Tag: Fibre

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Food & Body

List Of Foods That Help Prevent And Relieve Constipation

vegetables all

Earlier, I talked about the types of food that can cause constipation when coupled with some other unhealthy behaviors. If you have not read that post, it is still available via the link provided above. While writing that post, I anticipated that many would want to know how to quickly get through the episode of constipation in case they ever find themselves in one, so I added a text at the end of the article telling you I would write about it soon. Here it comes.

When we have constipation, there are foods that we can eat to help relieve the indigestion and there are foods we should totally avoid during that period. We are talking about the food to include in your diet to help you through constipation. Also, if you add these foods to your diet, you won’t even be worrying about reading this ever again because constipation would stay away from you.

Common Foods That Will Help You Relieve Constipation

If you are going through and episode of constipation, you would want to just leave it as an episode; you wouldn’t want it to become a series — episode after episode. When you have constipation, the best thing you can do is to drink water, exercise well and eat the listed foods as much as recommended. What you would basically be doing when you add these foods to your diet is increasing your fiber intake. The average adult needs between 25 and 38 grams of fiber a day to avoid constipation – this value is far less than most of us typically eat everyday.

1. Vegetables helps you with constipation

This is definitely top on my list. Vegetables are known to be very rich in fiber and that is why we have continued to talk about it more and more in articles here. We know the importance of vegetables (both cooked and eaten raw); this is why we have written an article to guide you on how to maximize the nutrients in them and another to guide you on how to cook vegetables such as spinach such that they do not lose all their nutritional values.

vegetables all

If you have constipation and are going to add fiber to your diet, you may want to do it gradually so that you don’t develop abdominal bloating and cramping. You don’t want to suddenly go from eating 10 grams of fiber to 25 in a day, increase the intake little by little.

Examples include Brussels sprouts, carrots, spinach and asparagus.

Click on 2, 3, 4 below to go to page 2, 3 and 4 of this article respectively…

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Food & Body Food & Nutrition

Foods That Cause Constipation: Top Foods To Avoid

Photo: damianmotlo.com

This could sound unbelievable but I have never had constipation more than once in my life. At least since I could tell my left hand from the right — it could have had it before then. Even though I have had it only once in my life, I know the pain that comes with constipation and some that may linger on for the rest of your life. For me, when I see or smell all the food I ate the day I had constipation, I feel like throwing up. That nauseating feeling just comes.

This is one of the reasons I don’t eat cracker biscuits and ojojo (fried balls made from grated yam) till today. Whenever I see them, the memory of that day just comes to my mind. I saw it yesterday and I though about writing this article.

constipation
Photo: damianmotlo.com

What Causes Constipation?

The common causes of constipation include a low fiber diet, not drinking enough water, or a lack of exercise. According to a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and dietitian at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Kristi King, RD, “Constipation is not usually caused by one or more foods on [its] own.” “It’s usually a combination of things.”

We have mentioned those other factors that could contribute to constipation, so, the rest of this post will only talk about food that contribute to constipation. Let’s go.

So What Foods Cause Constipation?

Basically, foods that are low in fibre content can contribute to the development of constipation. Fibre helps us digest our foods easily — one of the reasons vegetables are always emphasized in our diet. They are very rich in fibre.

When you indulge in unhealthy activities like not drinking enough water and not exercising too much, you cannot couple them with eating too much of these kind of foods (low fibre). Dairy products like cheese and milk can help develop constipation because of the high-fat and low-fibre content of many of these products.

Any cereal that is less than 1 g of fibre per serving, e.g. some cornflakes, puffed wheat, Rice Krispies could have really low fibre content. Making milk and accomplice could even make the matter worse. Other foods include white rice, plain white pasta, noodles and macaroni.

Please be informed again that these foods don’t cause constipation on their own — the other factors mentioned above coupled with these foods usually cause constipation. If you are not exercising well enough and still eat high fibre foods such as fruits and vegetables (such as spinach cooked the right way), constipation should not come near you.

NEXT: Foods That Can Help You Relieve Constipation Fast