Causes of constipation and dietary and exercise therapies: Restoring normal bowel movements
constipate
How to become a normal person
In the United States, constipation is one of the most common, embarrassing, and painful ailments. If you could develop a miracle cure for constipation and put it on the market, you could become an overnight millionaire or even a billionaire.
However, this much-anticipated remedy has yet to be developed. Perhaps, as many experts have pointed out, the miracle cure for constipation currently available is not some magic drug, but rather the three-step preventative approach they strongly advocate: eating plenty of fiber, drinking plenty of water, and exercising regularly.
Experts say that if your daily life and eating habits align with the above three-step approach, you can avoid constipation. Dr. Robert Sendler, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, predicts that if all Americans followed these three steps, approximately 95% of constipation sufferers could be spared the ailment. Dr. Sendler says that even those who have to seek professional medical help for chronic constipation can significantly alleviate their condition by consistently following these three steps.
We're talking about one of the most common digestive problems in Americans, and constipation is a disease that affects everyone, regardless of social status. Currently, at least 4.5 million Americans suffer from constipation, and 7% of American men admit to having habitual constipation.
However, you seem to never hear of anyone-especially those in positions of power-conducting large-scale research into preventing constipation. Dr. Sendler says, "The problem with constipation is that it's not something you can talk about like cancer. People with constipation are always embarrassed to talk about their condition, and doctors are reluctant to invest too much effort because treating it doesn't sound very respectable."
"Our understanding of constipation is far from complete," added Edward Feldman, MD, professor of medicine at the California College of Medicine. "While our research has deepened considerably over the past five years, the fundamental characteristics of constipation remain largely the same, and the causes and symptoms are highly diverse."
Are you constipated?
Men may occasionally experience difficulty defecating, but this does not necessarily mean that you have constipation.
Doctors believe that the main medical basis for determining whether you have constipation is to observe whether your bowel habits have suddenly changed and whether this change has lasted for a long time.
"If your bowel movement patterns change, you should find the cause as soon as possible. If the change persists for a long time and you are unable to return to your old habits, then you must see a doctor promptly," says Timothy Koch, MD, professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Regarding bowel movements, the most common interpretation of "regular" is having a bowel movement at least three times a week. However, bowel movements vary from person to person, and your personal regularity may differ from what your neighbors say or what health television programs suggest. Therefore, if your excretory system is generally healthy and your recent bowel movements have been relatively regular, there is no need to worry even if you occasionally experience difficulty defecating.
However, constipation should be taken very seriously in the following two situations: First, when bowel movements are extremely slow, affecting your daily diet; second, when stools are extremely dry, causing severe pain during defecation.
How to relieve constipation
For most men, following these tips can help them avoid constipation.
Adding fiber to your diet: You might think men should mainly eat meat, but in fact, to avoid constipation, you should regularly add fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, soybeans, and grains to your daily diet.
Lately, it seems everyone is urging you to eat more fiber, and there's some truth to that. A study in the early 1970s on Africans whose staple diet was high in fiber found that their bowel movements were much faster than those of Europeans and Americans whose diets consisted mainly of meat, and they had a much lower incidence of constipation. While a lack of fiber doesn't necessarily cause constipation, the theory that eating more fiber can prevent it is undeniable. This is because the human digestive system generally cannot digest most fiber. Therefore, when this undigested fiber passes through the intestines, it absorbs a large amount of water like a sponge, making the stool soft and easier for the large intestine to expel.
Furthermore, people who regularly consume fiber are less likely to develop colon cancer and heart disease, both of which have been leading causes of death for many men. While the exact reasons behind fiber's anti-cancer and anti-heart disease effects are not yet fully understood, most people have begun to increase the proportion of fiber in their diets while reducing the proportion of high-fat foods.
However, excessive fiber intake, especially a sudden increase in intake over a short period, can lead to bloating and diarrhea. Therefore, doctors recommend gradually increasing fiber intake to approximately 20 to 35 grams of pure fiber per day, while the average American consumes only 11 grams of pure fiber per day.
The whole-grain cereals you eat every morning are rich in fiber, containing about 10 to 14 grams of pure fiber per serving. A glass of strawberry juice contains 3.9 grams of pure fiber, and half a cup of cooked pea soup contains another 8.3 grams. This covers your daily fiber needs. Now, do you find following your doctor's orders easier than you think?
Latest Information
• Commonality: Constipation is the most common digestive disease in Americans, with about 7% of constipation sufferers saying they are frequently troubled by the condition.
• Contributing factors: Insufficient intake of dietary fiber (20 to 35 grams per day), inadequate water intake (6 cups of 8-ounce warm water per day), or lack of moderate exercise are the main causes of constipation for most people. Delaying bowel movements can also lead to constipation.
• Affected age groups: Constipation affects people of all ages. However, the older one gets, the greater the chance of developing the condition.
• Gender differences: Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from constipation.
• Seeking help from: family doctors or gastroenterologists.
Drink plenty of water. You must drink plenty of water (whether it's juice or beer), pouring 6 to 8 glasses of water (8 ounces each) every day and trying to finish them. As you already know, one of the key properties of fiber is its ability to absorb large amounts of water, sometimes even several times its own weight. Therefore, if you increase the proportion of fiber in your diet, you must drink plenty of water to prevent fiber from clogging your digestive system.
Moderate exercise is essential. If your digestive system stops its regular digestive processes, it means you haven't been exercising enough, leaving your body in a resting state. Therefore, only by activating your entire body through moderate exercise can you ensure the normal functioning of your digestive system.
A study by the National Health Service shows that people whose main diet consists of soybeans, fruits, and vegetables rarely suffer from constipation. Dr. Koch believes the main reason is that their diet contains little or no fat. A low-fat diet helps prevent constipation and colon cancer.
Don't delay your bowel movements. A major reason why many men suffer from constipation is that they postpone their bowel movements even when they feel the urge. Perhaps they don't want to use public restrooms, or they are simply too busy to do so.
According to Dr. Henry Lin, director of the Los Angeles Medical Center, this situation is unavoidable in modern life. He said, "If your work hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you feel the urge to defecate at 10:30 p.m. while attending a work meeting, you certainly can't defecate freely like a farmer working in the fields. This is undoubtedly one of the great regrets brought about by the Industrial Revolution."
If you delay defecating when you feel the urge, your digestive system will reabsorb water from the unexpelled stool. This causes the stool, which was originally soft and easy to pass, to become dry and hard, sometimes even forming hard, pebble-like balls that are extremely difficult to pass. Therefore, doctors recommend defecating as soon as you feel the urge.