Article Summary: When our digestion isn't working well, we can end up with stuck poop in our colon.  America seemingly has a big problem with stuck poop and constipation since the purchase of over-the-counter laxatives is a booming business in America. But while laxative sales are explosive (pun intended), they can actually make your digestive problems worse, especially in the long run.

There is a better way to get unstuck...and you don't need to be racing for the toilet.  Gentle cleansing herbal formulas that include cascara sagrada, like Sculpt N' Cleanse, offer a safe, gentle, and long-term solution.

Stuck Poop Is Sabotaging Your Health

When digestion stalls, so does everything else—your energy, mood, skin, and even your immune system. And while no one loves talking about it, the truth is this: if you're not eliminating well, your body will eventually experience health problems not only in your gut but throughout your body.

There are lots of trendy detoxes or dramatic cleanses - some are really "explosive" for sale in stores and on the web. We are often concerned about their safety, and you will be too in a few moments. 

Some of the more powerful herbal laxatives can actually be dangerous and can create electrolyte imbalances, embarrassing situations, and can even damage your digestive tract. 

Become Educated and SAFE About Cleansing

We want you to be educated about how to cleanse safely and understand some key facts about how your colon works. With a bit of information, you'll know how to support your health with smart, safe, sustainable choices.

Over-the-counter laxatives and dietary supplements with too much or too little of effective herbs don't help you build your gut health.  Our goal is to ensure you have regular bowel movements, normal stool, and provide you with an effective treatment for constipation.

With regular colon cleansing, you can repair your digestive issues, heal your digestive tract, and revitalize your body's health.  After an effective but gentle cleanse, you will feel more vibrant and energetic, your skin issues often clear up, and bloating and gas disappear.

Why Your Colon Isn’t Cooperating

The colon plays a major role in clearing waste, absorbing water, and supporting your body’s natural detox process. After we eat food, it travels through the most hostile environment on the face of the planet - your stomach.  Stomach acids are so powerful that your stomach tissues are replaced every 30 minutes.

Your stomach acids break food down, and they then move to the colon.  The colon has three sections and an interesting route around your torso. Some of those twists and turns and the functions of the different parts of the colon mean we have lots of nooks and crannies that can have problems.

Understanding the Three Parts of Your Colon

The colon is a work of three-part harmony...when things are working well.  Each section has its own purpose, and they all work in a common rhythm.  Most people think of the lower belly as their gut area, but your colon makes a giant loop around your torso. Here are the three parts to your colon:

The Ascending Colon: This is the starting section, located on the right side of your abdomen. It absorbs the remaining fluids and salts from indigestible food matter, converting it from a liquid to a stool-like consistency as it moves forward.

The Transverse Colon: This horizontal segment runs across your abdomen. It further breaks down food material by mixing it with bacteria. This process isn’t just about forming stool; it's vital for absorbing water and nutrients.

The Descending and Sigmoid Colon: Positioned on the left side and curving into the rectum, these parts store the waste until you’re ready to eliminate it. Together, they ensure that when you do need to go, your elimination process is smooth and efficient.

When these components aren't performing optimally, you may find yourself dealing with constipation or irregular bowel movements. From poor dietary habits and hydration to stress and lack of physical activity, you can see there are lots of variables that can influence the effectiveness of digestion and your colon's health.

Aging Affects Your Colon Too!

As we age—or deal with modern life—our colon may not always function like it used to. Women and elderly patients are often more at risk for constipation.

Common roadblocks for everyone include things like:

• A low-fiber, highly processed diet
• Chronic stress and high cortisol levels
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Medications like opioids or antacids
• Hormonal shifts (yes, even mild ones)
• Travel, irregular sleep, or disrupted routines
  

These factors can slow things down before you even realize there’s a problem. And when waste lingers, it starts to affect more than just your gut.

Recognizing The Distress Signals From Your Gut

Life moves so fast, and we are all juggling so many things that stress us out. Sometimes, we ignore the signals from our bodies or put off pains and discomfort until we can deal with them...later.  But "later" sometimes doesn't happen...yet the problems are still there.

If we wait too long, we are reaching for stool softeners, chugging down bulking fiber supplements, and straining on the toilet. We can avoid these painful situations and the risk of constipation by reading the signals from our bodies.

Have you noticed any of these signs that your colon may not be keeping up?

• Bloating or discomfort after meals
• Skin breakouts or a dull complexion
• Fatigue or mental fog
• Mood swings or irritability
• That “heavy” feeling that won’t go away

You don’t need to be constipated to have a backed-up system. Even people with daily bowel movements can experience slow transit time that affects their overall health.
Part of your gut health is related to the three-part harmony of your colon's sections - moving things along through those twists and turns of your abdomen.  Your colon does this through a series of muscle contractions called peristalsis.

Peristalsis: The Muscle Behind the Movement

Your digestive system has its own rhythm. There's a groove that moves food through your colon...until it gets out of step. The movement that pushes food and waste through the intestines is called peristalsis.

When peristalsis slows down, so does elimination. Waste builds up. You feel full, sluggish, and foggy. Over time, this can affect nutrient absorption and increase your body’s toxic load.

If peristalsis stays out of step, it can have severe implications on your health, and at some point, which we will look at in a moment, your digestive tract can become lazy or paralyzed.

So what slows the digestive system down?

• High stress or sympathetic nervous system overdrive
• Low hydration and mineral imbalance
• Poor dietary choices
• Overuse of stimulant laxatives

Without healthy peristalsis, the colon becomes impacted, filled with waste, and that waste can start to ferment. So supporting peristaltic action is the foundation of any effective colon cleanse. Without it, you're just piling on more without clearing out what’s already stuck.

Luckily, there's a safe and effective but gentle herb that can restart your body's natural rhythm.  Most people reach for laxatives to get things moving, but that can be dangerous because most laxatives do not support peristalsis.  

Cleansing herbs like cascara sagrada are a far better choice.  We'll look at why in a moment, but first let's talk about laxatives.

"Lazy Colon" and The Problem With Popping Laxatives

For many people, a quick-fix laxative is the go-to solution for digestive sluggishness. But that shortcut can come with long-term consequences.  In America, we are also spending billions of dollars on over-the-counter laxatives. 

Most of us are pretty shy to talk about it, but America has constipation issues.  Experts estimate that 16% of adults are constipated, some for 10 years or longer.  For those who are over 60, the number increases to 1 in 3 adults who are chronically constipated, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

Sometimes constipation is caused by our lifestyle. People with a sedentary lifestyle tend to become constipated more often. We also don't eat enough fiber - you need to get enough fiber!  And for some people, it's their necessary medications that leave them reaching for laxatives.  In one study of patients who considered themselves constipated, 40% were using medications known to cause constipation.

But laxatives aren't always the best solution.

Stimulant laxatives—especially when used regularly—can disrupt your colon’s natural tone and even lead to abdominal pain. They act by forcefully stimulating contractions, which sounds helpful until your body starts relying on them to function at all.

This creates a condition often called “lazy colon,” which means your digestive muscles stop doing their job unless prompted. In more severe cases, frequent use of laxatives can lead to something called intestinal paralysis, when peristalsis shuts down almost entirely.

So while occasional use may offer relief, frequent laxative use doesn’t teach your body how to move waste—it just overrides it.

A lasting solution works with your system, not against it.

Meet Cascara Sagrada—A Gentle Nudge, Not a Sledgehammer

One of the most frequently recommended natural options for digestive support is cascara sagrada. Used for centuries in traditional medicine, it helps restore your digestive tract's natural rhythm without the harsh push of synthetic laxatives.

Cascara sagrada is a small tree or shrub commonly known as buckthorn, found in North America, especially in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Southeast British Columbia. The cascara tree (Rhamnus purshiana) is endangered, so it's important that it's sourced ethically and responsibly.  Its grayish-black bark is used medicinally and is available in solid and liquid forms.

In Spanish, "cáscara sagrada" translates to "sacred bark." This name likely originated from Spanish priests who named the tree due to its resemblance to the wood used for the Ark of the Covenant and its remarkable medicinal properties.

As an herbal laxative, cascara sagrada was traditionally used by Native Americans. Although its medicinal value was officially recognized by scientists in 1805, significant use of its bark for health purposes didn't become common until approximately 1877.

Cascara sagrada was approved by the FDA as an ingredient in commercial laxatives, but its status as a drug was revised in 2002.  Currently, cascara sagrada is only available as an herbal supplement instead of being classified as a drug.

How Cascara Sagrada Works

Cascara contains plant compounds called anthraquinones, which naturally stimulate the smooth muscles of the colon. This encourages peristalsis gently, helping the body remember how to move things along without creating a dependency.

And yes, we’ve heard the rumors, too, about cascara being “addictive” and concerns about its long-term use. But here’s the truth: it depends entirely on how it’s used. Sometimes concerns are raised about its effects on the liver, but recent research appears to show that cascara sagrada helps with liver damage and related health conditions. 

An even bigger surprise is that some of the biochemical constituents in cascara sagrada help reverse toxic liver damage caused by acetaminophen (Tylenol) use. Many people don't realize that liver injury and even acute liver failure can occur from a drug we all commonly reach for!

The upshot is that using a natural product with cascara sagrada in a well-balanced formula in a sensible way is best.

Like any food, medicine, or herb, when cascara sagrada is taken in excessive doses or as a stand-alone laxative with high frequency, it can be overdone. That’s why Sculpt N’ Cleanse was developed.  It's a formula that includes just the right amount of cascara sagrada, paired with complementary ingredients, to support gentle, dependable elimination.

No harsh jolts. No dependency. No loose stool. Just smart, effective digestive support.

The Sculpt N’ Cleanse formula uses cascara sagrada, selected for both potency and safety, making it an ideal way to restore regularity without turning your colon into a chemistry experiment or risking harming your digestive system's natural rhythm of moving waste out.

When used as part of a broader gut health routine, the results speak for themselves: more ease, no cramping, less bloat, and the kind of regularity that doesn’t require scheduling your life around proximity to a toilet at all times. It has also been known to help "whittle the middle" when you move out the waste and lower inflammation.

Colon Cleanse Done Right—How to Keep Things Moving

A proper colon cleanse isn’t about extremes—it’s about gently resetting the system and making space for your body's natural balance to return.

Too many cleanses are not formulated well and can leave people in the fetal position with pain, nausea, and abdominal distress. Some people even find themselves sprinting for the restroom or bringing a change of clothes to work. These are the complete opposite reasons you decided to cleanse and detox!

So, let's talk about how to cleanse better (and with no embarrassment.) These are the core practices that matter:

1. Hydration
Water is essential for healthy elimination. Without enough fluid, the colon pulls more water from waste, leading to dry, difficult-to-pass stools. (We recommend taking Sculpt N' Cleanse on an empty stomach with at least 8 oz of water to start the day.)

2. Real Fiber
Increase the natural sources of fiber in your meals like leafy greens, flax, berries, and root vegetables. Not all fiber is created equal—some adds bulk, while others feed your gut bacteria. (Hot tip: Ready Fiber is a clear, flavorless liquid that pours like water while giving you 12 grams of fiber per two-tablespoon serving.)

3. Daily Movement
Even light activity like walking helps stimulate digestive muscles. The gut loves motion, and your bowels tend to follow your body’s lead.  Gravity can be your friend, too.

4. Herbal Support
Gentle aids like Sculpt N’ Cleanse—which contains just the right amount of anthraquinone, the active ingredient in cascara sagrada—offer short-term support while helping your body regain its natural rhythm.

These habits create a foundation for lasting digestive health—no drastic flushes or fasts required.

Lighten the Load, Feel the Shift

A backed-up colon doesn’t just make you uncomfortable—it can chip away at your overall vitality, productivity, and enjoyment of life. From energy and focus to skin and mood, your gut affects it all.

The good news? You don’t need a dramatic cleanse or a restrictive plan to feel better. You need a little support from a natural laxative, some practical changes, and time-tested tools that help your body do what it’s designed to do.

By understanding peristalsis, avoiding harsh laxatives, and using balanced, effective formulas like Sculpt N’ Cleanse, you’re giving your body the chance to reset, clear out, and start fresh.

That’s the kind of colon cleanse that actually works—and one that supports your body rather than hijacks it.

Want to Learn More

What is Peristalsis  - here's an overview.
Understanding constipation and its effects.
What are the risks of chronic laxative use?
Cascara sagrada safety.
The effects of magnesium and digestion.

As with any new product for your gastrointestinal tract, if you have a health condition like ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, or an intestinal obstruction, speak with your health care provider first before trying something that contains cascara sagrada.

References

Cirillo C, Capasso R. Constipation and botanical medicines: an overview. Phytother Res. 2015

Naser, B., & Bodinet, C.  Herbal remedies in functional gastrointestinal disorders: safety, efficacy, and possible mechanisms. Phytotherapy Research, 21(9), 869–875. 2007

Tramonte, S. M., Brand, M. B., et al. The treatment of chronic constipation in adults. A systematic review. J Gen.Intern.Med. 1997

Vitalis, T., & Kamm, M. A.  Natural remedies in chronic constipation: an overview. Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, 21(4), 407–413. 2012

About the Authors

Jim Caras is the founder of Health Direct and a pioneering formulator in the nutrition and wellness space. With over 30 years of experience, Jim has dedicated his career to creating science-based supplements that support healthy aging, digestion, and energy from the inside out. He launched Health Direct with a mission to empower individuals with trusted, effective products backed by research and real-world results. Known for his innovative approach and relentless quality standards, Jim continues to lead with a passion for helping people look, feel, and live better at every age.

Lisa Moretti is a certified health coach and wellness writer with over four decades of experience helping health-conscious adults navigate aging, stress, and lifestyle challenges. A graduate of UCLA and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), Lisa specializes in turning scientific insight into real-world wellness solutions. Lisa has worked with leading integrative health brands and publications. She writes for the Health Direct community with one mission: to translate evidence-based wellness into clear, approachable advice you can actually use.