I was enjoying my early morning walk meditatively and peacefully on the fresh green grass in my small beautiful garden. Suddenly, something I noticed in the morning routine and it disturbed my peace and force me to write. I believe most of us face these words “Hey, how much more time would you take inside? Did you sleep inside somewhere…?” These words are definitely heard every day in the morning in many homes. Many people take a lot of time using toilet in the morning. Have you ever thought about it?
Taking more time to empty your stomach in the toilet is not a sign of good health. Or in simple words it can be called a complaint of constipation. Generally, a person is considered constipated when he or she face difficulty to pass their stool and have to struggle a lot while emptying stomach in the morning. In total, about 17 percent of the population experience constipation symptoms. Constipation is an uncomfortable situation in itself, but it is not life threatening. However, it can become very serious if it is not treated early. Before it becomes very dangerous, it can be cured at home with some easy and simple home remedies.
Symptoms of Constipation:
- Your stools are small, dry and hard.
- Few bowel movements
- Your bowel movements are painful, and your stools are difficult to pass.
- You have a feeling that you haven’t fully emptied your bowels.
- Belly bloating
- you have severe pain, or sometime blood in your stool
Causes of Constipation:
The causes of constipation depend mostly on our daily life style. It can be easily cured by some home remedies, but still it is very important to know its causes before taking remedies. Well, to some extent, this can be controlled in the beginning by making some changes in your lifestyle or daily diet.
First of all, it would not be wrong at all to say that consumption of too much processed foods and low fibre foods are the main causes of constipation. The second big reason is to drink less water daily. Apart from this, other causes might be mental stress, change in routine, eating mostly outside fast food etc.
Some causes of constipation include:
- Not enough water or fiber in your diet
- Eating a lot of dairy products and too much fast food.
- Physical inactivity (Not move your body too much)
- Stress
- Some medications (especially strong pain, antidepressant, and iron pills)
- Eating disorders
- Pregnancy
- Problems with the nerves and muscles in your digestive system
- An underactive thyroid (called hypothyroidism)
Although, whatever be the cause of any disease. There is much possibility to cure it by changing your daily habits, doing some light body movements and exercises and not taking too much stress. Secondly, the most important thing is to always keep yourself happy and to have a positive thinking, no matter what the situation is.
Home remedies:
Although constipation is not a serious disease but persistent constipation has a negative impact not only on quality of life but also on physical and mental health.
Regardless of strong allopathic medicine, there are many home and natural remedies which can help in getting rid of even the worst constipation. The interesting thing is that all these remedies are so easy and affordable that people can easily make them at home. Mostly are supported by Ayurveda –
Some of them are as follows:
Drink plenty of water
As it is scientifically proven that around 60% of human body is made up of water. So, presence of right amount of water is very important in a human body. Water deficiency can cause a lot of problems in the body and constipation is the biggest one. To prevent this, it is important to drink enough water and stay hydrated (approximately 8-10 glasses daily)
A person suffering from constipation should drink 2 glasses of lukewarm water every morning on an empty stomach. Drinking enough lukewarm water on an empty stomach softens the stool accumulated in the veins and makes it easier to pass out.
Eat more plant based fiber
A diet that contains adequate amounts of good fiber keeps the digestive system extremely healthy. it is very important that the fiber to be plant based. Fiber increases the volume of your stool and pushes it out of the intestine quickly. Due to which the stomach and nerves become completely clean, and the person feels a lot of relief.
Fruits, salads, oats and pulses such as beans and lentils are the good examples of plants based fiber. So, include a good amount of all these in your daily diet can help you a lot.
Psyllium husk is a natural polymer and rich in fiber and mucilage. It is also used as a medicinal supplement. Dissolving 2-3 spoons of psyllium husk in a glass of water and eating it before sleeping at night is very beneficial in constipation. You can also take it with a bowl of curd, buttermilk or milk. You can use sugar or salt to increase its taste.
Eat prebiotic food
Probiotic foods have proven to be very beneficial in relieving chronic constipation. These are live, beneficial bacteria that are naturally found in the gut. Their number can be increased further by eating prebiotic food. these are found in abundance in many dairy products, yogurt and kefir (a type of fermented milk) are good examples of them.
Apart from these, sauerkraut and kimchi, garlic, onions, bananas, leeks are also good examples of probiotic foods. They could also help treat constipation by producing short-chain fatty acids. All this improves the bowel movements and makes passing stool much easier. So, you should try to include these foods in your diet daily.
Guava
Guava is a fruit that probably everyone likes and it is easily available in almost every season. This fruit has many potential health benefits, and many good nutritional elements are found in it. It acts as a laxative, which helps in convenient passing of stool. Eating fresh guava fruit by cutting it and applying some black salt on it provides great relief in constipation.
Remember that one should not consume water or any liquid for one hour after eating guava.
Herbal Tea
Herbal tea is a very good and cheap way to detox the body. It is very easy and simple to cure minor physical and mental diseases with herbs and some spices present in the kitchen. To cure constipation, boil 2-3 spoons of fennel seeds and one bay leaf thoroughly in 2 cups of water and when only one cup of water is left, sip it and drink it while sitting cross-legged. It cleans the stomach thoroughly and pushes out all the dirt stuck in the intestines. Take this herbal tea after eating and before sleeping at night. It is best to take it 2-3 times a day.
Besides, it is also beneficial to chew one spoonful of fennel after meals.
Some more Small tips to cure constipation:
- Chewing one spoon roasted flaxseeds is very beneficial in constipation.
- Consumption of dates and figs greatly strengthens our digestive system and their consumption provides relief from constipation. Its continuous consumption also prevents constipation in future.
- Betel leaves also have many properties like strengthening the digestive system and helping in digesting food. So, eating 2-3 betel leaves daily is very beneficial.
- Bottle gourd vegetable also gives great benefits for the stomach. Consumption of bottle gourd and its leaves reduces intestinal inflammation and helps in keeping the stomach clean.
- Raisins are a dry fruit rich in fiber and moisture. Soak 8-9 bunches of raisins in water overnight and consume this water in the morning on an empty stomach and chew the soaked raisins. It softens the stool stuck in the intestines and increases the quantity of stool and it comes out easily from the intestines.
- In addition, body movement should be increased daily. Or you can think of it as including light exercise, walking or some basic yoga steps in your daily life. Yes, it controls our blood flow and increases digestive power.
To sum up, constipation is not such a big disease that cannot be cured and it is not so small that it can be ignored. Many teenagers feel shy to talk about it and it becomes so severe that it gives rise to piles like tumors. So, talk openly about this to your elders and control the problem with some light home remedies. Only those who have gone through this pain can know the pleasure of cleaning the stomach in one go in the morning. So, in short just change your lifestyle a little, do light exercises, eat good and fresh and be happy and lead a free life.