Home » Health & Wellness  » Common ailments  »  A Fiber-Rich Diet for Constipation Treatment for constipation does not mean simply prescribing a laxative. The treatment includes re-education of the patient. Constipation can be tackled effectively by going for a natural remedy. A fiber-rich diet for constipation is the answer. Apart from that plenty of fluids and exercise is also a must to cope up with the problem.

A fiber-rich diet for constipation should be like this, approximately 30 gm of fiber a day is necessary to keep the digestive system in good working condition. Food from animal sources contains very little or no fiber. The vegetables rich in fiber include turnip, lady's finger, radish, beans, cabbage, cucumber, potato, corn, broccoli, peas, carrot, onion, tomato, green pepper, bitter gourd, asparagus, brinjal, beetroot, sprouts, leafy greens and cauliflower. Fruits rich in fiber include avocado, guava, apricot, fig, date, gooseberry, mango, orange, pear, wood apple, jamun, papaya, pomegranate, plum, peach, kiwi fruit and grapes. So they constitute nice range of A fiber-rich diet for constipation

Fibre rich legumes include kidney beans (rajma), black beans, all pulses, black-eyed peas and split peas. Peanuts, almonds, sunflower and sesame seeds, chestnuts and dried coconuts are also rich in fibre. Fiber rich cereals include oats, maize, barley, jowar, bajra, whole wheat and rice So they must also be included to your eating habits.

Milling and husking depletes the fibre content of food grains. Refined foods like maida, pasta, white bread and cakes should be avoided as they are devoid of fibre. Bran should not be sifted from the flour as it has fibre and is rich in B complex vitamins.

Along with a fiber-rich diet for constipation another essential health tips is increasing on your fluid. One should drink 6-8 glasses of water per day and more so during summer when you sweat profusely. Fluids can be in any form, such as, beverages, soups, juices and plain water. Without the extra fluid, the extra fiber that is eaten is likely to aggravate the problem of constipation instead of solving it.

Exercise is advocated to improve colonic propulsion and tone up the abdominal muscles, necessary for defecation. Leg raising exercises help in toning abdominal muscles and are one of the helpful tips for constipation problem following childbirth.

A sedentary lifestyle slows down the bowels. So, some light exercise is essential every day.

Trigger off the peristaltic movements of your bowels by having a cup of tea as soon as you get up in the morning. For some people, taking a short walk will also help. Another method to mobilize your bowels is to go to toilet at the same time every day.