What Helps Constipation When Fasting

Constipation Is Likely Common During Navratri Fasting Read On To Know The Causes And How To Avoid It

Written by Editorial Team|Updated : September 17, 2022 2:41 PM IST

Constipation is a condition when one has restricted bowel motions that are difficult to pass. This can cause immoderate straining. The most prominent cause of constipation is due to dietary changes, dehydration, and inappropriate fiber intake. In some severe cases, constipation can be caused by stress, hormonal changes, spinal injuries, or structural issues with the digestive system. Some people experience persistent constipation, which makes it difficult for them to carry out daily activities.

Constipation is likely common during Navratri as most people observe a fast of 9 days. Fasting for 9 days helps in detoxification of the body but it also results in digestion problems because 9 days of fasting changes the regular diet patterns. Navratri foods are usually starchy and oily. Some people prepare sweets, crisps, and other required fasting foods during Navratri. Some individuals who do not practice fasting engage in overeating, which later causes acidity and constipation. Apart from this, few people usually go for just one big meal in the evening which slows down metabolism, and as a result, you gain weight, feel bloated, and have constipation.

Not Drinking Enough Water

Drinking water is a requisite of intermittent fasting. It is necessary for your bodys everyday functions, including healthy bowel movements. A lack of water in the fasting period is a primary cause of chronic constipation.

When there is not enough water in your system, the large intestine absorbs the water from your food waste. There is not enough water to add to stools, leaving them hard, dry, and difficult to pass.

Drinking enough water is especially important when fasting because you no longer acquire water from your usual food intake.

During intermittent fasting, you are also more prone to losing electrolytes and fluids. As insulin levels drop, the body excretes large amounts of water and sodium through the kidneys, causing dehydration.

Other dehydration side effects when fasting intermittently include:

It Can Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome

I talked about one of the ill-effects of having gut imbalance, meaning to many bad bacteria in the gut flora, one of them being the leaky gut syndrome. But what is it exactly?

The inside of our stomach and intestines are covered with intestinal lining. This lining works as a barrier, controlling what gets into the bloodstream and what doesnt. In a way, everybody has some form of leaky gut, since the permeability of the lining varies greatly from one person to another.

But as always, refined sugar, low fibers, and high carbohydrates consumption can lead to a very leaky gut. Leaky gut is also be linked to many other diseases like IBS, Crohns disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, etc.

The proliferation of bad bacteria in the gut puts a strain on the intestinal lining, creating large cracks and holes that allows partially digested foods, toxins, and bacteria to get into the bloodstream. This can cause inflammation and more aggravations in the gut flora.

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When Should You Consult A Doctor How To Cure Intermittent Fasting Constipation

The effects of intermittent fasting on bowel movements are usually transitory. As your body adapts to your new diet regime, these side effects tend to go away. Intermittent fasting constipation can happen,

Health professionals suggest if you are not experiencing any pain, discomfort, bloating, or strain while passing motion, you dont need to worry about fewer bowel movements at the start of your fasting.

Constipation generally means that you have less than three bowel movements in a week. Its possible that you can be constipated even if you are passing a motion. Stools that are hard and dry are also classified as constipation.

It would be prudent to consult a doctor if your symptoms dont improve within two weeks of starting your intermittent fasting. But, if you are experiencing blood, pain, or swelling during your bowel movements, immediately consult a doctor for further advice.

Ways To Avoid Constipation While Practicing An Intermittent Fasting Dietary Approach

If you have ever had constipation, you know that it might be an uncomfortable experience. While constipation is generally defined as the infrequent passage of stool or difficulty passing stools, the exact reasons someone may experience constipation can vary.

While practicing an intermittent fasting dietary approach, you may experience constipation. Check out these three at-home diet and lifestyle steps you can try to alleviate constipation.

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Drink Coffee Tea And Other Caffeinated Drinks

Caffeinated beverages can help with constipation as caffeine has a mild laxative effect. As a natural stimulant, it can stimulate the muscles in the digestive system to contract and produce a bowel movement.

A cup of coffee or tea can benefit intermittent fasting, giving you an energy boost without breaking your fast.

How Do You Know You Are Constipated

Everyone has some minor digestive issues now and then, but here are signs to let you know you are experiencing constipation :

• Difficulty or straining with elimination
• Hard, small, or lumpy stools
• Donât have a bowel movement for more than 3 days in a row
• Fewer than 3 bowel movements a week
• After going to the bathroom, feeling like you still have poop left inside

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Eat Ripe Or Dried Fruits

Ripe fruits like juicy peaches, apricots, and pears are excellent sources of fiber, and theyre easily digestible. Prunes, dates, raisins, and figs are all loaded with fiber, too, if youd rather have a dried fruit snack. The new darling of the gastrointestinal world is kiwi. A study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2021 found that two kiwis per day were not only more enjoyable to eat than prunes and psyllium but also more effective at getting things moving in the bowels.

Medications To Relieve Constipation Fast

Tier 1: The Fastest

Saline Enemas

Onset Of Action: 5-15 Minutes

Saline enemas are going to be the fastest option to relieve constipation, but are also the most invasive. Many people will not consider using an enema, but they are highly effective for those who have more severe cases of constipation, or are in severe pain from bloating. It is easy to control dosing with enemas and can be a good option for those who have trouble taking medication by mouth.

Saline enemas work by not only flushing the local area with liquid, but increase the water present in the bowel due to the effect of sodium within the small and large intestines. This excess water in the bowel stimulates bowel stretch receptors and stimulates the release of certain hormones that causes movement of the GI walls. The net effect is the inducement of diarrhea that rapidly and effectively cleanses the entire colon.

Glycerin Suppositories

Onset Of Action: 15 To 60 Minutes

Like saline enemas, glycerin rectal suppositories may not be a viable option for most people who want to avoid this route of administration. Glycerin suppositories are however, particularly useful in infants and children who are too young for medication. It also is a good option for those who want to avoid medicated therapies. Glycerin suppositories are considered more gentle than a saline enema.

Oral Saline Laxatives

Onset Of Action: 30 Minutes To 3 Hours

Tier 2: Oral ‘Stimulant & Osmotic Laxatives’

Stimulant Laxatives

Osmostic Laxatives

Fiber

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Eat More Fiber Especially Soluble Non

To treat constipation, doctors often tell people to increase their dietary fiber intake.

This is because increasing fiber intake increases the bulk and consistency of bowel movements, making them easier to pass. It also helps them pass through the digestive system more quickly 01386-6/fulltext” rel=”nofollow”> 14).

In fact, one 2016 review found that 77% of people with chronic constipation benefited from supplementing with fiber .

However, some studies have found that increasing fiber intake can actually make the problem worse. Others report that dietary fiber improves stool frequency but may not help with other symptoms of constipation, such as stool consistency, pain, bloating, and gas .

This is because different types of dietary fiber have different effects on digestion.

There are many different dietary fibers, but in general, they fall into two categories: insoluble fibers and soluble fibers.

Insoluble fibers â present in wheat bran, vegetables, and whole grains â add bulk to stools and may help them pass more quickly and easily through the digestive system.

Soluble fibers â present in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and peas, as well as some fruits and vegetables â absorb water and form a gel-like paste, which softens the stools and improves its consistency.

Non-fermentable soluble fibers, such as psyllium, are the best choice for treating constipation (

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Bottom line: Exercise may reduce the symptoms of constipation in some people.

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Intermittent Fasting Effects On Bowel Movements: The Takeaway

Intermittent fasting offers a dramatic departure from normal eating habits.

When youre not eating as often, and eating different foods than your body is used to, it is common to experience changes to your bowel movements.

Though most changes are positive, some people encounter temporary side effects including constipation, diarrhea, and bloating.

Be sure to drink plenty of water, and stick with it. It can take some time for your digestive symptom to make the transition, but the benefits are well worth it for most people.

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Headache Dizziness Mental Fog And Lethargy

These group of side effects are usually due to low sodium levels. Our insulin levels begin to drop significantly when we start fasting. This drop-in insulin sends a signal to our kidneys to release excess water since insulin causes water retention. Most people find they urinate quite a lot when theyre new to fasting for this reason.As our bodies rid themselves of excess water, we also lose electrolytes through our urine. Were also not eating as much food and have a dramatic decline in electrolyte consumption. Our bodies tightly regulate our electrolyte levels, and this sudden change can throw off our bodys homeostasis.

Try Using Heat Therapy

Dr. Lin has two recommendations when it comes to heat therapy. First, try drinking a cup of warm water, wait 30 minutes, and then gently massage your lower abdomen to try to stimulate the area. If that doesnt seem to help, take a hot shower, with the water concentrated on your lower back.

Metamucil Psyllium Powder Fiber Supplement

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How To Relieve Constipation

Exercise regularly. Drink more water and eat more fiber. Try to walk, swim, or do something active at least 3 or 4 times a week.

If you feel the urge to go to the bathroom, go. Do not wait or hold it in.

You can also train your bowels to be more regular. It may help to go to the bathroom every day at the same time. For many people, this is after breakfast or dinner.

The 17 Best Foods To Relieve Constipation

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Symptoms include passing stools less than three times per week, straining, lumpy or hard stools, a sensation of incomplete evacuation, feeling blocked, or being unable to pass a stool.

The type and severity of symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people experience constipation only rarely, while its a chronic condition for others.

Constipation has a variety of causes, but its often the result of the slow movement of food through the digestive system.

This may be due to dehydration, a poor diet, medications, illness, diseases affecting the nervous system, or mental disorders.

Fortunately, certain foods can help relieve constipation by adding bulk, softening stool, decreasing gut transit time, and increasing stool frequency.

Here are 17 foods that can help relieve constipation and keep you regular.

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How Fasting Causes Constipation

Constipation will mostly depend on people. When fasting, youll logically have fewer bowel movements each day.

If youre used to one or more every day, it will feel strange not to go to the toilets more often.

Everyone is different and certain people have digestive tracts that move slower than others. Eating constantly will help it keep moving, fasting will drastically reduce bowel movements.

Most of the time, its just a natural side effect, youre not so much constipated as not needing to go to the toilets.

This will come from your body having to adapt from burning sugar for energy, to burning fat. During this transition, this can cause irregularity in your bowel movements.

So, I would mostly advise you to wait as it will get back to normal, or at least to more regularity with a bit of time.

But if it becomes a real discomfort, you should definitely take some action:

• Try taking magnesium citrate, it could help hydrate your colon
• Try bulletproof coffee in the morning. It wont be a strict fast, but it can help to get things moving
• Exercise and move more

Ease Into Making Changes To Your Diet

You dont have to toss out everything you like to eat and choke down a gelatinous drink like psyllium just to up your fiber and water intake. When making lasting changes to help GI function, its important that the changes are feasible and affordable says Molly Brogan, RD, a dietitian in the department of nutrition at Albany Med Health System in New York. Brogan says that if fresh fruit will blow a patients budget, she eases them into a fiber-filled diet with other small swaps, such as a serving of half-brown, half-white rice. Or shell have them add raisins or cooked carrots to a muffin recipe.

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Fasting Basics: Common Side Effects Of Fasting

• Youre new to fasting
• After consuming more carbs and processed foods during a vacation or holiday

You are least likely to experience side effects of fasting if:

• You are on a low carb of ketogenic diet prior to fasting
• You dont deviate from your diet, i.e. eat lots of junk foods on the weekends
• You stick with your fasting consistently

Are There Foods That Make You Poop Instantly

Slattery says prunes and prune juice live up to their reputation as foods to help constipation due to a unique ingredient.

In addition to fiber, prunes are rich in a naturally occurring sugar alcohol called sorbitol, she explains. Sorbitol molecules do not break down in digestion, and when they reach the colon, the body wants to get rid of them, and the reaction can result in a bowel movement.

Slattery says apple juice also contains sorbitol, but in lower amounts. For people who dont like prunes or prune juice, apple juice can be an alternative.

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How Often Should You Poop

Again, everyone has their own range of normal and odds are high you have some idea of whats standardand notfor you. People have a wide range of frequency, says Ashkan Farhadi, M.D., a gastroenterologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center and director of MemorialCare Medical Group’s Digestive Disease Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. Normal could be anywhere from three times a day to three times a week.

You venture into constipation territory when youre having less than three BMs a week, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases . Issues like having poops that are hard, dry, or lumpy, BMs that are hard or painful to pass, or a feeling that you didnt get everything out despite going to the bathroom also classify as constipation, the NIDDK says.

Remedies For Fast Relief

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What Is Constipation

Constipation is a common symptom some people experience. While it can be uncomfortable, it isnt usually serious.

Constipation is one of the most common reasons for visiting the doctor. About 2.5 million Americans talk to their doctor every year about constipation. If you occasionally have constipation, you can easily find constipation relief with some simple at home practices.

Constipation is not a disease but a symptom some people experience. It occurs when you have less bowel movements than usual. They are uncomfortable, difficult to pass or take a long time to pass, and are a hard stool.

You may have more or less bowel movements than other people, but there isnt a right number. Regularity is different for everyone.

Signs of constipation

Symptoms of constipation may vary, but you may have constipation if you have some signs including:

• Less than three bowel movements a week
• Straining during bowel movements

Causes of constipation

Normally, the colon absorbs water and makes stools as food passes through. Your body absorbs most of the water as the muscles contract and push the stool toward the rectum. This makes the stool solid. If the muscles dont contract well, the stool moves slowly, and your body absorbs too much water. The stool then turns hard and dry.

Some causes of constipation can include:

• Ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement
• Abusing laxatives

Who can have constipation?