6 Home Remedies to Treat Constipation Naturally
Each one of us experiences constipation at one point or another in our lives. (Among them is my partner, who was born constipated and she has lived with it ever since. In fact, as a newborn her rear was shut, and doctors had to widen it with their fingers.) There are many causes for constipation – from having a low-fiber diet, to not drinking enough water, or deficiencies in certain nutrients. Whichever the case, here are several home remedies for treating constipations.
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- Drinking More Water
Drinking more water is one of the quickest, easiest ways to treat constipation. Not having enough water in your system is responsible for causing a lot of problems in your life. Drinking water will loosen you up inside; here are several problems that arise from being consistently dehydrated:
- Headaches
- Low blood pressure
- Constipation
- Fever
- Muscle cramps
- Exercise
Since gastrointestinal disorders affect everybody, regardless of age, While exercise has been shown to reduce IBS symptoms, there are mixed conclusions about the effect of exercise on constipation. There is no denying that exercise has a huge number of benefits:
- Lower depression
- Decrease weight gain
- Maintain strong bones and muscles
- Boost energy
- Improve brain function
- Magnesium and Vitamin C
People with chronic constipation often have magnesium deficiencies and/or deficiencies in vitamin C. Which is extraordinary, considering that these two nutrients are natural laxatives. This means that fruits such as oatmeal, peanuts, spinach, whole grain bread, and avocadoes are extremely helpful.
- Drink Coffee
For some people (myself included), coffee can mysteriously become a laxative shortly after drinking a cup. Perhaps it’s not so much of a mystery, because the caffeine in coffee stimulates your digestive system. Part of this is due to the release of gastrin, which increases “motor activity” in the colon. (Never mind the fact that coffee is considered a diuretic.)
- Fiber
Ah, fiber has become a heavenly darling among the healthy conscious lately, and for good reason. One of the many benefits of fiber is that it helps water stay in your stool, which keeps that stool from becoming hard. This is soluble fiber – and the exact opposite, insoluble fiber, speeds up the movement of stool through your bowels. People without a healthy amount of fiber in their diet receive neither of these benefits: constipation occurs as a result. Opt for whole grains, vegetables, wheat bran, barley, nuts and beans.
- Probiotic Foods
More often than not, an imbalance of bacteria in your gut helps constipation develop. Probiotic foods, such as yogurt and kimchi, have “friendly” bacteria to balance out the number of bad bacteria in your gut. Friendly bacteria in your intestine is responsible for stimulating the antibodies in your blood, increasing your immune system’s ability to deal with infections, produce natural antibiotics – as well as help digest food, and more. It’s easy to see that when there’s an imbalance in your gut, things will turn sour quickly. This is also because these foods produce lactic acid, improving gut movements – which means it’s easier for you to pass stool. Therefore, it’s essential for your health to purchase more probiotic foods the next time your grocery shopping.
Conclusion
Taking care of your constipation doesn’t require a drastic change in your lifestyle. As we’ve just reviewed, all you need to do is make a few, small changes to your daily habits—by adding more health-conscious food—and possibly exercising more often. Not only will your rear thank you for it, but your quality of life will improve as a result of optimizing your diet and lifestyle.
Author: Himanshu Agarwal
