Constipation: Makes you age faster, causes skin breakouts and other serious health issues

Bowel motion regularity is the sort of topic that most people would rather avoid, however, constipation overlooked can lead to a host of health issues ranging from digestive distress, bacterial overgrowth and skin breakouts, to premature ageing and more sinister degenerative diseases, warned Australian renowned nutritionist, Emma Sgourakis.

 

“Not many people are aware of the dangers of constipation, and that a bowel motion, meaning a substantial bowel emptying, less than once a day, constitutes ‘constipation’,” Sgourakis explained.

 

“The fact of the matter is that when the bowels accumulate waste, this can create a back-log that creates toxicity back through the intestinal tract, putting additional strain on the liver too.   This systemic toxicity is linked to premature ageing and increased stress in the body.

“Having a clean gut with healthy intestinal motility means not only that your gut health is in a better state, but also that your entire body is under  less stress and can function its best on every level.”

Sgourakis is known as ‘The Nutrition Coach’ and has been in private practice for nineteen years, with clients both across the country and around the world seeking advice on better health and nutrition. Sgourakis cofounded Saturée with her business partner, popular wellness influencer Kitty Blomfield, to produce a unique range of skincare products and wellness supplements – with an emphasis on avoidance of pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated seed oil free ingredients, devoid of unnecessary fillers and the best quality raw materials from around the world.

Toxins, fillers and additives in processed foods and supplements

“Both the food and supplement industries use additives that are chosen only for the ease of manufacture, to increase shelf life, and to increase their profit margins, not to benefit the consumer.  For example, gums, fillers, silica, stabilisers and flow agents are increasingly common additives that, at best, serve no nutritional value, and at worst, wreak havoc in your digestive tract.” Sgourakis said.

 

Sgourakis explained that these additives damage the gut lining, triggering inflammatory cascades, stress and immune responses.

“Our innate immune systems generally should be able to handle normal stress induced exposure to bacterial endotoxins. However, it’s the accumulation of the backlog of waste, along with unnecessary additives, indigestible foods, and other problematic substances such as unstable fats that leads to the system being overwhelmed,” Sgourakis said.

“Aging and stress further increase inflammation occurring in our gut, subsequently compromising the barrier function of the bowel wall, allowing bacterial toxins to enter the bloodstream. This accelerates the ageing process in our bodies.

“The remedy to all this is to practice daily habits that support bowel regularity, while encouraging daily bowel emptying with a non-irritating, natural laxative.”

Using well-aged cascara to support healthy bowel regularity

“Cascara sagrada is a shrub, the dried bark of which has been traditionally used by Native Americans as a digestive aid and gentle laxative for centuries,” Sgourakis said.

“Unlike common laxatives, cascara energises the smooth muscle of the bowel wall, rather than irritating it. We should move and empty our bowels at least once a day, so if your digestive system needs a bit of help moving things along, taking high quality, well-aged cascara will encourage the regular emptying of bowels, with some additional health benefits.

“Emodin is the main compound in cascara which has many benefits including being anti-inflammatory anti-viral, and pro-thyroid. It even inhibits the formation of liver-toxic nitric oxide and prevents the reabsorption of endotoxins, promoting clear and youthful skin, as well as having calmative effects supporting better sleep.

“So even if bowel regularity isn’t a concern, cascara can still provide many other health benefits.”

Make sure it’s well-aged

“It’s important that cascara is properly aged for at least one year for it to provide maximum benefits with the least irritation to the gut. Well-aged cascara yields a very dark colour,” Sgourakis said.

“Saturée’s Well Aged Cascara comes in a bottle of 75g loose powder. We use genuine Italian cascara from Farmalabor in Italy, which is the very best in the world.”

About Saturée

Founded three years ago by fitness and wellness expert Kitty Blomfield and certified Nutritionist Emma Sgourakis, Saturée produces high quality skincare and nutritional supplements that contain no polyunsaturated oils (PUFAs), toxic additives or fillers. Saturée is French for saturated, which is fitting for the company’s skincare line, containing only saturated fats, along with the world’s best skin nourishing actives. While PUFAs are molecularly fragile and unstable with exposure to heat, light and oxygen, saturated fats are naturally stable and protective. There are currently seven products in Saturée’s supplements range and four products in the skincare range. Blomfield and Sgourakis are currently working on expanding their product range with new formulations in the works, with increasing demand worldwide.