There are some very easy and natural tips for curing constipation that you may not be aware of. It is essential to allow complete absorption of the nutrients you absorb in your food. Constipation prevents this. And the natural cure for constipation will be of greater benefit to your overall health, than the drug treatment, which may have adverse side effects.

Curing constipation is always best by understanding what causes it and then remedying that. Any other approach will not cure.

One of the main causes of constipation is dehydration. Few people drink enough. The problem arises because people don’t want to stop what they’re doing to go and get a drink. So the best remedy is to ensure you have water with you at all times and drink when you’re thirsty. (Try to avoid plastic water bottles with BPA).

And remember that coffee is a diuretic, so if you drink a lot of coffee, you can guarantee you’ll be dehydrated.

Another very common cause of constipation is a diet high in processed food. Processed food is denatured food. This means that part of the food has been stripped away for appearances sake. For example white sugar and white flour are not natural forms of food. Essential nutrients have been stripped away (to make them white), which are required for complete digestion. This can lead to constipation.

By avoiding these denatured foods and only eating whole foods, this problem can be easily solved.

Few people eat anything like enough fresh fruit and vegetables. This should be the basis of all quality diets. Fresh fruit and vegetables have a high fibre content, which ensures regular and easy elimination. This is the bonus after providing you with quality nutrients essential for a healthy life.

Most people eat too much animal protein. All animal protein can lead to constipation, so should be limited to no more than once a day, if that. And that should be in moderation.

Other, less common, causes of constipation can be from travel, which upsets routine, from regular drug use (medical or social) and from stress, anxiety or other strong mental or emotional issues.

For these deeper causes of constipation, you can quickly and easily resolve them by consulting a professional homeopath. A good one will be able to see what the original cause is and deftly deal with it.

Homeopathy is a complete and natural form of health care which works by stimulating your immune system, so that, in effect you cure you. It is a powerful, yet gentle modality of health care which can help you resolve problems from minor inconveniences to major, life-threatening diseases, and everything in between.

By Madeleine Innocent

You don’t have to be an expert to know that high cholesterol is not good for your health. And over time those levels can start to creep up without us even knowing about it. If this happens some people end up taking statins prescribed to them by their doctor. But wouldn’t you rather find ways to lower your cholesterol naturally instead of taking medication?

The things you eat on a daily basis provide the best way to make changes. As well as reducing the foods that have high cholesterol levels you can eat things that are lower in cholesterol and actually help reduce what you already have in your body.

Oats and bran will do this, so if you have lots of bad cholesterol in your blood you will be able to start reducing those levels simply by eating oats or bran for breakfast in the mornings. The other advantage of these food sources is that they do not get rid of what is known as the good cholesterol – only the bad one.

No diet should be totally without fat because our bodies need a certain amount of it to carry on performing at its peak. But differentiating between good and bad fats is what you need to do in order to get rid of the bad cholesterol and carry on ingesting some of the good stuff. Fish is ideal for this purpose as it is packed with good fish oils. If you take the recommended two portions of this kind of fish each week you can look forward to having lower cholesterol levels as a result.

We all know that eating fresh fruit and vegetables is good for us too. This is particularly the case when they contain plant sterols. These can also lower our cholesterol levels, and this means that eating more foods which have plant sterols included in them is definitely a good idea. Most fresh vegetables are good in this respect but nuts are also helpful as they are packed with plant sterols. And yes, fruit is another good bet if you want to up your intake in this way.

It is also a good idea to combine your new diet with more exercise. Try and choose a type of exercise you enjoy as it will make it easier to do all the time. You will feel and look better with regular exercise but do start off slowly if you haven’t been used to getting regular exercise recently. This is the best way to begin.

Of course temptation will always come our way and seduce us into eating things that are bad for us. But life is all about balance. If you can eat foods that are healthy and packed with whole grains, plant sterols and other fresh ingredients regularly you should be fine. The occasional slip does not matter – indeed it is what life is all about. Provided you don’t slip all the time it will be fine. The same goes for exercise. Don’t go all out to exercise too vigorously every day; take it a step at a time.

By Chris Ch Henry