You may say you are constipated when you haven’t passed stool for more than 2-3 days. Constipation is a condition where your stool becomes hard staying for too long in the colon and making it difficult to pass. There are various reasons for constipation. Some of them includes: lack of exercise, dehydration, eating low fiber diet, consumption of large amount of dairy products and some medical conditions such as pregnancy, neurological disorders or irritable bowel syndrome.
Whatever be the cause, if the condition is not that severe, you can easily treat it at home. There are several natural remedies to make your stool soft. Below are 10 simple remedies that perform quite well to relieve your constipation.
1. Stay hydrated – drink more water
The dehydration mainly in your colon leads towards constipation. That is why it is highly required to drink adequate amount of water so that less water is withdrawn from the colon and your stool remains soft and easy to go.
2. Caffeinated coffee to increase urge
Coffee, especially the caffeinated one, stimulates your colon and increases the urge to rush towards bathroom. Some soluble fiber content in the coffee also helps to relieve constipation, however, you should keep drinking water as well.
3. Drink lemon water for constipation relief
The acidic property of lemon helps to flush out toxins from your body by stimulating your digestive system. This is a quick and easy home remedy to get rid of constipation. Simply drink a glass of lemon water or lemon tea everyday in the morning and see the result.
4. Ginger tea – best natural stool softener
If you want a quick relief from constipation, then you gotta try this one. As we all know, ginger is a “warming” herb, it generates more heat to our body that speeds up our digestion. Additionally, the hot water in ginger tea also helps to stimulate digestion. Hence, ginger tea is simply perfect for constipation relief.
5. Figs to fight against constipation
The dried fig is rich in fibers and fibers are one special ingredient to nourish and tone intestine. It also act as natural laxative to treat constipation. Consuming fig on daily basis will give stool the right consistency to pass easily.
6. Prunes to soften poop
Like figs, the fiber rich and laxative prunes (dried plums) are considered as natural stool softener to treat constipation. Consider consuming 5-6 prunes a day for easy passing of stool. You can also drink prune juice as an alternative.
7. Sesame seeds – an organic stool softener
Another great home remedy for softening stool is consuming sesame seeds. It is great because of its oily composition which helps to moisturize your intestine hence helping dry stool to pass through easily. You can consume sesame seeds by mixing it to the salad or cereals.
8. Exercise – natural remedy for constipation
Regular exercises, where it be a simple walk, jogging, running, dancing, stretching or swimming; all of these help to relieve constipation by helping to move food fast through the bowel. Thus, the amount of water that your body absorbs from colon decreases helping to create soft stool easy to pass.
Tips: After eating a heavy meal, try to move around instead of sitting or sleeping. This will help to make your digestive tract healthy and constipation free.
9. Try abdominal massage
Abdominal massage is another effective home remedy for constipation treatment. The massage will help to increase the bowel muscle contraction that helps to pass stool through the intestines easily and quickly.
One of the simplest way to do the massage is as follows:
- Lay down on a flat surface with tummy facing above
- Place your palm on abdomen
- Start making small circular (clockwise) motion around your belly button
- Slowly spread the circles around your entire abdomen.
You can even browse several video tutorials on youtube for the abdominal massage technique.
10. When you have an urge to go, just go!
Hard stools are the result of stool being in the colon for too much amount of time. In many cases, people have a tendency to hold going to the bathroom when they are not in their comfort zone. The frequent withholding of stool results to dry it out making it hard to pass. So, whenever your body is signalling you with the bowel movement, do not ignore it. Simply throw it off when you have the urge.
So, if you are constipated, simply apply these healthy remedies and let pass the stool easily and normally in its own time. Remember not to withhold your bowel movements and stay hydrated with lots of fiber intake. However, if the condition is worse, we suggest you to consult with your doctor.
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