A good number of people cannot explain what their stomach feels like at some point in time. Complaints about my stomach being heavy, seems the food I ate hasn’t been digested, and I’m feeling like throwing up and all. This feeling is known to be constipation and it’s one of the most frequent gastrointestinal complaints in the United States. At least 2.5 million people see their doctor each year due to constipation.
Constipation occurs when bowel movements become less frequent and stools become difficult to pass. It happens most often due to changes in diet or routine, or due to inadequate intake of fiber. People with constipation experience delays in food digestion, which makes them uncomfortable or even when they are trying to excreate and finding it hard to do so. This gets the affected people bothered as a result of the uneasiness that comes with it. Although, it’s not a rare condition.
People of all ages can have an occasional bout of constipation. Some certain people and situations are more likely to lead to becoming more consistently constipated (chronic constipation). These include: Older age. Older Age tend to be less active, have a slower metabolism, and have less muscle contraction strength along their digestive tract than when they were younger.
Furthermore, being a woman, especially while you are pregnant and after childbirth. Changes in a woman’s hormones make them more prone to constipation. The baby inside the uterus squishes the intestines, slowing down the passage of stool. Not eating enough high-fiber foods. High-fiber foods keep food moving through the digestive system. Taking certain medications, and having certain neurological (diseases of the brain and spinal cord) and digestive disorders are the possible and likely causes.
Constipation happens because your colon absorbs too much water from waste (stool/poop), which dries out the stool making it hard in consistency and difficult to push out of the body. To back up a bit, food normally moves through the digested food ( waste) that remains moves from the small intestine to the large intestine, also called the colon. The colon absorbs water from this water, which creates a solid matter called stool. If you have constipation, food may move too slowly through the digestive tract. This gives the colon too much time to absorb water from the waste. The stool becomes dry, hard, and difficult to push out.
Research has shown that taking enough water, eating vegetables eating a little while before sleeping, doing exercises, eating fruits, avoiding junk, and eating healthy are expected of people with constipation and most importantly visiting a doctor whenever there’s an uncalled-for feeling is the best cure. Leaving constipation unattended might be dangerous beyond imagination. The word ‘Health is Wealth’ should never be underrated. Our health should be our priority.