HOW TO HANDLE CONSTIPATION?

How to handle constipation?

Constipation and smooth poo – get discussed only in your home with family so freely, it did in my home (Or maybe it’s just Punjabis). It was a part of my growing up as I was a victim of this disorder in my childhood. Of course, the only thing that cured me was a good diet, but I find a lot of my clients neglect signs and symptoms. Here are symptoms you need to watch out for: 

1. If you are putting too much stress when eliminating.
2. You bleed when you wipe yourself.
3. You have pebble poo, or poo that’s not well-formed (i.e., S-shaped like a banana).
4. You don’t go first thing in the morning, no signal to go.
5. You find that it does not release soon, but takes time.
6. You don’t feel properly evacuated. 

No amount of laxatives, will reverse your problem, and you need to work with it through your diet only. Here’s what you can do on a food-front: 

1. Eat a lot of fiber, via whole grains, vegetables, legumes/beans, fruit; this will ensure bulk for stools and your stool will have a softer texture, making it easier to pass. Also, nothing like fiber for the good gut bugs to get fed and multiply (insoluble fiber from primarily found in whole grains like brown rice and millets has been known to impact bowel movements positively).
2. Make sure that you drink enough water, as dehydration will make you constipated.
3. Maintain regularity, in meal timings. Keep the same regularity with sleep.
4. Add some probiotic food at meal time: pressed salad, sauerkraut, kimchi; these foods will help the good bacteria to flourish aiding digestion and assimilation.
5. Adding prebiotic food to feed the gut bacteria also helps these are: garlic, onions, and bananas.
6. Eliminate dairy, sugar, white refined flour (all breads). 

Home remedies you could include: 

1. You could include black seed oil at bedtime 1 tsp, this is known to help ease bowel movements.
2. Senna leaves are a herbal laxative, it is known to stimulate the nerves in your gut and speed up the elimination process.
3. Sometimes aiding the bowels with psyllium husk does help.
4. Taking magnesium citrate relaxes the bowels and promotes bowel movements.
5. Adding prunes to the diet also helps, they have a natural laxative called sorbitol.
6. Exercise and add viparita karani t(yoga pose) that is legs up the wall pose before you poop (stimulates the colon). 

Happy pooping!