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Constipation
can be a daily struggle for those with slow digestive systems. Symptoms
range from general bloating and abdominal discomfort to painful, bleeding
bowel movements. Constipation can lead to more serious conditions of the
colon and large intestine, including hemorrhoids, and so constipation is
important to address in order to feel better and to improve general health.
There is no simple cure, but Good Home Remedies found that increasing fiber is the
single most effective treatment for treating constipation, and this is
consistent with standard recommendations from the medical community.
But to get more fiber is not simple, and you
practically have to be a dietitian to know how to do this easily. So we
have tried to capture the top suggestions for increasing your fiber easily
and without having to become a specialist.
We have found that
sometimes, just eating junk food like candy, pizza, burgers, fries, and/or
white bread will
stop us up like a cork. So the following are tips and sources for good
fiber to make up for those days when we’ve had junk food or have just not
eaten our share of whole foods.
The American Dietetic
Association recommends getting 20 to 35 grams of fiber each day. For some of
us, our digestion is particularly slow, and we found that some days we need
over 35 grams to get regular and make up for other days. We found that by
calculating how much fiber we were getting, and then adding more from there,
we were able to learn how much fiber we needed to get to a comfortable
“regularity”. The following tips provide easy ways to calculate the amount
of fiber you are getting and identify those foods that we found pack the
greatest fiber bang for the buck (or calorie).
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To simplify our
calculations we estimated that most servings of fruit and vegetables
contain on average about 3 grams of fiber each. For example a
medium size apple has about 3 grams. So if we ate the recommended 5
servings of fruits and vegetables every day, we estimated that were
getting about 15 (5 times 3) grams of fiber, or about ½ of our daily target of around 30
grams. Note that getting 5 servings of fruits and vegetables is so
important for so many areas of health that we think this is a great “healthy”
starting point. Rather than having to know the exact fiber contents
of each type of fruit or vegetable, we thought it easy just to count the
number of servings we had during the day and then multiply by the average
3 grams. (Note a serving is generally equal to ½ cup)
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We found the second
easiest-to-get source of fiber are fiber enhanced breakfast cereals.
Many of these cereals have over 10 grams of fiber per serving. Fiber
One has 14 grams. Therefore with one or 2 servings of fiber enhanced
cereal, we were able to easily get the second ½ of the fiber we needed.
Most products that have lots of fiber will clearly identify the number of
grams of fiber per serving on the front of the box. By trying a few
different varieties, you may find a favorite or you may find that switching around
provides for variety. We found it helpful to keep a box of extra fiber
cereal in the cupboard for those days that we did not get enough fiber.
On those days, we just had a bowl of cereal before going to bed to avoid
constipation the next day.
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Now most of us don’t get
all of our fruit and veggies every day, so it is good to identify a few of
the more potent fruits and veggies, in the case we cannot get in our 5
servings. Prunes are a standby, but should be used judiciously. They are
great when we have an acute case of constipation and we need to stimulate
our systems.
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In the veggie world, it
seems that carrots can be a particularly good vegetable for getting
regular. They seem to hold water through the intestines and help to
soften the stool. 2-4 carrots go along way in making up for not getting
in our 5 fruit/veggie servings, not to mention, it provides a generous
dose of Vitamin A.
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Another good source of
fiber is popcorn. A bag of microwave popcorn has 5 grams of fiber per
serving, and 3 servings per bag. So a whole bag would have as much as 15
grams of fiber and the low fat version would be only 300 calories. Most
other whole grains, such as brown rice, wheat and rye typically have about
3 grams of fiber per serving. Just note that popcorn is dry and we found
that we would not get the same effect that we got with carrots or fiber
cereals, which tend to retain moisture in the system better.
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Another under-noticed
source of fiber is beans. Some beans like kidney and pinto beans have as much
as 10 grams of fiber per serving. While you generally don’t eat a whole
can of beans, one can would provide 35 grams of fiber for a mere 350
calories, and the cost is probably less than most other sources. So beans
are handy for variety or in a pinch. Note that the liquid in a can of
beans contains a lot of dissolved soluble fiber, so including that is also
a good thing.
- Oat Bran instead of
oatmeal. Oat Bran has about 4 grams of fiber for a 2/3rd cup
serving (cooked) while oatmeal has 3 grams for the same amount. Oat Bran
tastes about the same as oatmeal when cooked. It is great cooked with a
banana. And it really is not so bad when you don’t cook it, and just add
water.
- Wheat bran is an even
better source of fiber than oat bran, and is one of the most common brans
used in high-fiber breakfast cereals. It is a cheap form of fiber
and just a tablespoon or two, added to a serving of oat bran or oatmeal
may have an equivalent effect of 10 to 15 grams of fiber. Wheat bran
may not agree with everyone as it is an insoluble, undigestible fiber,
which can cause gas and can have a stimulating effect on the intestines.
Wheat bran can be purchased at health food stores, sometimes in bulk.
Wheat bran is not particularly appetizing eaten by itself or in water, so
it is easiest hidden in other foods, such as stirring a tablespoon or two
into cereals, soups or salads. It can also be used as an ingredient
to add fiber to baked goods such as bran muffins or banana bread.
- While we don’t recommend
this as a first choice, many of the new health conscious prepared foods,
like “Healthy Choice” are adding fiber to their entrees
and even to their desserts. Increasingly, these companies are putting the
number of grams of fiber per serving on the front of their product boxes,
so it should be very easy to identify those products with fiber. Though
the 3-5 grams of fiber that some of these prepared foods provide will not
quickly get you to your target goal for the day, it is nice to know that
we can have our chocolate cake and eat some fiber too. For example,
Healthy Choice makes a chocolate ice cream sandwich with 4 grams of fiber,
for 140 calories. It may not be as satisfying as a candy bar, but if we
have a craving for sweet, it is nice to know that we can eat something
sweet and comforting without stopping us up like other foods might.
- Fiber supplements can
also be an aid for constipation, and they are mostly very low in calories
for those watching their weight. Some now come in tablets, don't
taste too bad, and can be very
convenient and some have both soluble and insoluble fiber. They are not
our first choice as they often have only 2-5 fiber grams per serving and
so do not get us very far towards our daily fiber total. We also found
that some of these supplements can cause gas and others have additives
that do not seem desirable. However they can be helpful for some people.
- Flaxseeds are another
good source of fiber, and also are high in omega-3 fatty acids. The problem with flax seed is that
hull of the flax seed is very tough and if eaten whole, flax seed will
pass through the system without being broken down or digested. When
ground and exposed to air, the oil in flax seeds will spoil very quickly.
So flax seed must be ground fresh or bought already ground in airtight
containers and then refrigerated. If you don’t want to fuss, it is
now being included in various cereals, food bars and other products.
We found it was cheapest to buy it whole and grind it fresh before putting
it in other foods like oatmeal or sprinkled on salads.
An added benefit of fiber:
“A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms that eating
high fiber foods, helps prevent heart disease. Almost 10,000 American adults
participated in this study and were followed for 19 years. People eating the
most fiber, 21 grams per day, had 12% less coronary heart disease (CHD) and
11% less cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to those eating the least, 5
grams daily.”
Note that in addition to
fiber being recommended for constipation, many in the medical community also
recommend increasing fiber for hemorrhoids.
| “The first step in
treating hemorrhoids is to relieve the pressure and straining. This can
often be done by controlling constipation with a high-fiber diet, according
to Barbara Frank, M.D., director of the division of gastroenterology at the Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Chester, Pennsylvania"
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON00131.html
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We have some other natural treatments for
hemorrhoids but the tips above on
fiber are our first recommendation.
FAQ’s:
1. Why don’t we include
whole grains in our top 10 list of good fiber sources?
Whole grains like brown
rice, whole wheat, barley and rye, quinoa, which are great sources of fiber
are not included in our top 10 list of good fiber sources for several
reasons. For one, we found that we’d have to eat more calories to get the
same amount of fiber. For example a slice of whole wheat bread has about 2
grams of fiber, so to get 10 grams you need to eat 5 slices. And for many
people, it is easy to binge on wheat and/or high carbohydrate foods, being
as tasty as they are. Also, most people eat whole wheat in breads or
cereals, made from flour. Even though whole-wheat flour has more fiber than
white flour, the fact that it is ground so finely can slow down the
digestive system. When possible, we found it is better to eat grains in
their whole form, like brown rice, or cooked wheat, barley and rye berries.
Of the grains, rye probably has more fiber and you can get rye crackers with
6 grams of fiber for 40 calories. This is not the most popular type of
cracker or bread, so rather than encourage people to focus on getting their
fiber from whole grains, we first focus on other more efficient sources of
fiber. For a well-rounded diet, we do encourage whole grains, which are
delicious and definitely better than refined and processed grains. It just
may not be the most important food to depend on when you are feeling
constipated. Note if most of your diet is already whole foods, including
grains, legumes, fruits and veggies, you are probably already getting more
than 35 grams of fiber and you are probably not constipated. This page is
probably most useful for those of us that don’t always eat whole foods and
often have to make up for the refined foods that we do eat.
2. What are top fiber
containing foods?
If you can get about 10
servings of the following whole foods per day, it should be easy to get to
your daily fiber goal: Apples, artichokes, bananas, berries (blackberries,
blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries), beans (green beans, kidney
beans, lima beans, broad beans, pinto beans, pole beans and snap beans),
bran cereals, , broccoli, brown rice, Brussel sprouts, carrots, celery,
cherries, corn, figs, greens (beet greens, collards, kale, spinach and
turnip greens), lentils, nuts, peas, pears, plums, prunes, nuts, squash,
sweet potatoes, and whole grains (cooked whole or in breads (whole wheat,
oats, rye, barley, quinoa, millet, or multi-grain). If you can’t get enough
servings, then you can add fiber with some of our suggestions above,
especially with a higher fiber content bran cereal.
Note that now instead of 5
servings of fruits and vegetables, several organizations such as Centers for
Disease Control and other institutions are recommending between 5 and 9
servings of fruits and vegetables. Getting 9 servings of fruits and
vegetables may go most if not all the way toward resolving constipation.
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