Home Remedies for Constipation

Being constipated is when you find it hard to move your bowels easily or you have a painful and prolonged bowel movement. It is a natural and common problem, usually associated with eating meals that have only small quantities of fruit and vegetables and low fluid intake. Some people including, both adults and children are more prone to constipation than others.

Fortunately there are a wide variety of way of preventing it occurring and home remedies for treatment, relief and prevention. Rarely it can be a sign of disease and if it occurs regularly and the natural prevention strategies and remedies do not work people should consult a Health Care Professional to seek proper diagnosis and treatment. This article reviews and summarizes the various natural remedies for constipation in adults and children.

Constipation is very common in women. Source: Public Domain

Causes of Constipation

The colon, or large intestine, withdraws water from the digested food in the intestine while it forms the waste products, or stool. Automatic muscle contractions in the large intestine and colon move the stool toward the rectum for expulsion. Constipation occurs when the stool is too hard and not moist enough. This can occur when the colon withdraws too much moisture from the digested food, or the material in the large intestine does not contain enough moisture or fibre, producing large and hard stools that a difficult to expel. Another cause is that the muscle contractions in the colon are too slow or sluggish. The passage of food through the gut can be slowed by lack of exercise or a sedentary lifestyle. Common causes of constipation are:

not enough fiber in the diet, or large meals with no fruit or vegetables
lack of regular physical activity such as walking, running and swimming
problems with irritable bowel syndrome
side effects of medications
milk and dairy products
changes in lifestyle routines or major changes such as pregnancy, travel, aging and holidays
passive dehydration or induced by dry foods in the diet
specific diseases or medical conditions
medical problems with intestinal functioning, particularly the colon and rectum

Adults

Drink lots of water with a little lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or honey
Try strained or whole prunes.
Dried fruits such as apricot and peach
Drink freshly squeezed lemon juice added to a glass of warm water with breakfast every morning.
Add a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of warm water.
Bananas are high in fibre and can help improve bowel function.
Honey is a renowned mild natural laxative. Take one teaspoon three times a day.
Liquorice (Licorice) is a very effective natural remedies for constipation.
Mix a tablespoon of olive oil with half cup of orange juice
Cabbage is a good source of dietary fibre which stimulates better bowel movements. You can eat raw cabbage sprinkled with pepper and a dash of lime juice. Or you can juice the cabbage ad drink half a cup.
Herbal Laxatives

Children

Give the child a warm glass of milk containing two tablespoons of castor oil
Warm milk with honey and olive oil
Citrus drinks about 2 to 3 times a day
Try to get your child to get into a regular bowel movement routine.
Boysenberry juice, fresh prunes and prune juice are excellent natural laxatives
Liquorice (Locorice)
Fresh grapes and dried grapes in the form of sultanas and raisins.
Dry fruits and vegetables are very helpful to your general digestion such as prunes, applies, pineapple, raisins, dried plums, sultanas and other.
Mix a tablespoon of olive oil with half cup of orange juice (or any other fiber rich fruit or juice) and drink.
Herbal Laxatives

Prevention Strategies for Constipation

Adults

Drink lots of water, they say to drink 8 glasses of water per day, and extra water when eating dry foods such as crackers, biscuits and potato crisps.
Reduce white flour and sugar from your meals and replace them with whole foods
Eat fruits and vegetables at every meal. If you eat a large serving of potatoes or fries in a large meal you may cause a bout of constipation. Always eat fruits and vegetables with such meals and drink lots of water or fruit juice.
Exercise is very important to keep food moving through your gut. How often have you noticed that exercising makes you want to go to he toilet during exercise or immediately after.
Olive oil can be very effective and try adding it to mots of your meals including soups, salads and your cooked food items such as baked potatoes.
Dry fruits and vegetables are very helpful to your general digestion such as prunes, applies, pineapple, raisins, dried plums, sultanas and other.
Drink freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices with meals and as snacks.
Eat lots of honey, by adding a teaspoon to drinks and to various foods, about 2 to 3 times a day
Wholegrain, fibre rich breakfast cereals such as All-Bran, Bran Flakes, Weetbix, Shredded Wheat and various muesli products, including homemade varieties.
Substitute Brown rice, wholemeal and rye breads, wholemeal spaghetti for the processed 'white' varieties of foods.
The bowels are most active following meals and by recognising the signals for a bowel movement you can avoid constipation liked to delays.
Drinking tea, coffee and other beverages containing caffeine in the morning can also be also be helpful. Caffeine is a mild laxative, but can also cause dehydration.
Eat raw cabbage with a dash of lime juice and some black pepper sprinkled. Or take1/2 cup of cabbage juice.
Grapes are a natural laxative, both fresh and dried and eating grapes can help produce in soft and easy bowel movements. Dried grapes in the form of raisins, sultanas and currants and fresh grapes have many health benefits.

Children

Make sure the child drinks plenty of water and fresh fruit juices.
Include more fruits and vegetables in every meal.
Wholegrain breakfast cereals and lots whole foods in the diet to replace processed foods.
Dry fruits are very helpful for general digestion and avoiding constipation such as prunes, apples, apricots, peaches, nectarines, pineapple, raisins, dried plums, sultanas and many other varieties.

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