Have you ever faced a difficult situation pertaining to bowel movement? If yes then you are well acquainted with the term constipation. Almost one among the third does face the situation. Hence, today we will talk more about the term constipation, signs of constipation, what are the natural remedies for constipation, and finally the benefits of treating constipation.
Constipation is a situation when a person finds it hard to pass out the large stools. Note that it is not a typical disease but a medical problem indeed. It does not have any specific lasting period, which means it can vary from weeks to years.
Table of Contents
What are the signs of constipation?
Under this subheading, we will highlight some of the symptoms or signs that explicitly defines that you have constipation and needs treatment.
Firstly, note that the symptoms are different for the different individuals but in general you will find these points.
- When you have the dry type of stool
- When you see that, there is no bowel urge for many days.
- Pain or cramps in the middle of the stomach or on one side of the abdomen.
- Bloating in the abdominal area
- You will have a feeling like always full in the stomach. Else, you would feel no proper appetite.
- Fatigues in the body
- Feeling lethargy in doing anything
- You will feel that the rectum is blocked which actually prevents the movement of the bowel.
- Somehow you would feel that the stool is not clearing completely. That means you cant empty the stool properly.
- It is really pathetic for some when it happens that you need to use the finger to pull out the stool from the rectum.
- And the most irritating is that when you need to massage the stomach to get rid of the pain or to feel ease.
Causes of getting constipation
This section will enlighten you on the various causes that lead to constipation.
Less intake of fiber
If you are into junks just stop it then and there, and try adding more fibers in your diet. It is because fiber helps to ease out the bowel movement on a daily basis. Therefore you should add fiber oriented foods and fruits like vegetables, nuts, whole grains, lentils, etc. But additionally, support the fiber with proper water intake as well. On the other hand, stay away from processed foods, chips, eggs, meat, and cheese.
Less mobility
People who are lazy and do not like to move much obviously suffer from constipation more. On the other end, people are who are active and do not like to sit in one place for long do not have this problem of constipation at all.
Diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome
Some are often diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. These people are more prone to constipation. In fact, people with IBS suffer from pain in the abdominal area, distension, and bloating, inconsistent stool passing.
With age
Age is also one of the primary causes of constipation. It is true that more than 60% of aged people mostly suffer from constipation. It is because with age the foods take much longer to process and digest. Also, aged people are less likely to move which is also another reason.
Add a new routine
It is very common that a person who travels a lot has to reschedule their routine. And this is one of the causes of constipation. It is because when your traveling the regular routine gets changed, also meals, washroom routine everything just gets altered.
Laxative overdose
Laxative medication is good only when you are not having an easy bowel movement. But that also you need to take in a limited version. The very moment you get used to taking that frequently obviously that the system gets used to the habit. Therefore it is obvious that you won’t feel the urge of using the bathroom often. Note that too much use of the laxatives might lead to problems like a disturbance in electrolyte balance, damage the organs, and leads to dehydration.
Not keeping the body hydrated
You are well aware of the water intake rule. That means you need to take at least 3 liters of water daily. But do you what happens when you drop the idea? Nothing but it again leads to constipation. If you don’t like to have plain water often, you can drink the vegetable or the fruit juices also. But fluid does not mean that you will take the alcohol, coffee, or caffeine-based sodas.
Problem with the colorectal
There are certain types of health ailments that can deteriorate the bowel movements are like tumors, which are cancerous, hernia, scarred tissue, contraction of the rectum or the colon, diverticulitis, etc.
Constipation in the newly born and infants
You have already seen that the new-borns also suffer from constipation. According to the doctors if a new born does not pass the stool within 48 hours of birth, then the baby has got some nerve issues in the large intestine. In that case, the doctors may take the step to diagnose the colon area.
Talking about the infants, you will see that babies who are into breastfeeding might suffer from constipation. And if that situation lasts for more than 48 hours then obviously you will have to seek medical help. But as parents, you can introduce some of the natural habits at home like training the child how to pass out a stool at a certain time, also bring a change in the dietary habit.
Constipation during pregnancy
Constipation in pregnancy is one of the commonest dilemmas that about 40% of the women do face. Now such can be due to change in the hormone, physical or dietary change. Even pregnant women often take iron supplements, which are also responsible for the same as well.
Natural remedies for constipation:
So far, we have highlighted the causes behind constipation, now we demonstrate the natural remedies for constipation. So, follow the below points to understand that in detail.
Have plenty of water
The first and most effective remedy is that you need to develop the habit of drinking water. It is very significant that you should keep the body hydrated as much as possible. It will ease the bowel consistency and you do not need to trouble much while passing large-sized stools. Just remember that the sparkling water works more effectively than the regular tap water.
Add both insoluble and soluble fibers in the diet
As you already know that dietary, fiber is the most essential if you have constipation. Therefore, make sure that you add both soluble and insoluble type of dietary fibers to the diet. Just remember that the soluble fibers are the ones like vegetables, fruits, lentils, nuts, and beans that have the tendency to absorb more water and have a gel-like consistency. Now let’s talk about the other type of fibers that is the insoluble fibers which include the whole grains. Now, these are equally effective in passing the stool smoothly.
Have coffee
A cup of coffee can really have the power to let you get to the bathroom and have that urge of passing the bowel instantly. It is because the presence of the little quantity of the soluble form of fibers in the coffee actually works brilliantly to boost the good gut bacteria. You should know that coffee is more than 60% stronger than the normal water and the decaffeinated coffee when it comes to clearing off constipation. On top of that, coffee boosts the digestive system muscles thus rendering easy bowel flow.
Have probiotic-based supplements
Constipation, which is chronic, really creates lots of disturbances in normal life. Now such a situation is due to the unregulated working of the bacterias in the gut. Obviously, experts do suggest to resort to the probiotic-based foods as they can enhance the equilibrium and protect you from constipation. Actually, when you take the probiotics they produce the lactic acid in the stomach and the fatty acids of the shorter chain. Now you have two alternatives that you can directly add the probiotic to the food like kimchi it consists of live bacteria. On the other hand, you can have the probiotic supplement. It comes with a course of 4 weeks.
Magnesium citrate
People who are already affected by the constipation are well aware of the fact that magnesium sulfate helps them to treat constipation successfully. It is because it consists of the osmotic oriented laxative. You can even take the magnesium-based supplements as well. Note that it is the over the counter drug so have it directly from the medicine shop. You can also include this as one of the best natural remedies for constipation.
Add prunes
Honestly, a person who is affected severely with constipation can actually go to any edge to treat that from the root. Well as here we are talking about the natural remedies for constipation so, after a research, we thought to brief you about prunes. The prune has many positive sides; one thing about the prunes is that it consists of the natural sorbitol which is laxative in nature. According to research, prunes are found to be more effective indeed compared to the fibers. As for dosage, you can add 6 to 7 prunes in your diet. Make sure that you take that at least two times in the day.
No dairy food consumption
Sometimes you have lactose intolerance and that creates bloating which makes you feel uneasy. At times such tolerance can lead to major constipation as well. Even you will see that children who cannot digest cows milk often suffer from constipation once you give them that. Therefore keep your diet on observation for a week. and see whether you are getting constipation or not. If so happens that you can subtract the dairy foods from the list and add the calcium-enriched foods.
Try to have glucomannan
Note that glucomannan is also a kind of the soluble based fiber often recommended to treat constipation. If you wonder, why this particular thing will act so perfectly for constipation, then know that it is a kind of prebiotic diet. It works excellent to balance the presence of good gut bacteria. See you can straight away add this to your diet by consuming the shitakari noodles. Else, you can look for the supplements related to the same as well.
Include the limited FODMAP diet in the list
See in the above list that we have elaborately discussed the fact that the cause of constipation can be anything. Now for instance you come to know that the reason behind constipation is the IBS or the Irritable Bowel syndrome. Then in that case, you should directly cut off the fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols food from the diet. Well if you consult the doctor then he will obviously prepare a revised diet chart where the FODMAP will be added with restriction. Bottom line is that once you limit the intake of the FODMAP obviously in a great way you can add relief to bowel movement.
More and more exercise
Life makes you so busy that oftentimes you forget that a simple addition can actually release you from a certain type of ailment. Yes, here we are talking about the fact exercising regularly and on a daily basis can help to release bowel easily. As per the studies, people who are into exercising regularly are showing lesser symptoms especially those who are diagnosed with IBS related constipation. Therefore, you can always consider this particular one as effective and useful among all the natural remedies for constipation.
Final thoughts
Constipation is distracting and its intervention can simply ruin the normal life pleasure. However, those who are suffering from constipation should pay heed to the natural remedies for constipation that we have discussed in the above section. We hope you can get relief. But definitely, if the problem gets acute don’t waste time and consult the doctor instantly.
