidzanemason -
1)does mono-eat, mean to eat only 1 specific food at a time, how would you eat meals then? Or do you just kind of graze throughout the day?
2)is this a specific kind of juice I can buy or canI make this juice? I actually bought a juicer 2 weeks ago but havent used it yet.
3)I will look up some yoga/stretching exercises that stimulate my core.
4)I try to meditate 3+ days per week where I will deep breathe into my abdomen.
5)I do occasionally, but will try it more.
6)I do for the most part, but is it bad to cook veggies? I read like in broccoli, cooking it will make more fiber available,
7)I will cut back on the fiber supplements and currently do not take meds. I quit smoking and alcohol 4 months ago too.
8)Would you recommend a juice fast? and would this be best to do now?
9)I will see about the yoga and try to either run or do yoga everyday. Rest has been a problem, I dont really sleep that well. My overactive mind has given me sleep troubles for the last couple years but I am working on it as well.
10)meditation,prayer,and staying sober are helping in this department

Thank you everyone for all the responses!! I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this :-)

I used to have some major issues with this. I would be lucky to go once or twice a week, and nothing helped. The only thing that finally cured this was cutting out ALL cooked grains, breads, etc. Since I went raw, I go 2-3 times per day. I feel so much better! So, my advice, cut out the grains and breads and see what happens.

JoeSee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jono- I usually drink the psyllium first thing in
> the am, then a glass of water. Lately I have been
> eating a clif protein bar for breakfast, was
> eating oatmeal and that is usually followed by an
> apple and/or a banana with more water. Lunch is
> not so good since I eat out but I'll either eat a
> turkey/chicken sandwich with chips, a
> burrito(ckn,rice,beans,guac,salsa) and usually
> have 1 coke to drink. I stay away from McDonals
> and the like 95% of the time now and I avoid all
> dairy when possible. More H2O, then in the
> afternoon, I'll have a clif bar, granola, mixed
> nuts, usually another 1 maybe 2 of these:
> apple/banana/pear/orange. 2-3 pcs of fruit usually
> while at work and I get my 64oz+ of H2O also. I
> might have a soy ice cream sandwich before dinner.
> Dinner I used to eat pasta regularly, now I've cut
> back to ~1x per week. I usually go for chicken
> breast, aha tuna, salmon with brown rice or
> broccoli,green beans,corn,peas,spinach and a
> couple times in the last couple weeks, Ive eaten
> just veggies alone or just veggies with some brown
> rice. I try to have a glass of OJ w/Calcium.


JoeSee:

I'd be compacted with this diet. Psyllium works like concrete in my system. It may be that way with you, too.

Of the foods you mentioned, most are constipating because they don't have much fiber and/or they're dense:

Constipating
clif protein bar
turkey/chicken sandwich
chips
burrito
1 coke (because it is dehydrating)
granola
mixed nuts
soy ice cream sandwich
pasta
chicken breast
aha tuna
salmon

Constipating for some people
banana

Good fiber/helpful
oatmeal
apple
apple/pear/orange
brown rice
broccoli,green beans,corn,peas
OJ w/Calcium

If I were you I'd cut out the psyllium, add soaked prunes to your diet, and if you are still going to eat the meats and other constipating foods, include veggies and especially raw veggies with those meals so the major bulk of your food is raw fruits and veggies.

All those tortured animals you are eating are having their revenge on your colon.

If you want to reduce transit time, elminate the zero and low fiber foods and add more high fiber foods.

Yogamama-I think I am going to have to cut out more grains, breads like you did. What about ezekiel bread or pasta, does that cause you any problems?


greenie-the psyllium used to really bulk up my BM's but now it doesnt seem to be doing much. Im not exactly sure what is causing this either but I do have a lot of loose BM's. Its really possible it is the meat I am still eating, even though its no longer red nor deep fried.

the clif bars, granola, nuts, burrito and even pasta do have fiber in them. I add raisins to granola, burrito has beans and I buy pasta plus or whole grain but if the grains in general are causing a problem, I doubt the fiber these contain are enough to do any good. I was trying to eat foods with fiber though as opposed to 'regular' pastas and such. When I eat the other stuff, I try to eat something with fiber at the same time but thats not always available. Maybe I'll cut out the bananas, Ive heard they can cause trouble too and I'll cut back even more on the meat/grain foods and try to add some prunes. what are the soaked in or do I buy them like that?


arugula-you are probably right but I am a carnivore by nature. Its really hard to stop eating meat but I think my body is forcing me to stop. I do love animals, so I guess its a good thing to stop.

JoeSee - I was vegetarian, and still had tons of constipation issues, so don't worry....it's not just the "revenge from animals" that is causing problems for you. However, keep in mind that it takes your body an extremely long time to digest meat, and it's really just not good for you, the environment or the animals. Do what you think is best. Pasta caused problems for me, but Ezekial bread was fine for me when I was eating it. Best of luck to you!

About the prunes, you buy them dried and then set them in a bowl of water overnight. Use enough water to fully cover the prunes, and then some, because they're going to swell up. In the morning they'll be all plumped up and soft. Be sure to get organic prunes that haven't been treated with sulfur dioxide.

While it's true that the clif bars, granola, nuts, burrito and even pasta do have fiber in them, they are dense and processed (except for the nuts). I've found foods like can be binding or at least have a slower transit time than fruits and veggies. The diet you described has a very small ratio of fruits & veggies to these types of foods, and meats, and for that reason it doesn't surprise me that your elimination has been sluggish.

If you've had a chance to read through much of this board, you've probably come across many posts describing wonderful changes from adopting a raw vegetarian diet. Many people try this way of eating to correct or cure a particular problem. Often that problem is cured, sometimes not, but almost always the person has many other benefits--energy, clarity, well-being, cheerfulness.

Why not try it for a few days and see how you feel?

a ton of water, a ton , usually cures that, the food needs to move..

I wonder if a few raisins or prunes along with drinking a lot of water would help?

Yogamama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JoeSee - I was vegetarian, and still had tons of
> constipation issues, so don't worry....it's not
> just the "revenge from animals" that is causing
> problems for you.

Animals and animal products contain zero fiber. This includes all dairy products and eggs.

> Pasta caused problems for me,

Refined grains contain minimal fiber.

>but
> Ezekial bread was fine for me when I was eating
> it.

Whole grains contain slightly more fiber than refined grains, maybe 2-3 g per serving vs less than 1.

However, most vegetables and fruits are much higher in fiber than grains. You can see this especially when you compare equal calorie (22 kcal) servings:

oatmeal: 0.7 g fiber
strawberies: 1.4 g fiber
spinach: 2.7 g fiber

The people who complain of irregularity are not eating enough fiber. This means they are not eating enough fruits and/or vegetables. Probably their diets are at least 60% and more likely at least 70% fat.

I noticed an amazing increase in transit time with eating fresh fruit!

lol. 5 days to go to BR?, I am still amazed. How do you feel emotionally, sexually etc when you are stopped up like that?

JoeSee,

Even though you think you have a lot of fiber in your diet, most of that fiber is insoluble fiber, which is the fiber found in seeds and grains. This fiber is irritating to the digestive system, and can cause problems if you have some inflammation in your intestines. The best kind of fiber is soft soluble fiber, founds in fresh fruits and vegetables.

You are eating about 3 pieces of fruit a day. Maybe 1 serving of vegetables. Most of what you are eating is constipating.

Try this: before each meal, eat 5 pieces of fruits, but make sure in each meal, they are the same kind of fruit. For dinner, include an entire head of lettuce (preferably without dressing) So your day might look like:

Breakfast: 5 oranges. If you are still hungry, eat your oatmeal
Lunch: 5 bananas. If you are still hungry, eat your chicken sandwich, burrito, coke.
Dinner: 5 persimmons. 1 Head of romaine lettuce (or iceberg). If you are still hungry, eat your brown rice and steamed veggies.

Eat like this for a few days, and you will have some nice movement. If you want to improve the your bowel movement even more, then cut out the grains and flour and cereal products. No oatmeal, no bread, no pasta, no rice, etc. Replace with fruit and salad.

The secret is this: eat your fiber rich foods before your eat your fiberless foods. And only eat the fiberless foods if you are still hungry.

>The best kind of fiber is soft soluble fiber,

This is true. The soluble fibers provide more of the health benefits.

>founds in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Soluble fibers also can be found in whole grains.

I can't think of any whole food that contains one or the other type but not both.

But it's better to eat more fruits and vegetables because the total fiber content per kcal tends to be much higher than that for whole grains.

[www.feinberg.northwestern.edu]

JoeSee,

I think Bryan has given you some very good advice.

Herbs will do it if you're really stuck.
Dandelion root, liquorice root, yellow dock etc.

Look under ailments:

[www.herbs2000.com]

Excellent advise Bryan! I told my mom, who could use this info, exactly what you've said.


Thank you!

One of the biggest problems I have with going completely raw, is how much money it costs to eat this way, especially organics only. I know it is well worth the money but I cant afford it at the moment. Would it be better to eat less but all organic or more but less organic? Another thing is that it is hard for me to stay full when I just eat fruits and veggies. I have a very high metabolism, running a couple days/week probably increases that, and I am usually hungry an hour or so after eating a meal of raw foods. I am constantly grazing throughout the day.

Yogamama - I had no idea how long it takes the body to digest meat and how bad it is to eat carbs with meat at the same time. Im definately going to cut back even more and when I do eat it, stay away from the carbs for that meal. Ezekial bread seems like a great creation. You get the benefits of whole grains and I think I read it contains digestive enzymes as well.

greenie - I'll try that with the prunes. That makes a lot of sense how dense foods like I am eating are causing a slow transit time for me. In the last 2 weeks, I have eaten much more raw foods than ever before and I am now starting to see some positive results. I definately will continue this and try to eat this way much more of the time.

shep252 - Im gonna try and add some prunes to the diet, I eat raisins occasionally now too. And of course keep up with the water intake.

arugula - While my diet is probably nowhere near 60% fat, I could probaly use some more fiber from raw foods. I didnt realize spinach had that much fiber, I eat that 3-4 times/week and love it! Im glad its safe for us to eat again, it was a tough few weeks when it was all recalled.

Bryan - This sounds like a great idea. I am not sure about eating 5 pcs of the same fruit at once though. I mean I love oranges but 5 is quite a bit! lol Im sure there is a good reason for doing this, but are there any fruits/veggies that compliment each other by eating at the same time? Since I usually eat between meals also, how long should I wait after eating some fruit/veggie before I can eat a different one? An hour or so?

coconutcream - Im glad you got a good laugh out of my problem. This issue has controlled my life for the last few years so Im sure you can imagine how I feel.

JoeSee,

I'd rather hear your experiences of eating 15 pieces of fruit a day for a few weeks, with regards to your energy, your health, and your constipation, over what your mind is saying about trying to eat 5 pieces of fruit at each meal. Thinking about how your body isn't going to like it is not the same as having that experience.

5 oranges may sound like quite a bit, but calorie-wise it is only about 250 calories. When I was eating cooked foods, I was eating on average a 1000 calories per meal. A healthy cooked diet might have 700 calories per meal, so the fruit will only represent between 25% to 33% of the calorie intake. Still, this will represent a hugh leap in the intake of soluble fiber for your body.

Before you start, it would be good to run your typical daily menu into a nutritional calculator like fitday or nutridiary to get a rundown of the fat, protein, and carbohydrate percentages of your current diet. If you are like most Americans, you may be getting as much as 40% of your calories from fat. Reducing the fat intake and raising the soluble fiber intake will help a lot with constipation.

As for cost, buying 15 bananas and a head of lettuce (all organic) is only going to cost you around 9 to 10 dollars. I used to spend this much or more on my lunch.

Even when I was eating on fruits and veggies all day, I would get all plugged up if I ate one meal that consisted of brown rice, or some sort of cooked grain. And my diet was nowhere near 60%-70% high in fats. And I drink a ton of water. For whatever reason, my body just does not like cooked grains of any kind. Especially oatmeal. Yikes - that backs me up for a week or more! I haven't eaten any cooked food like that in so long, and I can't even tell you how much better I feel. So I agree with Bryan....just try eating a diet that is much higher in fruits/veggies and cut out the grains and see how you feel. I think you will be amazed!

JoeSee,

Here's another way to eat those 5 fruits first: Put them in your food processor with some greens. I just made some with 2 pears and 2 apples and a bunch of cilantro. It made up about 2 cups of this bright green pudding that is delicious. And it will really get the digestion moving!

2 pears and 2 apples and cilantro? sounds yummy greenie

Something like that sounds great, similar to a green smoothie. I can see how that could be beneficial in a situation like JoeSee is in.
Good fiber and it's easy to assimilate the nutrients.