It’s frustrating sitting in traffic. It’s also annoying when things aren’t moving properly in your body. Constipation can be a big problem, and affects most people at one point or another. Here’s a look at how to cure constipation from a nutritional standpoint.
First, it is important to note that these are remedies for constipation caused by diet. There are many reasons someone might be constipated, some more serious than others. Not all constipation is caused by a poor diet. If you have a healthy diet and are drinking plenty of water, you should consult a physician to find the root cause of your blockage.
It’s important to be regular. Besides the discomfort caused by constipation, it isn’t healthy to have stool sitting inside the digestive tract too long. The longer food is in the body, the more time it has to become rancid. A healthy digestive tract can get the nutrients it needs from food quickly and efficiently. There is no reason it should be sitting in your system for days.
You should be averaging at least 1.5 bowel movements a day (one to two a day). Two bowel movements a day is ideal.
How To Cure Constipation
Water is a great way to keep things moving in your body. Constipation occurs when too much water is removed from stool in the colon. This causes the stool to become too hard, and it builds up causing a blockage in the digestive tract. Water is key to staying hydrated and helping to keep your stool soft.
Fibre is one of the biggest factors in staying regular. We know that fibre loosens things up and gets things moving. Fibre plays a major role with water to keep things from backing up. Soluble fibre holds more water in the stool, keeping it moving and from compacting. There are many great ways to add fibre to your diet.
There are plenty of high fibre veggies. Broccoli, artichokes, and Brussels sprouts are all packed with nutrients and antioxidants, and are all great sources of fibre, making them perfect foods for relieving constipation.
If you’re eating fruit you can go with a high fibre berries like raspberries or blackberries. The seeds that fill these berries will help hold water, loosen up stool, and get things moving.
Flax seeds are another wise choice if you’re looking to keep yourself regular. They are very high in fibre, and many important nutrients, one of which is magnesium.
Magnesium helps with guy motility. This isn’t surprising considering the relaxing effect magnesium has on muscles. Magnesium rich foods like flax seed or green leafy vegetables are great because they have the fibre and the muscle relaxing effect that’ll help ease bowel movements.
Warm liquids like tea and coffee are another way how to cure constipation. Particularly drinking warm liquids in the morning has shown to result in more frequent bowel movements. Despite caffeine’s dehydrating effect, less than 500 mL of either beverage is shown to be safe without any dehydrating side effects.
Aloe vera has amazing, healthy, and revitalizing effects on skin. It can soothe burns, sunburns, hydrate skin, and help with itching. Aloe vera juice is also a natural remedy for constipation. It has a laxative effect on the body so you’re not going to want to have too much of this healthy juice. It’ll flush your system.
Prunes are another popular remedy for constipation. This is largely due to the fruit’s high fibre levels. Prunes have proven to be very efficient at increasing the number of bowel movements, and stool sizes in constipated patients. Prunes do not appear to significantly increase bowel movements in non-constipated patients. This is important because that means you can enjoy prunes as a regular part of your diet without worrying if you’ll be frequenting the washroom more than you should.
Bonus: Staying active is another way you can relieve constipation. Light exercise will help your muscles relax and pass stool.
Stay active and eat well and things should be moving again in no time.
