>I've been trying The Paleo
>Diet, since late November, and I've
>gotten constipated ...

>I guess this means I don't eat enough
>fruits and vegetables ...

>Have you found a solution?

No quick solution. For once the prolix and pompous Dr Bernarr has an ounce
of sense in his post: the causes of constipation are many.  He is wrong to
suggest that there is only one solution.  I guess you are looking for a
Paleo solution.

*First, we should not assume that living on a Paleo diet will render us
free from illness or maladies.  I'll bet Paleos were occasionally sick,
injured, constipated and had runny noses and worse.  If they didn't get
better, they died; that's what natural selection means.

*Secondly, the solution to your constipation lies in some combination of
more exercise, more fibre, less stress, more water, more sleep and
probably less worry about pooing regularly.  I suggest that the most
effective combination will probably be ranked roughly in the order I have
listed them here, but what works best for you will not be best for
everyone else.

*Thirdly, exercise.  I would suggest 60-minute walks or bicycle rides,
preferably with hills.  Drink half a pint of water in the hour before
starting out, take a pint with you and drink it all by the time you are
2/3 of the way through your walk.

*Fourthly, try yoga or stretching.  I’m sure yoga teachers will have
exercises, postures or routines to help (they seem to be obsessed with
purity/impurity dichotomies and so they just love constipation!)  You may
find a personal trainer who can help with stretches that facilitate bowel
activity.

*Fifthly, fibre.  Psyllium husks from India are the basis for some
supermarket laxatives that are 20 to 50 times as expensive as the husks -
which are available in most health food stores.  The supermarket version
is polluted with lots of sugar and chemical additives and preservatives
and, anyway, you don’t need laxatives to be made more tempting!  A couple
of teaspoons of psyllium in a cup of luke warm water before each meal is a
natural, organic, gentle, non-habit forming treatment.

*Sixth, you might start with a small pharmaceutical laxative (not paleo at
all, and I’m not suggesting it is).  Hunter-gatherers had their own
pharmacopoeias comprising local remedies that they believed worked.  These
undoubtedly included herbs with a laxative effect from their chemicals,
barks or other plant material which was effective because of the fibre
content and incantations, spells and prayers.  My wife’s choice is sugar-
free chocolate-coated macadamia nuts, but she’s on the brink of finding
them a bit too satisfying.  So, set yourself a schedule to drop the drugs
within a week and phase in the other components of your treatment.

*Seventh, relax.  Be patient.  Just because high-carb folk poo every day
like clockwork, this is not necessarily natural.  It may suit people with
a 9-5 job, but what would a hunter-gatherer say?  Your body may be
becoming attuned to pooing naturally every three or four days.  You know
your main stressors; focus on reducing them.  Also be patient with the
treatments I have suggested - give them months to become fully effective
(there is a bit of mind/body in this) and accept that you may have to keep
to your new routine for the rest of your life.

*Eighth, sleep.  An hour or two earlier to bed may be all that is needed.

Finally, thanks for being brave enough to share your problem with us.
Please also share your experiences and successes!

Keith