Written by: Marisol Teijeiro N.D. (inactive)
Medically reviewed by: Victoria Williams R.H.N.

Est. reading time: 9 minutes

If you’ve been prescribed Castor Oil Packs, you are probably cringing right now. You know all too well the expectation that your practitioner had for you to do them, but they are just too much of a hassle and too messy to do. I know exactly what you’re feeling because I’ve been there too.

That’s what stopped me for years from doing the Castor Oil Pack for Liver. It was something that I was told to do for years by not one, but many people… doctors, health food store owners, people who had years and years of natural health expertise. I wouldn’t listen. Only because I was lazy and didn’t have the time. I know you are feeling that way too, and that’s ok! It’s human nature, after all, to do that which is of the least effort.

Pooping Problems

I was seriously suffering hardcore with gut issues. I’d go from diarrhea to constipation, to major bloating and gas. Like many of you, I was in a constant state of crap in my guts.

I would be told that I had microbiome issues, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), food allergies, anxiety, depression, hormonal dysregulation, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and fatty liver. You name it, I was told that I had it, and above all, I had MAJOR pooping problems.

When You’re Doing Everything ‘Right’ But Still Feel Like Crap

I was addressing all of these things with my naturopath but it didn’t make sense because here I was, doing all the ‘right’ things but still feeling like crap. I was taking good quality supplements, probiotics, digestive enzymes, magnesium, I would even go as far as laxatives from time to time because my constipation would get so bad. I was eating the right foods and exercising, but for some reason, it wasn’t fitting the bill.

I remember vividly, the worst 10 days where I didn’t go poo once. I was literally beside myself, I felt soooo horrible in my own skin. I remember searching out for a way to manually extract my poo!

My First Castor Oil Pack

After weeks of constipation, I became super sick and decided that I was finally going to try this  self-care practice that EVERYONE had told me to do. I made myself my own Castor Oil Pack and tried it.

Wow, was my response. It changed my world from the first moment that I put it on my body. I was already feeling better, more relaxed and well in my body. I felt. For a long time, it was like I just wasn’t feeling anything, I didn’t feel present in my system. I know it sounds weird but I was dealing with so much discomfort, that I felt completely disconnected from my body.

You see, it’s easier to look for an escape. It’s no surprise that when you’re dealing with an irritable bowel, anxiety, and depression are usually a result. Some say it is the cause, my belief is it goes deeper than that.

Historical Use of Castor Oil Packs

Castor Oil Packs ended up being my saving grace. I’m not surprised, as I began my research and found that this practice dates back to biblical times. It is mentioned in the ancient Chinese and Indian medical texts as well as practiced by the ancient Mediterranean and Egyptian cultures.

Castor Oil Packs are not the new kids on the block, rather, they are the most important tool that fundamentally supports all other wellness practices. No other self-care tool is quite like the Castor Oil Pack and the beauty of it is that now it’s easy, and it can be done in the comfort of your home.

Innovative Castor Oil Pack Design

The Queen of the Thrones® Castor Oil Pack for Liver was born. Simply apply oil to the cotton compress side and tie it onto the body over the liver. Get your very own Castor Oil Pack Kit here!

How Castor Oil Packs Help Alleviate Constipation?

1. Castor Oil Packs may help move the smooth muscle of our body

Smooth muscle is only in select parts of the body, notably the digestive system/gut, including the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. It is in the uterus as well.

The other muscles of our body that you’re familiar with, like the biceps and triceps are made of what is called striated muscle. Smooth muscle works via signals of PG3— what is known as an eicosanoid.

You are likely familiar with it because when you take fish oils to get your omega 3s, those are also eicosanoids. In a nut shell, they are messengers in the body (like carrier pigeons) that tell certain body parts to do something. When you take fish oils, you tell your body to reduce inflammation.

When you do a Castor Oil Pack, you absorb Castor Oil through the skin that may tell the smooth muscle of the intestine to move. Movement in the intestine is known as peristalsis. This is a rhythmic movement, like a dance that propels the contents of the intestine down so it can be eliminated. In the stomach it mixes things, in the intestine, it moves things around to absorb and then to eliminate what we don’t need. The nice thing with the Castor Oil Pack is that it helps regulate this dance.

They may make you go to the bathroom and have an excellent bowel movement. One study in an old age home showed that Castor Oil Packs worked just as well as laxatives without the uncomfortable gas, bloating, and harsh urgency and patients felt more satisfied and fully evacuated³. This one thing that Castor Oil Packs do is incredibly important.

**Please note that Castor Oil Packs are not recommended if you are pregnant or may be pregnant because of the uterus also being smooth muscle^4,5,6

2. Castor Oil Packs may help break down biofilm

Biofilm is a protective barrier created by bacteria on mucous membranes. You probably know of these gut bugs as probiotics, which is what we call them when they are beneficial for the body. When they are not good for our health, I have coined them “conbiotics”. Probiotics help us because they create nutrients for our body like B vitamins.

The conbiotics on the other hand, use up our bodies’ resources, they don’t make our vitamins, they create byproducts and gases that actually slow down peristalsis, making us constipated.

The more virulent conbiotics are the worst because of protective biofilm that they can create to stop us from killing them. In Lyme disease, as an example, the bacteria Borrelia is transmitted via ticks. It is known for creating a destructive biofilm that is very difficult to break down. People who are dealing with Lyme disease may find Castor Oil Packs beneficial, as they are one of the tools that may help them to reset their microbiome.

The research shows that Castor Oil, compared to other chemical agents that break down biofilm, outperforms in vivo (in the human body)^7,8,9. We need to have a healthy microbiome to have good bowel movements!

3. Castor Oil Packs may help with good bowel movements

Stress does not allow you to have healthy bowel movements because it tenses up the parts of the body that need to be relaxed to work.

The intestines and bowels are regulated and working well in a relaxed state. You can take all the fluids, fiber, probiotics and digestive enzymes you want but if your body doesn’t know how to switch into the relaxed state for peristalsis and relaxation of the lower sphincter, you are a duck out of luck. For me, stress was severely impacting my bowels and regularity.

Castor Oil Packs may work via the nervous system by stimulating the nerves in the skin^10,11. But this only works when you wear the pack. This is probably the most important action. Improving the microbiome and getting the smooth muscle to function won’t matter if your lower sphincter can’t relax enough to let go! The topical application of a Castor Oil Pack is exactly for that, to “LET GO”.

4. Castor Oil Packs may help recycle/preserve glutathione

We all know that cleansing is important, and there is one molecule known as glutathione that stands out among all of the antioxidants. It cleans and protects the body, and helps to detox heavy metals.¹²

It is well known that heavy metals impact our bodies in a variety of ways, inhibiting the immune system, therefore aiding and abetting to an unhealthy microbiome. They impact our hormonal system and detrimentally affect the nervous system. Glutathione is well known to be an antioxidant that in this day and age is in lower concentrations in our bodies because of the physiological demand due to industrialized pollution.

There are very few ways to get glutathione. It is found in whey protein (which I don’t prefer since it is dairy based and for those that have an irritable bowel it is just plain torture), rooibos tea (well known for its antioxidant effects), or oral supplementation (the jury is out on whether or not glutathione is absorbed well via supplements).

Supplementing with magnesium and NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) may help as they are precursors to glutathione. The other way is via IV therapy, known as a glutathione push. Recent research demonstrated that Castor Oil may improve the recycling of glutathione in the lenses of rats, greater than even a solution of glutathione¹³. This is very impressive; Castor Oil Packs may also support antioxidant status¹⁴.

5. Castor Oil may help balance inflammation

When you are inflamed in your intestines, it becomes very difficult to go to the bathroom. Castor Oil Packs may help balance inflammation^15,16, allowing for smooth passage of stools out of the body.

It’s amazing that this wellness practice can be such aid for those that suffer from constipation. Constipation contributes to more serious conditions and diseases and if something is not done, your body can be severely damaged in the long term. A system that can’t eliminate waste backs up, and the back up is the cause of many problems.

No different than when your garbage removal goes on strike or the sewer back ups, that is always bad news. Now you have the tools at your disposal to make it all better!

Time to act.

xoxoxo

Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in recommending our easy-to-use tools and practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice, in clinic, or online with the people you serve, you can get your free e-guide join now!