Constipation – what you must know

Constipation in itself is not a serious condition at all but the consequences can be painful. Research has shown that unhealthy bowel habits lead to an unhealthy mind. Along with our food habits, there are a few more things we should change to avoid constipation or bowel-related problems.

1. Eat a fiber-rich diet.

Fiber helps in forming the bulk of the stool which helps us to pass stool easily. Without fiber, there is

no stool mass and causes difficulty in defecation. High fiber-rich content is available in several vegetables and fruits. To name some fruits are avocados, coconut, berries, banana, mango, etc. and fruits vegetables rich in fiber content are Okra, Brussel sprouts, turnips, peas, chickpeas artichoke, Acorn squash, lentils and Black Beans.

Water is a universal solvent. It mixes up with the food in our stomach and helps our intestine churn better to make bulk. This bulk can be easily passed by our rectum thus avoiding constipation. Make a habit of drinking half to 1 liter of lukewarm water in the morning when you wake up. It acts by increasing the temperature and thus metabolic activity also increases. Increased metabolic activity enhances your digestive process, increase secretion of digestive juices and proper mix-up of all the contents.

3. Avoid forced defecation

Many of us have an unhealthy habit of going to the loo in the morning hours even if we don’t get the feeling of passing stool. We try forcing it out by increasing the abdominal pressure of sitting there for the excessive duration. This must be avoided since increasing your abdominal pressure also increases the risk of hemorrhoids and hernia.

Constipation itself doesn’t cause hemorrhoids or hernia or fissures but the excessive force created by us leads to an increase in tension and in turn, breaches our mucosal lining of rectum or muscle stands to cause fissures and hemorrhoids respectively.

4. Reduce low-fiber foods

Avoid high intake of low fiber foods such as fried fast foods which our palates find so irresistible. Regular intake of non-vegetarian food is one of the leading reasons for constipation. Decreasing the high cholesterol content improves constipation up to great extent.

If you are traveling or a regular consumer of high levels of caffeine or alcohol then you are bound to be constipated as these cause a high level of dehydration and thus making stool contents dry and difficult to move through the rectum. Drink plenty of water when traveling and consuming excess levels of caffeine and alcohol. Especially, a little amount of lukewarm water will keep the system going effectively.

6. Exercise

There is no better alternative than Exercise. It’s the golden rule to every basic health problem. Exercise has some undoubted brilliant benefits to our alimentary system including proper passage of stool. If you are couch potato by lifestyle and are mostly stagnant throughout the day the most likely you are severely constipated and will remain so for as long as you are not going to move.

Exercise helps our bowel move and allows the proper pace of peristalsis. It also increases gastric juice secretion which helps digest food better and increases our appetite. So a little bit of running, jogging and freehand exercise daily not only saves you from constipation but also gives you an excellent appetite.

7. Avoid excessive use of laxatives

Many elderly are in the habit of the use of laxatives or stool softeners. Once in awhile stool softeners
are very handy and effective but excessive and uncontrolled use can cause exactly the opposite mechanism by causing dehydration and making the stool hard and dry.  A similar effect is caused by excessive use of antacids as they cause water uptake in the Intestine leaving it dry.

Often excessive dehydration causes stony hard stools. The hard fecal matter gets impacted and blocks the pathway causing severe pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, etc. In such cases, hospital admission or professional intervention is required. Impacted fecal matter is to be removed and rectal enemas should be given.

Reference –
Image sources –
1. https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/editorial-dna-edit-artificial-shortage-generic-medicines-face-resistance-across-geographies-2689961
2. https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/why-exercise-is-good-for-the-brain/
3. https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/no-alcohol-sign-vector-6119653
4. https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/pain-toilet.html
5. https://www.beingtheparent.com/high-fiber-rich-food-for-babies/
6. https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1445161/stomach-pain-eating

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Blog by –

Dr. Sarthak Chakravarty

Dr. Sarthak Chakravarty
MBBS, DEM, CTBM

DGS approved doctor by Govt. of India
Consultant at 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Ex. Apollo Hospital, Sarita Vihar, Delhi
Ex. MO at ART Center B.H.U (NACO)

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