This is a very common issue and is incredibly important to address as it contributes to toxin re-absorption, faltering energy levels, slowed metabolism, increased bacterial growth, and more. Getting the bowels moving effectively a great place to start anytime you want to increase your health. If your bowels are not working properly, you will not get the benefit of other healthy things you do.
When addressing constipation, the first question to ask is why the bowels are not moving properly. By properly, I mean at least one well-formed and substantial bowel movement a day. There are a variety of reasons why this might occur. In some people, gut motility is slowed down due to an under-active thyroid or inadequate amount of thyroid hormone. In others, constipation occurs because they do not drink enough water or eat enough fiber to ensure a healthy gut and regular bowel movements. For yet others, a deficiency in magnesium will cause the bowels to tighten and not be able to function properly. Finally, another common reason for constipation is bacterial overgrowth. When the gut's ecosystem gets out of balance and is host to more bad bacteria than good, there is an increase in bloating, cramping, poor digestion, constipation or diarrhea.
When addressing bowel movement issues, it is always best to try to identify and address the root cause in order to solve the issue for good. However, the process of identification may take a while. While you are attempting to find the root cause of your issue, it is extremely important to have regular bowel movements. My top three suggestions to address this are: 1) drink lots of water (half your body weight in ounces) and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to provide the fiber your body needs to keep itself clean and healthy. 2) Make sure you have adequate magnesium: ideally between 500-1,000mg per day with food, on empty stomach or before bed. 3) Take triphala religiously. This is a fantastic Ayurvedic blend of three berries that nourish, heal and clean the bowels. It is not a laxative, but rather a healer of the bowels. You can take 1500mg first thing in the morning on an empty stomach with a large glass of lemon water and 1500mg before bed until bowel movements are regular, and then cut back to 1,000mg each time.
If there is one obviously good place to start improving your health it would be making sure you are regular. Get this completely solved and spend the time it takes before you move onto other things.