If you have been having three or less than three bowel movements for more than a month, you might be suffering from chronic constipation. It is a serious medical condition and can have some serious impacts on your physical health.
The gut plays an integral role in determining your overall health and physical well-being. Hence, you won’t be able to function well if your digestive system is not functioning properly. Given that, it becomes increasingly important for you to take the needed measures for eliminating the risk of chronic constipation.
Here are a few tips you can follow to make your digestive system work normally.
1. Drink A Good Amount of Water
Increasing your daily water intake is one of the best ways to get constipation relief. You should drink at least eight glasses of water every day. Water helps in breaking down the food you eat. This further helps your body extract useful nutrients, which are then easily absorbed by the different body systems. Moreover, water also softens stool; hence, lesser risk of constipation.
2. Consume Food That’ll Help You Get Going
The first meal of the day is very important as it gets your gut going. Hence, you must be watchful of the food you consume right after waking up. If you’re dealing with chronic constipation, the things you should include in your breakfast are pears, peaches, prunes, papaya, and kiwi.
You can take some prunes and soak them overnight in water. This would provide you with a decent amount of fiber. Fiber helps soften the stool; hence, you must incorporate at least 30 grams of fiber into your diet. The best practice would be going for whole grains and vegetables.
Moreover, if that doesn’t help, you can ask a stomach doctor to prescribe you a fiber supplement.
3. Set A Bathroom Time
If you’re working or running an errand, you can ignore an urge to go to the loo. But if you ignore the urge, you’d no longer feel the urge after a few minutes. If you do this continuously, your colon will consequently stop sending signals about having a bowel movement, further resulting in chronic constipation.
You can set up a 10–15-minute window for sitting on the toilet seat and fit it into your schedule. Try sticking to one time every day. Also, you must not expect your bowel to move initially. It’ll approximately take two weeks or so for your body to get used to this timing.
4. Try to Relax
If you feel the urge to have a bowel movement while being away from home, don’t get stressed out. Relax your body by listening to music or reading a book. Notably, relaxing your body will enable it to take action faster.
Moreover, if you keep straining to push out the stool, constipation can further lead to anal fissures or hemorrhoids.
5. Be Active
Having an active lifestyle is another effective way to prevent chronic constipation. By being active you can increase your gut’s activity, which makes your digestive system function well.
