Safe and Effective Home Remedies for Constipation

Home remedies for constipation are a good option whether your problem is a long standing one or not. They are natural, safe and very effective with no side effects. Consider them first before going to a pharmacist.

Before you use any remedy from any system of medicine, it is always better to know three important things so that you know what you got and what you are getting into:

1. What is constipation?
2. Constipation symptoms
3. Causes of constipation

In any system of medicine, the principle of all constipation remedies is the same – add bulk to the stool, make it soft, facilitate easy movement in the colon and make the evacuation strain-less.

Knowing that chemically produced constipation remedies not only have many side effects, some times very serious, they are also expensive, many prefer home remedies for constipation.

 
Constipation home remedies

Home remedies are natural laxatives and mainly consist of certain fruits, vegetables and other naturally available stuff. On the other hand, all home remedies won’t work for everyone. You need to try different stuff to find out which one works for you.

We get into health problems because of our wrong eating and living habits. For any constipation home remedy to give the expected results, you need to make a few changes to your diet and life style. This becomes the foundation for the remedies to work properly.

The number one change is - avoid certain foods that are low in fiber, foods that cause dehydration and certain items that cause irritation to the digestive system.

Foods to be avoided:

• Foods fried with or deep fried in oil, ghee etc….
• Foods made out of polished grains like white rice, white flour etc…
• Reduce oil, salt and refined sugar. When you include plenty of vegetables, greens and fruits in your daily diet, you get more than the required amount of sodium. No need of adding extra salt. Use honey and date fruits in place of sugar.
• Foods containing processed white sugar.
• Packaged fruit juices, soft drinks
• Ice cream, chocolates
• Bakery items like cakes, biscuits, pizzas, burgers etc…
• Non-veg food. Non-veg has zero fiber. Reduce the quantity if you can’t stop completely.
• Junk foods
• Coffee, tea (at least reduce intake)
• Alcohol including beer - extremely dehydrating.
• Smoking, chewing tobacco products

 It’s a long list. If you are thinking - there is nothing left to eat!, well…there are quite a few. The fact is, you can’t buy health in a pharmacy store or get it in a hospital. It’s in your hands, depends on –

• What you eat and what you don’t.
• What you do and what you don’t.
• What you think and what you don’t.

Foods to be included:

Include the following foods for the home remedies for constipation to work well:

• 250 to 300ml of mixed vegetable juice in the morning. Vegetables you can use: Tomato, carrot, beetroot, radish, snake gourd, bottle gourd and ridge gourd. Use 3 or 4 types at a time. Use only limited quantity of radish or beet root. Mix lemon juice and honey to the vegetable juice and drink slowly.
  
  
• Drink 1 to 1.25Lt of water early in the morning for good bowel movement.
  
  
• Drink up to 5 liters of water a day depending on your age. It is important to know  when and how to drink water, and when you shouldn’t drink.
  
  
• Include plenty of vegetables, greens and fruits in your diet.
  
  
• Use unpolished grains like brown rice and unrefined flours for your preparations.
  
  
• Sprouts and dry fruits.
  
  
• Honey and date fruits in place of refined sugar.

Once you initiated these changes, you have prepared a proper base for the home remedies for constipation. Here is a list of natural constipation remedies you can try at home.