Digestive difficulties are one of the leading complaints today, sending some 100 million people per year to the emergency room. Constipation is one of them.

Some people get uncomfortable after two or three days of not having a bowel movement, while others can go a week or longer. I had a patient that went once a month! The sad thing was that he only found it to be a nuisance, maybe a minor concern. He came to see me after he went to a gastroenterologist and asked the doctor "I've gone a month without a bowel movement. At what point should I be concerned?"

The GI doc shrugged his shoulders and said "Well, if it gets bad enough, we'll just remove your colon!"

He decided he'd better seek another opinion and another option.

If you are struggling, there are things you can do to help. First, we essentially train ourselves to be constipated. As children, we don't want to stop playing to go to the bathroom. Then we get into school and can't just leave the classroom when the urge hits - we learn to hold it. Then we get into the workforce and the same applies. You can't just tell a customer at the cash register "Hey, can you wait a minute? I have to run to the restroom!" We learn to ignore the urges and continue with work until a more opportune time. So we train ourselves to not go.

Many train themselves to go first thing in the morning. Ideally, we want to go 30 minutes after each meal. If this doesn't work for your schedule, going in the morning is the next best option. Literally, potty train yourself again. Sit on the pot every morning upon arising without fail. Sit for a few minutes, lightly bearing down. Eventually the body gets the message and you have now trained yourself for a once-daily movement.

Once this is a good habit, start to potty train yourself to go just before bed. Try to be consistent with the time if possible. While three times a day is ideal, if you can train yourself to go twice daily, your body would love you for it!

Eating fresh fruits and veggies every day is a must for regulating bowels. Too much raw, however, can make your stools too loose. A good 50/50 ratio of raw to lightly steamed is perfect.

Hydration is essential as well. Make sure you are drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day.

An often overlooked necessity is eating enough good fats. Good fats stimulate the release of bile from the gallbladder. Bile is one of the best regulators of stools. Avocados, olive oil, and a good juicy pasture-raised steak could be just the ticket.

If your constipation is not responding, or if you have other digestive issues that need to be addressed, try acupuncture. It has been used to effectively help digestive issues for thousands of years. No exaggeration!

Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with more than 36 years of experience. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d'Alene clinic. Visit www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about her, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.