Natural Stool Softener / Hard Stool / Please Help?!


Question: Natural Stool Softener / Hard Stool / Please Help.?
Hello,

I'm a 21 year old male and I am suffering from constipation for about the past 2 or 3 days. Currently my digestive system is almost forcing me to go but I have a feeling that my stool is hard and maybe still a little dry even though I've had plenty of water today. Please let me know what I can do here at home to ease this for myself.

Thanks, in advance, for your help and advice. Health Question & Answer


Answers:
Constipation results when food moves too slowly through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. About 80 percent of people suffer from constipation at some time during their lives. Brief periods of constipation are normal. Constipation is usually diagnosed when bowel movements occur fewer than three times per week on an ongoing basis. Other signs of constipation occur when the stool is hard, dry or there is excessive straining. Sometimes the patient does not feel complete after a bowel movement.

There is widespread belief that everyone should have a bowel movement at least once each day. There is no "right" number of bowel movements. Each person's body finds its own normal number of bowel movements. It depends on the food you eat, how much you exercise and past history. This kind of thinking has led to the overuse and abuse of laxatives.

Constipation can arise from lack of enough fiber and water, inadequate exercise, advanced age, muscle disorders and poor diet. Pre-menstrual and pregnant women can suffer from constipation also but, the most common cause is usually dietary. However, constipation can be a component of irritable bowel syndrome or can result from a wide range of causes, such as a drug side effect or physical immobility.

Transit Time is the amount of time it takes for a meal to go from the mouth to the rectum. A healthy transit time is less than 24 hours. Constipation is the result of poor digestive and bowel habits, which slow down the transit time, allowing waste materials to sit longer in the intestines.

Remedy:

Water and other liquids such as fruit and vegetable juices and clear soups are essential in any healing process. Liquid helps keep the stool soft and easy to pass, so it's important to drink enough fluids. Distilled water is the best. 6-8 eight ounces glasses per day. Try not to drink liquids that contain caffeine or alcohol. Although a little caffeine works well as a diuretic, excess caffeine, dependency on caffeine for a bowel movement, as well as alcohol tend to dry out your digestive system.

Prunes are one of the best natural remedies for constipation! A simple handful of prunes will make all the difference.

Apples contain naturally-occurring chemical compounds known as phytochemicals, polyphenols, or flavonoids, some of which have been proven to have antioxidant activity that inhibits, or scavenges, the activity of free radicals in the body.

A diet combined with both insoluble fiber (fiber that doesn't dissolve in water) will keep most people regular. You get fiber from eating lots of vegetables, wheat bran, whole-grain breads and cereals and fruit.

Foods high in fiber are fruits such as apples peaches, raspberries and tangerines. Vegetables such as acorn squash, raw broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, black-eyed peas, cooked zucchini, kidney beans and lima beans. also cooked whole-grain cereal, cold (All-Bran, Total, Bran Flakes), whole-grain cereal, hot (oatmeal, Wheatena) and whole-wheat or 7-grain bread.

Fiber (water-soluble), psyllium, seed husks, or oat bran are suggested. Take 1 to 2 teaspoons of fiber supplement at night before bed.

Magnesium: The supplement magnesium has been found to aid in the management of symptoms. Taking 200-300 mg of magnesium 2 to 3 times daily has been shown to help.

Psyllium Husks: A natural plant source of dietary fiber essential for the proper functioning of the digestive system. Fiber significantly lowers total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels.

What you don

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