Who is an expert in constipation? A doctor, a nurse, a scientist, a nutritionist or someone who has spent a lifetime challenged with it. I fall into the last category. I have researched constipation, its cause and possible solutions for years; I have battled constipation until now.
My challenge has been arduous, expensive, embarrassing, frustrating, depressing and painful.
My earliest memories to well into my forties were filled with uncertainty and daily discomfort. My day's events were always influenced by the distress of constipation. Something as simple as choosing my wardrobe for the day was influenced by how I thought my body would feel as if I suspected "today" was going to be one of "those" days, I could wear nothing fitted. I tried over-the-counter laxatives, stool softeners, "just add water" gooey drinks, prescription strength remedies and suppositories. No long term relief. Zero.
For some inexplicable and mysterious reason my body would not process food more frequently than about once a week sometimes longer. That familiar yet infrequent sensation of wanting to "poop" would come but relief quickly turned to anxiety as I knew there would be pain; pain from passing waste that was now impacted inside my body. What really became unsettling and disturbing was thinking about the toxins and rotting food now filling my intestines and colon.
Over the years advice from family, friends, doctors and pharmacists was: "Eat fibre. Drink water". I did. For thirty-five years, I ate bran cookies, bran cereal, bran muffins, bran everything, I even put bran on my ice cream. No relief.
In my thirties, a doctor diagnosed me with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS. While I felt temporary elation that my symptom had a label, my jubilation was short-lived as research revealed IBS to be a mysterious "condition" with varying symptoms relating to the stomach, intestines or colon.
Was my problem a food allergy? A structural intestinal problem? A spastic colon? Or something else?
Years of doctors' visits, innumerable diagnostic tests and thousands of dollars spent on "over-the-counter" remedies and pharmaceuticals was now reduced to an acronym and two words: IBS, fibre and water. It was as good a place as any to begin my own research to find my cure.
Research I did.
With formality and technical terms aside let me share with you what I learned.
Constipation is a symptom, not a disease or a condition. Constipation feels like your body is bloated, you feel like your bowel is full but you feel unable to poop.
To better understand the "mechanics" of constipation you need to know the basics of what happens to food when you eat it. Swallowed food makes its way into and through the stomach then into and through the intestines and arrives in the colon. Food, now "waste", sits in the colon in a gelatinous and bulky form; gelatinous because of soluble fibre and bulky because of insoluble fibre. The colon now performs two functions: it draws moisture out of the waste and the colon muscles contract to push the waste through to the rectum on its way to elimination.
Constipation occurs when the waste spends too much time in the colon. As the waste sits in the colon, the colon continues to draw out moisture and if the colon muscles are slow to contract, the waste continues to sit becoming drier and drier. When the colon muscles finally "kick in" passing dry waste is often painful.
While constipation for some can be mysterious like it was for me, there are some generalities that lend to constipation: immobility; surgery; medication; dehydration; maladies within the intestines, colon or rectum; travel; resisting the urge to poop; conditions or disease; and DIET.
Immobility due to surgery or accidents or simple lack of exercise, experts say, can all be precursors to constipation. Walking stimulates the abdominal muscles and gastrointestinal tract which can assist in relieving constipation.
Narcotics, some antacids, blood pressure medication, iron supplements, diuretics, antidepressants and many other medications are known to cause constipation.
The abuse of laxatives is also shown to cause constipation due to its inherent habit-forming nature; the body becomes dependent on the laxatives to perform. Did you know that "over-the-counter" laxatives are the biggest self-treatment aid purchased in the United States to the tune of $725 million a year?
Some conditions and diseases including metabolic diseases like diabetes; neurologic diseases like Multiple Sclerosis or systemic diseases like Lupus can lead to constipation.
DIET. The understated, misunderstood and highly overlooked contributor to constipation: What you eat?
It is too easy to say, "Eat fibre and drink water". It is critical to understand what fibre really is, the role it plays in your body and the equally important consideration of the balance of your diet.
Fibre comes from plants. Fibre is either soluble or insoluble. Understanding the difference, for me, was the solution for my constipation.
Soluble fibre is found in beans, oats, some fruits and vegetables, some rooted vegetables and in psyllium. Soluble fibre absorbs water as it travels through your body becoming "goopy" and gelatinous.
Insoluble fibre is found in wheat, nuts, seeds, some vegetables and some fruits. Insoluble fibre absorbs water and "swells" in your colon and makes for bulky stools.
You NEED both.
You must also understand that diets comprised of fats, cheese, eggs, processed or refined foods and meat do not lend well to healthy digestion and pooping; these food items contain virtually no fibre and gives your body no assistance in passing waste.
What Can You Do?
Eat a combination of soluble and insoluble fibre.
"Label read" to meet the suggested intake of 20 to 35 grams of fibre daily. Remember nearly all refined and processed food is stripped of natural fibre.
Drink as much water as you can remember to drink. Understanding that fibre needs moisture for it to work is essential to stave off constipation.
If you are prone to constipation, limit foods that have little or no fiber, such as dairy, cheese, meat, and processed foods.
Eat a well-balanced, high-fiber diet that includes beans, bran, whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables.
Exercise.
Do not ignore the urge to have a bowel movement.
Create a ritual or a routine in the mornings. Consume a warm cup of tea or warm water with lemon, eat a fibrey breakfast and set aside time that is undisturbed to allow your body to respond.
Whenever a significant or prolonged change in bowel habits occurs, check with a doctor.
My quest to find a prepared food item that met my soluble and insoluble fibre standards failed. Instead I tested my own variations of fibre, fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts and came up with a muffin, I call a SmartBar, that cured me of my constipation. My personal success over constipation has been the platform for my dedication to assisting others who are equally challenged. There is hope!
Here is to "fibre" both soluble and insoluble!
Constipation Jacquie MacDonald jmm@jacquiessmartfoods.com http://www.jacquiessmartfoods.com
Jacquie's Smart Foods is dedicated to creating quality, great tasting fibre-filled foods that are preservative-, dairy-, egg-, wheat-, and sugar-free for the diabetic, athlete, vegan, those with food allergies, anyone interested in a healthy gastrointestinal tract and YOU.
Jacquie MacDonald
Jacquie's Smart Foods is dedicated to creating foods that are preservative-, dairy-, egg-, wheat-, and sugar-free for the diabetic, athlete, vegan, and those with allergies to wheat, dairy and egg and anyone interested in a health.