Natural Remedies For Constipation

Constipation occurs when the contents of the bowels become hard and bowel movements are infrequent. If you eat plenty of fiber, drink lots of fluids, and get enough exercise, you shouldn’t have much trouble with irregularity, according to Dr. Earl Mindell, author of the book, “Secrets of Natural Health.”

The real secret to ending constipation is fiber, says Dr. Mindell. Adding more bulk to your stools can give watery stools more firmness. You can also try psyllium powder. It’s made from a fibrous plant that can help give your stools more bulk. Another remedy is to drink 8 to 14 glasses of clean water every day. If you don’t drink enough water, your body won’t have any to spare when it comes to making stools, and the stools will be hard and dry. This is painful and can cause bleeding and hemorrhoids.

It’s also important to have a bowel movement when you have the urge to have one. Chronically holding back bowel movements can cause constipation. However, if you do all these things, and constipation is still a problem, here’s an exercise from the book “The Self-Health Handbook…” by Dr. Kenneth Dachman and Joen Pritchard. It’s called the abdominal contraction and it works best when done before breakfast.

* Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your knees bent in a quarter squat.

* Put your palms on the top of your thighs with your fingers pointing toward the inside of the thighs.

* Let your upper body be supported by your arms.

* Exhale strongly through your mouth. Try to get all the air out of your lungs.

* Without breathing in, pull inward and upward with your abdomen. (This motion will create a cavity under your ribs, but unless you’re slim, you may not be able to see it.

* Hold the upward pull briefly, and then pop your abdomen out vigorously.

* Pull up and pop out four more times before taking a breath.

* Stand up straight and inhale. Breathe normally for a minute or two, and then return to the position and repeat the set of five pull-in, pop-out movements.