Contents
Food and Nutrition
Foods to be taken
- Include fiber-rich fruits and vegetables like apples, oranges, broccoli, berries, pears, peas, figs, carrots, and beans
- Increase intake of whole grains such as brown rice, millet, nuts, seeds and fish, pulses, lentils, rice, and soya products
- Drink diluted fruit juices organic vegetable juices and herbal teas
- Guava when eaten with seeds and bael fruit helps to tone the intestines and add roughage to the diet to give relief from constipation. Fruits like banana, prunes, pears, grapes, and papaya can also help
Foods to be avoided
- Avoid foods high in fast releasing sugars such as unrefined grains, confectionary, cakes and biscuits
- Red meat, dairy foods and eggs
- Coffee, tea and sugary carbonated drinks
Yoga and Exercise
- Simply getting up and moving can help constipation. A regular walking regimen even 10 to 15 minutes several times a day can help the body and digestive system function optimally.
- If you are already fit, you might opt for aerobic exercise: running, jogging, swimming, or swing dancing, for example. All these exercises can help keep the digestive tract healthy. Stretching may also help alleviate constipation.
YOGA
- Virasana (hero pose) watch video
- Adho Mukha Virasana (down facing hero pose) watch video
- Supta badhha konasana (cobbler pose in lying position) watch video
- Pavanmuktasana (gas releasing pose)
Music and Meditation
Try doing meditation for 15 to 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a day. This simply requires you to sit in the chair with the eyes closed breathe in and out.
Home Remedies
- Mix lemon juice with a glass of warm water and drink 2-3 times a day.
- Take a long walk everyday which could help get things moving along.
- Drink two to four extra glasses of water a day (unless fluid restricted).
- Try warm liquids, especially in the morning.