Functional medicine/nutritionist 5 y.o with chronic constipation

Our son had constipation problems too and found that a plant based diet and stone fruits fixed the problem. Beans, legumes, whole grains, have lots of fiber per gram, steel cut oats with bananas for breakfast happens every morning. He doesn't have meat/chicken/fish any more, because there's no fiber in any of those and they make constipation worse. Also no dairy products (we use soy milk instead) and no more cheese. He poops like a dream. We don't have any animal products either.

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I have similar issue with my older child, and would love to know what others can recommend.

We go to Dr Sandy Newmark at UCSF for my 4 year old son and definitely recommend him!  

My daughter (now in college) had years of digestion issues, including constipation. She eventually tried eliminating gluten and wheat (after other eliminations and medications did not help). She was better within three days. She has been gluten/wheat free for six months now and it is like a miracle! This is a pretty easy fix, so if you haven't tried eliminating gluten I suggest trying it. You have to remember to read labels and remember that soy sauce has wheat so many Asian restaurants will be off limits, but cooking at home with tamari is fine. Sprouts has a good selection of gluten/wheat free breads and snacks. Some gluten/wheat free pastas are better than others, look for ones made with brown rice flour.

So sorry your five year old is experiencing this. 35 years ago I stayed at a holistic clinic in Mexico and every night kitchen staff would place two prunes and two tablespoons of flax seeds in a cup then fill it halfway with hot boiled water. The next morning some patients would add honey to the gelatinous flaxseeds after eating the prunes. I’m back to this regimen again now as a cancer patient and am so grateful for this very helpful digestion aid. Folks I’ve recommended this to with constipation issues have all reported excellent results. With a five year old perhaps start with one prune and one tablespoon of flaxseeds for a few days and gauge progress from there. Good luck. 

We have several tricks for constipation.

Dressed up oatmeal.

Cook up Trader Joe's organic steel cut oatmeal with shredded coconut flakes, when it's cooled down, add ground flax seeds (not cooked to preserve the omegas), any kind of non-dairy yogurt for sweetness, and fruit. This was our go-to for about two years before our kid had his full set of teeth. It was an easy way for me to make sure he got his fiber, fat, and calcium all in one go. I switched up the flavors by using different kinds of non-dairy yogurt and fruit, but the base of oatmeal, flax, and coconut was always there. 

Dried figs and nuts.

Forget about prunes, they've got nothing on dried figs! We get big sacks from Costco. They're sweet and our kid eats several in one sitting, along with some nuts (also from costco), and it's great for his poops. When he's having too much starchy carbs, we make sure he gets some figs and nuts with every meal. This is our go-to currently.

Ground flax, ground hemp seed, and chia seeds.

I'm a big fan of putting a table spoon of each into my almond/soy/coconut yogurt (avoiding dairy, which can cause constipation), adding some water, shaking it up and drinking it. This is a bit advanced, works for adults, too. Can feel a little gritty to drink, but it gets things moving. For our kid, I add ground flax and chia seeds to the 'gurt, add slightly thawed frozen blueberries (for sweetness, moisture, and to cut the grittiness), maybe a little water to thin it out, and he uses a spoon to eat it instead of drinking it. He likes it.

Baked sweet yams.

I get the sweet potatoes (or are they yams) from the grocery store, keep skin on, oil the outside, put in tray and oven and bake at about 320 for about 40 minutes and then just leave in oven to cook the rest. We don't butter or sugar. If I time it just right and they're ready for a meal, my kid will just eat one straight because it's warm and soo luscious. A yam a day, his poop will start smelling like yams... lol.

Have you tried chiropractic? I've had a good experience with Dr. Laurie Wonnell at Piedmont Chiropractic.