Constipation is a common and underestimated disease today. Wrong, because the consequence of frequent constipation is more and more often colon cancer. In most cases, we can easily get rid of problems with defecation.

Every third Pole suffers from constipation, but women suffer more often. What's worse, we are most often to blame for ourselves - we eat too fatty and plentifully, drink little water and avoid vegetables and fruits. It is much less common that the cause of constipation is a disease, e.g. hypothyroidism, abdominal diseases, diabetes or depression.

Sometimes constipation is caused by drugs: antibiotics, calcium supplements and those fighting heartburn. Paradoxically, overuse of laxatives can result in constipation.

Constipation - consequences

We must be aware that the longer the intestinal mucosa is in contact with toxins, the more of them are absorbed into the blood. As a result of long-term poisoning, we may feel bloating and gas, have problems with the skin, unpleasant smell from the mouth. We feel weighed down, weakened, tired, our head hurts. We lose immunity, the risk of many diseases increases, incl. allergies. Long and intense pressure on the stool leads to the formation of hemorrhoids (which can also cause constipation because they make defecation difficult). Over time, the wall of the overloaded intestine loses its elasticity, inflammation develops in its mucosa, which may result in erosions, and in the future - cancer.

Problem

We talk about constipation when you have a bowel movement less than every two days, and your stool is tight, dry, hard, and lumpy, and your bowel movement is painful, requires effort and requires a long time to sit on the toilet, or if you feel it is there incomplete.

Constipation - prevention

In most cases, you can get rid of the problem without the help of a doctor. All you need to do is change your lifestyle and diet.

  • Eat fruits and vegetables

The lack of dietary fiber, too caloric and difficult to digest, contributes to constipation. Choose wholemeal bread instead of white bread. Eat 500 g of vegetables (especially raw or short-cooked) and 200-300 g of fruit a day. Eat the skins. Enjoy legumes, thick groats, uncleaned rice. Try to eat half a plate of boiled beetroot or 10 prunes each day(pour boiling water over them overnight, drink water in the morning and eat the plums). Raisins, dates, figs, apples, sunflower seeds have a similar effect.

If you like sandwiches, add a slice of tomato, cucumber, a leaf of lettuce, a piece of paprika to each of them. At least one meal a day must be cooked. Exclude sweets, chocolate, white rice, pale bread and other white flour products, sugar, strong tea, fast food. Limit cow's milk and animal fats.

  • More drink

Fluids are necessary for the stool to form. The more we weigh, the more fluids our body needs. We should drink 2 liters a day (more in hot weather). It is best to drink a glass of boiled water (maybe with honey) or vegetable juice half an hour before a meal. Let's not forget about the herbs - linseed, psyllium seeds. And also about sour milk, yoghurt, kefir - sources of probiotics, i.e. beneficial bacteria.

You must do it

Use a diet rich in fiber - the norm is 25-40 g per day, but if you are constipated, you should have more. Fiber is a plant fiber that our body cannot digest. In the digestive tract, they swell like a sponge, stimulating the intestines to work. They also remove food debris from the intestines, absorb toxins, and normalize the level of glucose and insulin, and lower cholesterol.

  • Take your time

Those who eat anything in a hurry and disregarding themselves hurt themselves a lot. They swallow instead of bite. A straightforward path to constipation is also frequent repression of the natural physiological reflex to the rectal signal. It happens, for example, at work. It is worth leaving more time in the morning, because it is the time of increased activity of the large intestine and then a well-functioning organism demands a bowel movement. If this is neglected, the colon learns quickly: there is no need to press, because they do not let go and it stops sending signals to the brain. It comes to the so-called habitual constipation. Children are also their victims. They postpone going to the bathroom so as not to interrupt their play. You have to control it.

  • Exercise your belly

Muscles need to work to keep them fit. Not only the abdominal muscles are involved in defecation, but also the intestinal walls. Sedentary lifestyle makes them lazy, and strengthening them improves metabolism. To stimulate intestinal worming movements: in the morning, lying down with the index or middle finger, press the navel more and more for 1-1.5 minutes. Repeat this regularly for 2 weeks.

  • Crouch during a bowel movement
  • Apply acupressure

Apply gentle pressure to the point in the middle of the sole for one minute. Then massage the areain circular movements for 5-8 minutes. Perform the treatment on both feet.

You must do it

Drink milk drinks containing live lactic acid bacteria cultures, i.e. probiotics (e.g. from the genus Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum). They are found in some yoghurts, kefir, buttermilk, sour milk. They regulate the composition of the bacterial flora in the intestines, facilitate the migration of food, regulate bowel movements, and at the same time improve the body's immunity.

Category:

Gastrology