Difficulties in emptying the intestine, a phenomenon known as constipation or constipation, It is usually an annoying, painful event that develops as a consequence of inadequate life habits, and can be easily avoided with the use of certain life practices and adequate nutrition, without resorting to chemical laxatives.
Let’s review in the first instance what are the best foods against constipation, some of the causes that can lead to its appearance and how the development of some good lifestyle habits can prevent it.
Contents
What are the best foods against constipation?
The spectrum of foods that favor the good digestive transit and light stool, especially beginning with a adequate level of hydration, no matter what else one ingests. Water is the fundamental element of consumption that guarantees fluidity in the stools, avoiding constipation. Next, we will mention a varied list of the best foods against constipation that should accompany the consumption of water:
- Insoluble dietary fiber (fresh and dried legumes, fresh unpeeled fruits – notably papaya, orange, apple and kiwi – raw green leafy vegetables, broccoli and cauliflower, cabbages, wild asparagus, whole grains).
- Probiotic ferments (yogurt, kefir, tofu, organic vinegar of fruit origin).
- Nuts (plums, grapes and figs, almonds).
- Coffee Y Green Tea (very diluted).
- Oils olive, linseed and coconut.
- Seeds with natural laxative mucilages (flaxseed, Psyllium and chia) or with sennosides stimulants (Cassia and Senna).
Life habits against constipation
In addition to ensuring the consumption of the best foods against constipation, good nutrition is not only the one that plays an important role in the digestive system health. There are also a number of practical o life hygiene habits that help prevent the appearance of constipation, or correct it if it has already appeared. They are between them:
- Walk and play sports. Above all, move. Even dancing contributes to increasing bowel movements that move the fecal bolus to the end of the colon.
- Pay attention to “the call”, that is, at the signal or compulsion that announces the need to empty the intestine.
- Avoid excessive use of laxatives and suppositories. Although its use can remedy specific events of minor constipation, the continued abuse of this type of coadjuvants in the long run has an adverse effect.
- Smoking and constipation. Although smoking is accompanied by a multitude of adverse factors also for digestive health, it is true that nicotine has a relaxing effect on the sphincters that helps to improve cases of non-severe constipation, so those who are just starting on the way to quitting tobacco use, they may be temporarily affected by episodes of constipation.
Main causes of constipation
The factors or causes that lead to chronic constipation are multiple, and although in the first instance they are fundamentally related to nutrition, this is not the only determining cause of extreme dryness and difficulty in bowel movements.
In some cases, certain medications – such as antihypertensives, antidepressants and anxiolytics – have among their spectrum of side effects the tendency to constipation. Also factors such as obesity, advanced age, pregnancy and suffering from certain diseases -such as digestive tract diseases, diabetes, hypothyroidism, neurological, psychiatric and oncological- tend to favor its appearance.
The consumption of the best foods against constipation alone does not guarantee the health of the digestive tract, so it is essential to also take the above factors into consideration and combine them with good hygiene habits that reinforce the effect of nutrition.