LEADING FOODS FOR CONSTIPATION-min

LEADING FOODS FOR CONSTIPATION

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Constipation is a normal complaint, and everyone has ever experienced it. It’s usually caused by poor diet, lifestyle, stress, or health conditions. While specific foods can lead to it, somefoods too can help you prevent or relieve it.

Constipationcauses great discomfort. Mostly it’s for a short while, but sometimes it can be chronic, depending on the cause behind it. We are concerned about you, and we don’t want you to suffer from constipation. Here are the leading foods that cause constipation, and we’ll inform you of other useful information that’ll help you deal with this bowel annoyance.

Foods that cause constipation

Foods that are high in FODMAPS

FODMAPS is a carbohydrate group that ferments in the digestive system, leading to diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. They are foods with high levels of Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols known to worsen the digestive system. Such foods are categorized in;Grains like wheat, rye, and barley. Some fruits like blackberries, watermelon, and apples. Sweeteners like mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol. Legumes like soybeans, chickpeas, and beans. And the list ends with onions, shallots, and garlic.

Foods with low fiber

Fiber is popular for easing constipation. Eating meals with less fiber, such as refined carbohydrates, dairy products, and meat, can cause you to experience constipation. However, eating such foods will not cause harm if you add vegetables, whole grains, and fruits to your diet. Having an imbalance of food groups is what irritates the bowel.

Bananas

Bananas are known to delay bowel movements. Ripe versions have more negative effects on constipation than unripe ones. While this fruit can help with diarrhea, avoid them when you’re having issues with digestion.

Eggs

Eggs have low fiber, making them contribute toconstipation if you consume too much. Some individuals may have difficulties immediately after digesting them, while others may take time before feeling the side effects.

Food allergies

If your constipation lasts for too long without any improvements, a food allergy may be the cause.According to research, eliminating allergens from diet reduces constipation.To protect yourself from having bowel problems, you may have to pay attention to your diet and eliminate any foods your body isn’t friendly to.

Fast foods

Eating fries, chocolates, cookies and other yummy foodstuffs is fun until it’s time to face the consequences in the washroom. Such foods are high in fat and contain few fibers. This combination slowsdigestion making you suffer from constipation. More so, fried and fast meals have a high salt content that lowers water amounts in stool, making it dry and difficult to release from the body when you need to.

Red meat

Red meat is a grand foundation for constipation. Its low content in fiber makes the stool hard to release. Also, the biggest impact is it sucks fiber from vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, exposing you to risks of chronic constipation. In addition, red meat is high in fats, which will take time before getting digested, leading to slow bowel activities.

Who is more likely to get constipation

Anyone is at risk of getting constipation. Food is not the only cause of constipation. Other factors too can cause discomfort during stool releasing. These circumstances include; if you’re expectant, if you regularly use laxatives, if your diet contains low fiber, if you don’t take adequate fluids, if you don’t stay active and if you’re stressed, anxious, or depressed. Sometimes the constipation is a result of a combination of different factors.

What health conditions can cause constipation?

Having digestive problems increases the impact of constipation. These issues areirritable bowel syndrome(IBS), inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and diverticulosis. Some supplements and medications can also worsen constipation. They include opioids, antacids, and iron supplements.

Should you be worried about constipation?

While struggling to push out stool in the washroom, you may wonder if it’s commonto struggle that way. Constipation is normal, and everyone experiences it once in a while, usually if the normal routine or diet changes. Even so, you shouldn’t have bowel issues frequently. It should be occasional. Having chronic constipation is a sign of improper functioning of the digestive system. If you have frequent or reoccurring constipation,you may have a medical condition. If your situation worsens, you should seek the doctor’s attention, especially if you have the following symptoms; severe abdominal pain, disturbing constipation that does not cooperate with over the counter medication and diet changes, reoccurring constipation, blood in the stool, and bowel issues with additional symptoms like vomiting, and too much sweating.

How do you know you’re constipating?

Sometimes it’s easy to confuse constipation with an ordinary discomfort after overeating or eating certain foods. To be considered constipating, you’ll have the following symptoms;

  • Struggling to empty the bowels completely
  • Lack of appetite because of an unexplainable feeling of fullness
  • Bloated belly
  • Having discomfort and feeling pain during bowel movements
  • Small stone-like stools
  • Extremely hard or dry stools

What should you do when constipating?

People’s bowels react to foods differently.Still, these natural tipsprove to be helpful for everyone in relieving constipation;

  • Drinking enough water to ease movement of bowels
  • Takingdrinks with probiotics like yogurt and kefir toboost your gut function and soften the stool.
  • Cooked pulses like chickpeas, peas, and beans to enhance good digestion and improve constipation effects
  • Plain soups to moisture stools and make them get released smoothly
  • Taking wheat bran to speed digestion process
  • Adding broccoli to your diet to eliminate microorganisms that disrupt healthy digestion
  • Grapes are rich in water content and fiber; they’ll ease constipation
  • Increase whole grains intakes like pasta, cereals, and bread to increase bowel movements
  • Olive and flaxseed oils have high laxative effects abilitiesand are anti-inflammatory, which will help treatconstipation

Conclusion

Expect to experience constipation in your life. It could be because of a wrong diet, a change in your normal meals, or stress. It’s possible to prevent constipation by avoiding foods that promote digestive issues. You can still manage the effects when you get constipated. You can achieve that by eating foods rich in fiber, drinking more water, eatinga diet with low FODMAP, use over-the-counter medication, taking probiotic foods, drinking coffee, and exercising more. Seek the doctor’s help if you don’t see any improvements.

Nataly Komova

Nutritionist. Bluffton University, MS

In today's world, people's eating and exercise patterns have changed, and it is often lifestyle that is the cause of many diet-related illnesses. I believe that each of us is unique – what works for one does not help another. What is more, it can even be harmful. I am interested in food psychology, which studies a person's relationship with their body and food, explains our choices and desires for specific products, the difficulty of maintaining optimal body weight, as well as the influence of various internal and external factors on appetite. I'm also an avid vintage car collector, and currently, I'm working on my 1993 W124 Mercedes. You may have stumbled upon articles I have been featured in, for example, in Cosmopolitan, Elle, Grazia, Women's Health, The Guardian, and others.

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