China Constipation Day丨10 suggestions for people with constipation, have a happy poop, just follow them!

Today is also China Constipation Day ! In order to raise public awareness of constipation, March 28th of each year is designated as "China Constipation Day" by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

Constipation is a very common problem! For some people, it is just a small episode in life, but for some people, it is a daily torture! Every time they go to the toilet, they are like a living "mask of pain".

There are rumors that eating bananas and drinking honey water can prevent constipation, but for some people these methods are useless! Why is this? What are the dangers of frequent constipation? How can we prevent constipation? Here are 10 suggestions for you!

1. What is constipation?

Many people think that if they have trouble going to the toilet, they are constipated. In fact, this is not necessarily the case! According to the "Guidelines for Primary Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Constipation 2019": Constipation is manifested as difficulty in defecation and/or reduced bowel movement, and hard and dry stools . Reduced bowel movement means less than 3 bowel movements per week .

If constipation lasts for more than 6 months, it is considered chronic constipation.

If you only have difficulty defecating one day but are normal the next day, it is not constipation and you don't need to worry. It may be related to your diet and exercise.

2. How harmful is chronic constipation?

Constipation is really painful, especially for those who already have hemorrhoids. They need to encourage themselves before every bowel movement!

① Long-term constipation will inevitably cause people to suffer from psychological disorders such as depression, irritability, and anxiety.

② Causes abdominal bloating, nausea and loss of appetite.

③Bad breath, dry mouth, and mouth ulcers.

④For female friends, long-term constipation can also induce dysmenorrhea.

⑤Induce anal fissure and hemorrhoids.

⑥ Increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Defecation causes prolonged increase in abdominal pressure, which reduces the amount of blood returning to the heart and causes a continuous increase in intracranial pressure, which can easily lead to malignant arrhythmias and cerebrovascular accidents, and may even be life-threatening. [1]

⑦ Long-term constipation may induce colon cancer, liver disease, and breast disease.

⑧Long -term constipation will affect the health of the skin, promote skin aging, and cause acne.

⑨May increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

⑩ Constipation in the elderly increases the risk of intestinal obstruction. Excessive accumulation of feces leads to the formation of fecal stones, which in turn lead to intestinal obstruction. [2]

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3. Laxative methods that may not be effective

① Eating bananas may not necessarily help with bowel movements, but may even make you more constipated

Many people choose to eat bananas to relieve constipation when they are constipated. The reason may be that they believe bananas are high in dietary fiber, or they may believe that bananas can "replenish the body with like."

In fact: choosing the wrong banana can actually make you more constipated!

If you eat unripe bananas, not only will it not help relieve constipation, but it will also aggravate constipation because the tannins contained in unripe bananas have an astringent effect.

If you really want to eat it, choose the ones that are fully cooked, have black spots on the skin, and are slightly soft when pinched.

As for the dietary fiber content of bananas, it is actually not high among fruits, only 1.2 grams per 100 grams, which is not as good as apples. The dietary fiber content of apples is 1.7 grams per 100 grams, and the dietary fiber content of kiwis is 2.6 grams per 100 grams. By comparing them in this way, wouldn't eating kiwis help promote bowel movements?

Fruits high in dietary fiber (insoluble fiber): [3]

Korla pear: 6.7g/100g

Guava: 5.9 g/100 g

Mulberry: 4.1g/100g

Plantain: 3.1g/100g

Kiwi: 2.6 g/100 g

Blueberries: 2.4 g/100 g

Dragon fruit: 1.6 g/100 g

Eating these may be more effective than eating bananas! In addition, bananas are not low in calories, 1.8 times that of apples. Eating too much will really make you fat .

② Drink honey water to moisten the intestines and promote bowel movements?

The truth: It doesn’t work for everyone.

If you achieve the so-called "laxative" effect after drinking honey water, it means you have "fructose intolerance."

Honey contains a lot of fructose, but some people's intestines absorb fructose slowly. In order to balance the osmotic pressure in the intestine, water will enter the intestinal cavity, and the stool volume will increase, thereby increasing stool excretion. Some people may also experience diarrhea!

In addition, 75.6% of honey is sugar, including glucose and fructose, 22% is water, fat and protein account for 2.3%, and other ingredients such as vitamins and minerals do exist, but the total content of all these ingredients is less than 0.1%.

There is no special nutritional value, but the calories are not low. 10 grams of honey contains 8 grams of sugar , which is not only high in sugar, but also has a high calorie content of 321kcal/100g. Drinking too much will make you fat !

4. How to prevent constipation?

To avoid constipation, it is recommended to do the following 10 things in life:

① Regular work and rest schedule: Staying up late will increase the risk of constipation and obesity. Go to bed early. It is recommended to sleep regularly for seven to eight hours.

② Regular bowel movement: Regardless of whether you feel the urge to defecate every day, you should go to the toilet and wait for 5 minutes after getting up in the morning. It doesn’t matter if you fail. If you insist on going every day, you will develop a habit of defecating early in the morning.

③ Concentrate on pooping: Don’t look at your phone or read books or newspapers when you go to the toilet. Be focused, and be "wholehearted" when you poop.

④ Increase the intake of whole grains: The staple food should be a combination of coarse and fine, and the intake of whole grains should be increased. Refined rice and white noodles have weak intestinal irritation, while coarse grains are rich in dietary fiber and help stimulate intestinal peristalsis. It is necessary to increase the intake of whole grains, beans and potatoes, such as oatmeal rice, chickpea rice, buckwheat rice, sweet potato rice, etc.

⑤ Eat more fruits and vegetables: Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, which can enhance the feeling of fullness, promote gastrointestinal motility, and facilitate defecation.

Eat 300 to 500 grams of vegetables every day, which is about 1.5 to 2 fists of cooked vegetables per meal on average; eat 200 to 350 grams of fruit every day, such as 2 kiwis, 1 large or medium-sized apple, and 1 to 2 Korla pears.

⑥ Drink more water: Drink 1500~2000 ml of water every day. Eat more dietary fiber foods and drink more water. Water-soluble dietary fiber will absorb water and swell, increasing the volume of stool and promoting defecation.

⑦ Don’t go on a diet: Eating too little will reduce food residues and fail to stimulate the intestines, causing constipation. Food residues that remain in the intestines for a long time will become increasingly dry and hard. Only sufficient food can promote gastrointestinal motility.

⑧ Do not sit for long periods of time, and keep exercising: Exercise can promote gastrointestinal motility and help prevent constipation. For example, jogging, brisk walking, Tai Chi, aerobics, waist and abdomen exercises, etc.

⑨ Avoid drug abuse: especially avoid drugs related to constipation.

⑩ Control your weight: Obese patients are more likely to suffer from constipation than people with normal weight. Studies have shown that the higher the BMI, the greater the risk of colorectal cancer. It is recommended to keep the BMI between 18.5 and 23.9. [4]

BMI = weight in kg/(height in m squared)

To summarize:

Constipation is very harmful and can even be life-threatening. Don’t try any “home remedies” randomly. To prevent constipation scientifically, you should start with a reasonable diet and a change in your lifestyle!

References:

[1] Lü Henggang, Song Yunping, Guo Xin, et al. Harm and prevention of constipation[J]. Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2019, 37(8):198.

[2] Yi Baoquan, Yue Ting, Gai Xingwen, et al. Harms of constipation in the elderly and common treatment methods [J]. Electronic Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Cardiovascular Diseases, 2018, 6(25): 18-19.

[3] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[4] Yao Huijing. Correlation between body mass index and colorectal cancer[J]. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2011, 20(10):904-906. DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1006-5709.2011.10.009.