Constipation can be a dampener when it starts to bother you at the start of your day. It is necessary that you clean your bowels first thing in the morning to kick start all fresh. People resort to different methods to ease problems of constipation – a glass of warm water first thing in the morning, a cup of tea or coffee to initiate bowel movements and clean the system. Here are top 10 home remedies for constipation that promise results.
While water is a safe and healthy option, whether consuming tea and coffee in the morning is ideal to fight constipation is a bit questionable. These beverages are not just stimulants but are diuretics which can make symptoms of constipation worse. For someone who suffers from chronic constipation, drinking too much tea and coffee can, in fact, be damaging. We got Dr Jayshree Shah, consultant- hepatologist, gastroenterologist & therapeutic endoscopist at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, to know if drinking tea and coffee can help people deal with constipation. Here are five home remedies for constipation that might not work for you.
‘Many people need a stimulant to get started with bowel movements early in the morning. Drinking one or two cups of coffee in the morning is fine as these beverages act as a stimulant for bowel motility. However, it is not the morning cuppa that is effective in managing constipation, but how one tackles his lifestyle throughout the day that has an effect on one’s condition,’ she says.
Even if your morning cuppa helps to ease constipation symptoms, drinking six to seven cups or even more throughout the day can have adverse effects. ‘Since tea and coffee are diuretics, it leads to frequent urination throughout the day resulting in dehydration which makes passage of stools difficult,’ she explains.
What you can do:
Since lifestyle management and diet habits have an effect on your constipation, here are few things Dr Shah suggests you can do to ease constipation:
Regulate meal times and eat more fibre: A diet high in carbohydrates can alter bowel movements. Instead of eating food rich in fibre, having fruits and salads, can add bulk to the stool and ease constipation. Eating the right foods at the right time is the right way to deal with constipation. Here are five health risks of having too much fibre.
Drink enough water: We cannot stress this enough, but in a tropical climate like ours drinking two to three litres of water is essential to keep one hydrated and constipation at bay.
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