14/08/2026
If you tell me you’re constipated, I still don’t know what herb I would suggest.
That’s because 'constipation' tells me what is happening, but not much about -why- it may be happening.
Are the stools dry, hard, and difficult to pass?
Is digestion slow and heavy, with bloating and very little urge to go?
Do you feel like you need to go, but everything tightens up and nothing moves?
Did it start after travel, stress, a change in diet, medication, dehydration, or something else?
Those details matter.
Someone who is very dry may need a completely different approach than someone whose digestion feels cold and sluggish. And someone whose gut seems to clamp down when they’re stressed may need something different again.
This is one of the reasons I don’t love the internet version of herbalism that says:
Constipation? Take this herb.
Herbs have their own actions and energetics, and people have their own patterns. A plant can be a great choice for one person and make absolutely no sense for another person with the exact same complaint.
That’s a big part of what happens during an herbal consultation. I’m not just asking what symptom you have. I’m trying to understand how it shows up in your body.