Make no bones about it. If you have never been constipated before, chances are good you will be eventually. Constipation affects almost everyone at least once in their lifetime. But what causes constipation and how can you prevent it from happening to you? In this article, I am plan on investigating this question and hopefully, before it is over, you will have a clearer understanding on the causes of constipation and how to treat and prevent it.
The Cause of Constipation is most likely your diet
While there are other reasons why you may be constipated, the most likely cause is going to be in what you eat. What we put in our body directly affects what goes out and considering the fact that most modern diets consists of junk and processed food, it makes sense that we would have issues.
Outside of disease and disorders, a lack of fiber coupled with a lack of water is the number cause of constipation. And given the fact that most people no longer work jobs that are physical and exercise consists of walking from our couch to the refrigerator, it is no wonder that we are a constipated nation.
Lack of fiber and constipation
The RDA for fiber is roughly 35 grams a day. The average American gets roughly half of that. The reason is that we no longer eat what's considered healthy and those of us who do, don't eat near enough. Fiber comes in two varieties and both are equally important when it comes to promoting a healthy digestive system and preventing constipation.
Insoluble Fiber- Insoluble fiber is the type of fiber that is ingestible. It add bulk to our stools making it easier for our intestinal walls to contract and push the waste out of our bodies. Insoluble fiber can be found on the skins of vegetables and fruits as well as some nuts and seeds.
Soluble Fiber- Soluble fiber is a natural stool softener and makes it so our waste can pass quicker through our digestive system. A couple good examples of vegetables high in soluble fiber include brocolli, brussell sprouts and carrots.
When it doubt about what is healthy and has fiber, simply think this- All vegetables have some fiber in them and will help to prevent constipation.
Water Helps Prevent Constipation
Some experts believe that water or the lack thereof is the #1 reason for constipation. If you are constipated, then it stands a good chance that the root of your problem is because you aren't drinking enough water. So, how much water should you be drinking? A good number to go by is to take your body weight, divide it in half and aim to drink that amount in ounces a day. Start your day off right with 16 ounces of water.
Exercise will help prevent constipation
Another thing that will work well in not only treating constipation but preventing it as well is to simply exercise daily. You don't have to break your back with exercise though. You only need to exercise enough to get the blood flowing throughout your body. A leisurely 30 minute walk will be enough to do this.
That is it. The most natural way to help treat and prevent constipation. There are other reasons for constipation as well as other ways to help cure the problem including some pretty good constipation home remedies.
If you are looking for some other solutions for constipation, you can check out my article, constipation help. This article includes some of the other rarer disorders associated with this common problem as well as some other alternatives for treating the problem.