Foods That Relieve Constipation
David March 12th, 2007
As you probably already know, constipation is classified as a person that only has three bowel movements or fewer in a week. Their stool is hard and dry and sometimes it can be painful to pass. You also may feel bloated, clogged up, and full.
You might hear people tell you that it’s healthy to have a bowel movement at least once a day. While that may be true for some people there actually is no “right” number of bowel movements a typical person should have. Everybody is different and just needs to figure out your body’s normal number of bowel movements. There are many factors that determine this such as the type of food you eat, how much you exercise, how stressful your life is, etc.
At one time or another, almost everyone gets constipated. In most cases, it lasts for a short time and is not serious. When you understand what causes constipation, you can take steps to prevent it. If you have IBS with constipation you probably already know how important fiber-rich foods are to your comfort.
The major cause of constipation is unhealthy eating habits and you’d be surprised how quickly you’d have a bowel movement after changing your diet for a few days. Fiber foods are also important in helping to reduce the cholesterol levels in the body. They are not easily digestible by the intestinal tract hence putting them in the position of bulk forming enhancers and enable the feces to pass easily.
If you don’t already include foods like bran, wheat, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your daily diet it’s time to start now. In short, all high fiber foods are part of the foods that relieve constipation.
The American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends you eat 20-35 grams of fiber a day but in order for a high-fiber eating plan to work its magic, you have to do three things:
- Reach the higher-fiber target (of 20-35 grams of fiber a day) almost every day.
- Spread your high-fiber foods throughout the day so it works better on your bowels.
- Drink plenty of water and other non caffeinated, noncaloric liquids/beverages throughout the day as well. Fiber works better in the intestines if there is plenty of water to go with it.
For me, I usually start the day by waking up and drinking a large glass of water and then eating a bowl of Raisin Bran or Fiber One. Just make sure to pick a cereal (or oatmeal) that has a lot of fiber and ideally low sugar. Look at the side of the box when you’re at the grocery store for the number of grams of fiber it contains. Having this for breakfast helps me have a bowel movement usually right after lunch or on a good day a few hours after breakfast. I also eat lots of green vegetables and drink green tea. The green tea helps in more than one way and is a natural way to help cleanse the body.
To help relieve constipation in the fastest and most painless way possible, try following some of these tips which have worked well for me:
- Change your diet and start eating more fiber on a daily basis. I’m not asking you to drop all junk food and just eat spinach but instead try something like a bowl of high fiber cereal in the morning, 1 to 2 slices of whole-grain bread with peanut butter & a banana for lunch, and steamed vegetables with brown rice and a meat dish.
- Drink water regularly and other liquids such as fruit and vegetable juices and clear soups. At least 6 glasses of water a day would be very great and therapeutic. Large amounts of water aids quick digestion and enables easier bowel movement.
- Get regular exercise which will help your digestive system stay active and healthy. You don’t need to become a great athlete. A 20 to 30 minute walk every day may help. I personally go to the gym 2-3 times a week which also helps me reduce stress.
- Add fiber supplements to your daily intake. Products like Fiber Choice, Metamucil, Konsyl, FiberCon, or anything basically containing psyllium husk powder will do the trick. You may get gas the first couple of days while your body gets used to the additional fiber but give it a week and the gas will pass (no pun intended).
I hope these tips help you as they’ve certainly helped me with my constipation and diarrhea as well. Bulking up your stool by eating fiber really helps push out and clean your bowels so besides feeling better, it’s a healthy way to live.
If you’ve got any questions or comments, please add them below. As you can see, I’ve added direct links to the fiber supplement products I mentioned above. You can order them from Amazon.com without having to make an embarrassing trip to the grocery!
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- Constipation
- Comments(7)
- Tags: fiber rich foods, frequent bowel movement, high fiber foods, ibs treatment, Relieve Constipation
These are great tips David! I’ve had trouble going #2 and plan on trying to eat more fiber in the mornings like you do. Raisin Bran is a good idea but I think it has too much sugar for me so I’ll try Fiber One or another one.
I also recommend drinking prune juice. It’s not great tasting but it does help me move things down my system. Great blog and keep up the posts!
joelle
Is the product Benefiber by Novartis OK? I just purchased it and noticed it didn’t contain psyllium husk powder? Also, is decaf tea OK? I was cautioned to stay away from it. I’ve just started eating again after 3 days and had a bowl of westen corn chowder and don’t feel so great. Should I avoid soup? I’m trying to stick to a liquid diet and drink a lot of water to get some relief.
Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you
i actually am writing because im only 21 and ive been dealing with severe constipation since i was a kid and am actually on this website because im having problems as we speak…Im also almost 9 months pregnant and my doctors have tried everything to keep me from getting backed up…It happened a few months ago and was the worst ive ever had it and htey tried everything they could think of to get my system working and finally after alot of water and about 6 or 7 different medicines it worked, they were mostly worried all the pushing was going to put me into premature labor, i havent really had alot of problems since until now..I am not regular when it comes to that at all, i only go a couple times a week and its always been like that and no matter what i do it is always hard to go and always painful…The best thing ive found that helps me is eating prunes on a regular basis but when i forget to eat them as i did this week , I wont go because I wont even get the urge..So I realized yesterday I hadnt even gone in about a week so I ate some prunes and have been trying to drink water as much as i hate it and instantly the urge to go is back but my problem is that I know how much it is going to hurt for the fact that it has been about a week or maybe a little over and my anxiety about the pain will not let me succeed in going…It is really painful right now and I need some advice on what to do or something that will soften it up because Im so pregnant im really scared if i dont find something to help i will go into labor and I just want to be able to sit adn walk around and even sleep comfortably…Can someone please help…
try milk of magnesia and drink alot of water. Also, add metamucil to your daily diet to give you fiber.
I’ve suffered from IBS for about 15 years. I’m 63 years old. At the risk of jinxing the cessation of my “spastic colon” symptoms, that I have been experiencing for the last 6 months, I offer my anecdotal experience. I have been buying dried/chopped ginger online & brewing (cooking actually) a tea w/ it. I had read that it aided the peristalsis in the large intestine. I drink a large cup of my ginger tea hot in the morning after my fiber drink (Citrucel & water). I also drink some once in awhile before or after a large uncomfortable meal. My elimination problem was a combo of constipation & quasi-diarrhea. I would evacuate from 3-6 times within the 1st hour or so of waking. Now I’m a regular Joe. I also follow the ginger tea w/ a cup of yogurt.
My ginger tea recipe is as follows: I grind 1/8 of a cup of the dried/chopped ginger in a coffee grinder. I take a quart pyrex measuring cup & fill w/ water to about 3/4 inch below the pouring spout, cover w/ small plate & heat it to a boil in the microwave (9min. & 33 sec. for my unit, but it varies). Remove carefully & stir carefully with a small whisk because microwave heated water will erupt violently if handled carelessly. I stir in the ground ginger & replace in the microwave & heat on 10% power for 15 minutes. Cool, pour into one liter/quart Nalgene container, fill to top w/ water & refrigerate.
That’s it, ginger tea & yogurt. I can’t be absolutely certain that this is what is giving me relief, but I’m going to keep it up. I have always eaten a good diet, including fiber from oatmeal & whole wheat breads etc., fairly low fat, lotsa veggies & fruit; but this is the 1st relief I’ve had in about 15 years from the bloating, cramping, etc. Hope this helps someone.
[...] also read more about IBS and methods of managing it on David’s IBS Blog . He has a lot of good ideas on the daily management aspects. However, sometimes you just [...]
Hi
I am a new IBS sufferer and found the blog very helpful. Thank you.
I do not find that levsen helps the spasms in my colon. Any other suggestions would
be very welcome.
Many thanks.