Food used to take 30 hours. Now it takes 72.

Your digestion runs on a 3-day clock now

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June 18, 2026 10:37am EDT

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Casa de Sante

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Casa de Sante

CASA DE SANTÉ

GUT HEALTH SCIENCE

Your Body Has a New Clock

Why GLP-1 medications slow digestion, and three ways to work with it instead of against it

A patient told me last month that she'd started tracking her bowel movements in a journal.

"Before semaglutide, I went every morning like clockwork. Now it's every two, sometimes three days. I figured that was just how it works."

She's not wrong about the timing change. But most people don't realize how dramatic it actually is. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic swallowed wireless motility capsules into GLP-1 patients and tracked them from mouth to exit.

72 hrs

Median whole gut
transit, GLP-1 patients

92 hrs

Average for semaglutide
patients specifically

55 hrs

Colon transit time
on semaglutide

That's close to four days for food to travel through your body, compared to 30 to 40 hours before medication.

The colon is where this matters most for constipation. Your colon's primary job is absorbing water from stool. The longer stool sits there, the more water gets pulled out. What started as soft, easy to pass stool becomes dry, hard, and difficult to move.

Normal colon transit runs about 30 to 40 hours. On semaglutide, the study measured an average of 55 hours. That's 15 to 25 extra hours of water absorption your stool wasn't designed for.

THE FIX

Three Things That Work With Your Slower Clock

Time your bathroom visits after meals

Colonic motility peaks within 30 minutes of eating. Gastroenterologists call it the gastrocolic reflex. That post-meal urge is real and trainable. Sit down (a squat-assist stool helps) within 30 minutes of breakfast, even if you don't feel the urge yet. Consistency retrains the reflex.

Hold water IN the stool

Soluble fiber like psyllium forms a gel that traps water so your colon can't strip it all out. This is the single most evidence-backed intervention for slow-transit constipation. Start with one tablespoon daily and increase gradually.

I formulated our Low FODMAP Psyllium for sensitive stomachs because standard fiber supplements can trigger bloating when transit is already slow.

Shop Low FODMAP Psyllium →

Support the muscle contractions that have weakened

GLP-1 receptor activation suppresses peristalsis, the wave-like contractions that push stool forward. Gentle herbal motility support can re-stimulate those contractions without the dependency risk of stimulant laxatives. Our GLP-1 Regularity Companion uses herbs that promote motility without irritating the gut lining.

Shop Regularity Companion →

RESULT

That patient with the journal? After two weeks of timed bathroom visits and psyllium, she went from every 3 days to every morning again. Her transit time didn't change, but her body learned to work with it.

You don't need to accept a 72 hour transit time as permanent discomfort. You need to adjust your routine to match your body's new pace.

Browse Constipation & Regularity Support

OA	Dr. Onikepe Adegbola, MD PhD Founder, Casa de Sante

P.S. If you've been dealing with this for more than a few weeks, talk to your prescriber about whether a dose adjustment makes sense. Constipation rates climb with every dose increase.