solvingleakygut.com Welcome to the 5 Day Constipation Plan

solvingleakygut.com Welcome to the 5 Day Constipation Plan

The Goals of this 5 Day Constipation Protocol: 1. Significantly improve your stool frequency and quality (The final goal is 1-3 bowel movements per day that are a Bristol 4 or 5 on the chart below) 2. Adjust your diet to help you achieve easier to pass stools 3. Start non-toxic and non-habit forming supplements to help you go more often 4. Lower your stress levels 5. Begin supplementing to allow you to absorb the food you are eating IMPORTANT: Before You Begin, Read This This protocol and Solving Leaky Gut material is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat a disease, nor does it constitute a physician-patient relationship with you or anyone reading this, it is not intended to replace the supervision of a licensed medical professional. Lastly, it is not considered medical advice. Remember to always check with your physician or healthcare provider before beginning a supplementation protocol. Not for use by pregnant or nursing women.

The 5 Day Constipation Protocol Roadmap DAY 1. REBUILD DIET AND ORDERING CONSTIPATION BUSTING SUPPLEMENTS 1. Begin eating foods from the Rebuild diet safe list a. Focus on eating lots of fat. Eat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, olive oil or other allowed oil with every meal (Goal - 3 tbsp per day) b. Focus on eating 7-11 servings of fruits and vegetables per day 2. Order Digestive Enzymes, Buffered Vitamin C, Tri-flora Probiotics, Magnesium Glycinate a. more info here DAY 2. FOCUS ON FAT 1. Keep eating the new foods and focusing on 7-11 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. If bloating and gas is a problem reduce amount of consumption and slowly build over the next couple days 2. Eat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, olive oil, etc. with every meal (6 tbsp or more per day) DAY 3. KEEP FAT HIGH AND REDUCE STRESS 1. Keep trying to eat lots of fat and try to eat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, olive oil, or other allowed oil with with every meal (6 tbsp or more per day) 2. Take an Epsom Salt bath tonight to reduce stress a. http://scdlifestyle.com/2013/01/how-to-take-epic-epsom-salt-baths/ b. Keep taking these at least 2x a week DAY 4. ADD THE SUPPLEMENTS 1. Add the Tri-flora probiotics 1 in AM and 1 in PM 2. Take 1 serving of the buffered Vitamin C in the morning and 450 mg or more of Magnesium Glycinate before bed DAY 5. KEEP WORKING THE DOSES AND FOOD 1. If not having steady bowel movements keep eating a higher fat diet, as much fruits and vegetables as tolerable 2. Up supplement dosages to 1 serving of buffered Vitamin C in the AM and at lunch, 750 mg of Magnesium Glycinate before bed and keep upping dosage until reaching a maximum of 1200 mg. DAY 6. MOVE INTO MILD OR TOUGH CASE MEAL PLAN

DAY 1: Rebuild diet and constipation busting supplements For day 1 of this protocol, we are going to focus on changing your diet and getting some supplements ordered. The first step is the diet part. I want you to go and download the Rebuild diet PDF that shows which foods are allowed and which ones aren t. You can even start eating the Mild or Tough Case Meal Plans if you d like, either way we need to make some additional changes to help with the constipation. Constipation is a problem of not being able to properly evacuate your bowels. It is not a fiber problem like many might think. Motility is another way to say the speed in which you get rid of poop. So, when it comes to constipation, we need to speed up your motility. We can do this with foods two ways. The first is to stop eating foods that slow it down. Any food that is inflammatory to you will slow it down. So eating according to the Rebuild diet will eliminate those foods. Step two, is to focus on foods that help with motility. With constipation we must focus on two specific food groups. The first is fats. The most common dietary reason for constipation is eating a low-fat diet. Fats are the building blocks of your hormones, brain and are especially needed to poop on a daily basis. So, what I want you to do is to push the limits for this protocol and just test and see what happens. Today, I want you to eat at least three tablespoons of a high-quality fat that is allowed on the fats guide. Easy examples are coconut oil and olive oil. Some people will find it easiest to just put more fat on their food at each meal to get an extra three tablespoons today, while others will need to literally eat a spoonful of the fat at the end of the meal. Remember, we are doing this to fix your health. This is a moment in your life when you switch from living to eat, and seeing food as just something that explodes your senses, to eating to live, and seeing foods as the givers of life they truly are for you and your body. Next up, we need to focus on eating 7-11 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The reason for this is to increase the fermentable matter that you are feeding your gut flora. For some of you, this will be no problem as you may even already be at that level. For others who might only be getting a few servings a day right now, this might seem impossible. I know back in the day it would have been a big issue for me. So, what I d like you to do is to begin by just making sure you eat a piece or a cup of fruit at every meal and at least one cup of vegetables at each meal. If you eat 3 meals a day, that s already 6 servings and you ll just have to add in one extra serving throughout the day to hit 7. For those with severe GI infections, this amount of fermentable matter will cause GI discomfort. If this happens to you, the first thing to do is to stop eating all raw fruits and vegetables and only eat cooked ones. If this amount of fruits and vegetables still causes issues, it s okay. Eat what you can

tolerate and plan to do a GI infection protocol at some point. In the meantime, you ll be someone who has to work harder on the supplements to help with your constipation. Speaking of supplements, I want you to go ahead and order the constipation supplement pack. You can order it here: www.solvingleakygut.com/lgconstipation The supplements that we choose are non-toxic and non-habit forming ways to help you poop more often and increase the quality of your stools. They include a specific probiotic called Tri-flora, Buffered Vitamin C (not made from corn), Magnesium Glycinate and digestive enzymes to make sure you are absorbing what you are eating. Getting rid of constipation is a dance. It s a dance between improving short term bowel habits and making sure we aren t causing your body any more problems and solving the underlying issues that cause it in the long run. This supplement protocol will serve as the short-term intervention. The thing to know about constipation is that everyone is slightly different. Some people won t need much help, others will get relief with the dosages that we try in the coming days, and still plenty of others won t get much relief until they try the HELP-Day 6 ideas. So please just remember this is an art, a dance and you have to keep experimenting. IMPORTANT NOTE FROM JORDAN AND STEVE: There is no such thing as a perfect protocol or perfect supplement. All have advantages and drawbacks. Every effort has been made to find products that work in clinical practice, are high quality and have the least amount of fillers possible. Through testing of the products and protocols has taken place. Sometimes we couldn t find the most ideal filler ingredients in supplements. It has been our experience that the fillers included in this program don t cause issues with the majority of people and even in those that they might, the benefits of the protocol outway the risks.

DAY 2: Focus on fat Today it is much more straightforward. I want you to keep the pressure on with upping your fats. Mainstream western media has created a fat phobia that tends to really make some people shy away from eating fats. And I get it. I used to buy into that message as well. Now, after getting my health back and researching fats I understand just how important they are for every cell in our body. So, for today I want you to push even harder with the fats. I want you eating a full 6 tablespoons of fats and oils during the day. This can be done by dumping extra fats on your squash or salads. It can also be done much more like a figure competitor would do it. (Just pulling out a spoon and gulping down a tablespoon when you need to.) Do make sure you are only eating oils from the allowed section of the fats and oils guide. Some of what the mainstream media says about fat is true. Eating fake and overly processed fats can be inflammatory and cause lots of health issues. So, stick to the allowed section and get creative with how you use fats in your meals.

DAY 3: Keep fat high and reduce stress Okay, today we need to keep the focus on fats and fruits/vegetables. If you are still working on getting 7-11 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, that s okay just get it there today. This goes for the six tablespoons of fats a day, too. Make it happen today - no excuses. The bottom line is that we need to get you pooping every day and these steps are the learning to crawl ones. Think of supplements as walking; babies can t mess around on two legs until they ve crawled. So today we want to keep working on the basics. Speaking of basics, another one is stress levels. Many people who are constipated are highly stressed and this causes issues with motility. So, today I want to begin with the single most effective, almost impossible to mess up stress relief tool. It s called an Epsom salt bath. Just relaxing in the tub with some Epsom salts will dramatically shift your stress levels. It works for those who give it an honest shot. Here s an article I wrote all about how to do it. http://solvingleakygut.com/2013/01/how-to-take-epic-epsom-salt-baths/ Make sure to read that article and at least do the basics of drawing a bath, using Epsom Salt and making sure you are in a relaxing environment. No talking on the phone and no computer or other device usage. Just listen to some relaxing music or chill in the peace of your home. Plan to do this at least twice a week, and every day for a few weeks if you can. Tomorrow we ll begin to walk with supplements.

DAY 4: Add the supplements Today it s time to introduce the supplements you ordered. The first step is the Tri-flora probiotics. I want you to start taking these with your breakfast and dinner meals. In general, it s always a good idea to take probiotics with food as that s how we would have gotten them back before we had running water and the ability to wash our food. Also, at breakfast and with all of your main meals, I want you to start taking 1-4 digestive enzymes. Start by taking only one per meal today and see if you notice any changes. Then, tomorrow you ll try two. Most people with constipation never see much benefit above two per meal, but I want to let you know you can test it if you want. It s more of a trick for those with diarrhea, which brings us to a very important point that I want you to remember for supplement dosages. This idea of the minimum effective dose (MED). A MED is one that achieves the desired results and is backed up by the research. A lot of times, the reason supplements don t actually cause the effects they are supposed to is due to the MED. Of course, on the opposite side of the coin is to save money and reduce risk. It s always best to use just enough of a supplement to get the results you want but no more. So with enzymes definitely take this approach and especially with buffered vitamin C and magnesium supplementation. The next supplement I want you to introduce today is the buffered vitamin C. Buffered vitamin C is a unique blend that can really boost energy and help with your bowel habits. I want you to start slow because you might be lucky and have a MED of 1 serving per day. So today introduce one serving at breakfast. Tomorrow we ll try more if needed, but don t use more than 3 servings in a day. The last supplement I want you to start today is the magnesium glycinate. We ll use this before bed with hopes of helping you get more restful sleep and stimulating a bowel movement when you wake up tomorrow. The fascinating thing about magnesium and vitamin C is that taking too much of it will cause your intestines to flush. Basically, at too high of levels for your body it will produce diarrhea. Everyone seems to have a different tolerance so please be ready. Our goal here isn t actually to cause diarrhea. Instead we want to find your MED that allows you to have consistent and easy to pass poops.

Magnesium glycinate is unique in that it is one of the best absorbable magnesiums on the market and is much less likely in our experience to cause diarrhea. So, please don t try to substitute in other forms for the following dosages. Follow the protocol as written. Start tonight with three capsules of 450 mg of magnesium glycinate. If at any point during the increasing of the buffered vitamin C or magnesium you do get loose stools or diarrhea, don t panic. It s just your body doing it s job; and it s a sign that you ve gone past your MED. You should slightly reduce both supplements the next day and hopefully settle into a good daily bowel habit practice.

DAY 5: Keep working the doses and food Okay. So, if by today you are still not having a bowel movement per day, then we need to keep searching for your MED dosage of the buffered vitamin C and magnesium glycinate. The next step is to take one dose of the buffered vitamin C in the AM and one at lunch. And later tonight I want you to up your magnesium glycinate dosage to 750 mg. If tomorrow you don t have a bowel movement then you can keep upping the magnesium dosage to 1200 mg and the buffered vitamin C to a max of three servings a day. If you reach those dosages and you re still constipated, then it s time to go to the HELP protocol.

HELP - It s not working For most people the regular protocol will work, but it won t for all. If you reach the upper dosage of magnesium glycinate and buffered vitamin C, and are still not having at least one bowel movement a day, please switch to magnesium citrate. The best product to use is the unflavored Natural Calm. Reduce your magnesium glycinate to no more than 600 mg while taking magnesium citrate. When the Natural Calm arrives, start by taking 1 dose before bed. Take up to 3 doses before bed on top of the magnesium glycinate. If still no bowel movements, try the following unmodified potato starch protocol below. Note: This is not recommended for anyone with SIBO or Candida/Yeast overgrowth, and might only be something you attempt after doing a GI infection program. The reason being is that potato starch is very fermentable (it s a prebiotic ) and some people can be very sensitive to prebiotics when their gut has the wrong mix of bacteria in it (gut dysbiosis). DAY 1 ½ teaspoon in AM DAY 2 1 teaspoon in AM DAY 3 1.5 teaspoons in AM DAY 4 2 teaspoons in AM DAY 5 2.5 teaspoons in AM DAY 6 1 tablespoon in AM DAY 7 1 tablespoon in AM - 1 teaspoon in PM DAY 8 1 tablespoon in AM - 2 teaspoons in PM DAY 9 1 tablespoon in AM - 1 tablespoon in PM DAY 10 Feel free to try up to 2 tablespoons in AM and PM