Quick constipation relief

Quick constipation relief is high on the agenda of every chiropractor; the appointment book is daily filled with slipped disc and headache patients.

Research reveals that prunes for your colon are the best solution; more effective than the most commonly prescribed medication. It's all in the soluble fibre so apples and beetroot would be excellent too.

This page updated by Barrie Lewis on 9th August, 2024.

1. Half a dozen soaked prunes for breakfast.
2. A green salad with as many colours added as you can find.
3. 100% wholemeal bread.
   
4. Beetroot and other greens.
   
5. Take a daily walk, at least ten minutes and preferably half an hour or more.
   
6. Stop taking inorganic iron or calcium pills; they constipate and there are far better solutions to anemia and osteoporosis in any case.
   
7. Massage your abdomen, starting in the right lower quadrant where the appendix is found, moving up to the liver area and then across just under the ribs and down to the left bottom corner; continue to make a full circle.
   

What is psyllium?

Psyllium seeds are reaped from plantago plants which are grown worldwide. Their chief virtue is that they contain a large amount of soluble fibre called mucilage. It is not truly a laxative but absorbes water in the bowel giving much needed bulk to the stool.

Researchers report in the Journal of Alimentary Pharmacology that over a half of patients suffering from chronic dry and hard faeces are less than satisfied with the standard medical treatment which is the natural fibre in psyllium.

It is a safe and effective natural product sold under the name Metamucil. Researchers in this study used one tablespoon per day, dissolved in water and costing about 40 US cents per day.

However as stated above, less than half of patients are satisfied with the results.

On purchasing Metamucil you will notice that it has sugar and artificial flavourants added to it to make it more palatable; it is an ultra-processed food additive.

Those who read this website, and receive our newsletters (sign up at the bottom of this page) will know that constipation comes up regularly in the topics. It is directly related to colorectal cancer.

It is also important very often in the management of headaches and lower back pain. Straining increases the spectre of aggravating a lurking slipped disc.

• Slipped disc rules
  

Perhaps too because I suffered terribly from constipation myself until the good wife came up with her unique solution. Her salads gives me very quick constipation relief.

This is the choice.

Prunes vs psyllium

Researchers at the University of Iowa under the direction of Dr Rao, MD, PhD, were asked to compare "grandma's medicine," namely dried prunes with psyllium husks. Which was more effective^[1]?

Research technique

A "double-blinded" technique was impossible. Obviously the candidates knew whether they were eating prunes or swallowing a mucous gel.

But they did use a single-blinded test, the researchers not knowing which group the candidates were in.

The research was a "cross-over" type. Half the group started with three weeks of one TBSP of Mutamucil, whilst the others began with 5 prunes daily. There was a 7 day wash-out in between, then the two sets swapped.

Careful details of stool habits were kept.

Results

The authors concluded that prunes are a safe and significantly more effective treatment for constipation that psyllium. Perhaps surprisingly, they were considered equally palatable by the participants; perhaps because of the sugar and flavouring added to the latter.

What is the cost? In South Africa the dried plums are about half the price of the psyllium.

Five prunes per day are significantly more successful that psyllium fibre in producing a regular, soft and consistent stool. 

Does that ring a bell? Back to the meals that granny dished up is the theme tune. That's also the sentiment expressed by a veteran cardiac surgeon in his foods to reduce inflammation lecture.

I confess those five prunes are a good deal cheaper than Helen's fifteen euro salad too, unless you are a gardener but not a tenth as tasty.

In fact, if you want really quick constipation relief, then it's best to have the salad and the prunes; and other fruit too. And only bread made with 100 percent wholemeal; it's hard to get. It is all about more fibre.

So, what's in those  prunes? They have the distinct advantage of having both pectin and insoluble polysaccarides; both are important for a healthy intestine.

The fibre binds with water giving it bulk and promoting the movement of the bowel contents through the colon.

More, prunes contain two other important substances; sorbitol, a natural and gentle laxative and a large amount of antioxidant polyphenols.

This is an important tip. Prunes and olives with pips keep your dentist in business. It's vital to know whether they have been pitted or not? Eat them on their own, not in a mouthful with other food.

A grave difficulty I have....

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months."

I wish I could tell you that I penned those memorable words, but no it was the incomparable wit of Oscar Wilde. Did you know he was gaoled, and died in exile, utterly humiliated for being a homosexual? One of Ireland's greatest writers of all time.

Let me get back to my point. The ugliness of fashion reaches deep into nutrition and diet. Today it's prunes for quick constipation relief. So for a week or two, we gobble our dried plums.

Then it is beetroot constipation, apples or simply more legumes; and prunes are all but forgotten. But all have their merit, each better than the other for one reason or another. To be really healthy we have to eat from as wide a range of unprocessed foods as possible; it's all about the fibre.

Breakfast

There's much research showing that we skip breakfast at our peril; if for no other reason, we are more likely to be obese. However having it later in the morning does have its merits if you are insulin resistant.

Prunes

If your prunes have been pitted, then you can add them to your cereal. In the back left corner below you can see my usual breakfast:

• Soak the prunes in boiling water.
• Add a few tablespoons of rolled oats, a grain of sea-salt, and nuke it for about 90s.
  
• Meanwhile crack three pecan nuts^[3].
  
• Add a tablespoon of freshly-ground flax seeds^[4].
  
• Add a teaspoon of raw honey.
• And a tablespoon or two of unsweetened yoghurt, if it doesn't give you mucus; or better still kefir^[5].

Quick constipation relief

Quick constipation relief research proves that grandma's recipe is indeed the best and cheapest too.

• Are you Banting? This eggs Florentine is perfect; without the toast.  

But it's spring in Africa. How about a bowl of fresh mulberries and cream too? I promise you... eat foods like these and you can enjoy a couple tablespoons of cream without guilt. Your cholesterol will be dangerously low, and you simply have to get it up a bit! Remember cholesterol is a vital part of many biochemical processes in the body.

Mm, what a delicious breakfast. It titivated every one of my tastebuds, and I promise you I have a lot of them, all screaming for attention. One of the joys of enjoying these kinds of meals is there is no calorie counting, no limits on what you want and zero concerns about your weight.

Lunch

Lunch is the time to get your greens in. It doesn't really matter which, but we like a mix of fresh lettuces, various herbs like chives and sweet basil and few young shoots of kale and arugula. Add to that as many colours as you can lay your hands on; sweet peppers, tomatoes and so on; enjoy it with a dressing of olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice.

A slice of bread made from 100% wholemeal flour; you may have to bake it yourself. We particularly enjoy artisan bread which we make every day.

What is artisan bread is a question you may well be asking. It takes only five minutes to prepare, and another five hours to rise and bake.

You'll find that meals like these not only help with constipation; they are entirely in line with amazing research that reveals that almost half of the heart stroke diabetes problems are caused by dietary deficiency alone.

Dinner

Make sure that you include a purple beetroot; it's rich in soluble and coarse fibre. They are best cooked using a pressure cooker. We do it using the energy of the sun, so you can read about it at solar pressure cooking.

If you do not have an induction stove^[2], get one of these counter top models; they use half the electricity and cook twice as fast as gas or a conventional plate. They aren't expensive. 

Update on the management of constipation

I was saddened to see in an update on the management of constipation from JAMA dated November 4, 2019 that there was not one word mentioning that it could be caused by a lack of fibre in the diet, or any natural remedies.

It was all about about various new drugs costing from $500 - $2079 per month.

There is no money to be made out of prunes and beets but the wise person would try them first. Add a salad a day, and I have yet to hear of anyone where they failed.

• Ultra-processed foods and colorectal cancer
  

Slipped disc

• Slipped disc symptoms
  
• Valsalva manoever
  

Is he crazy; a total healthnut? Yes, I confess it unashamedly. You see, you either go through the little disciplines of life, of lower back exercises, for example, or you take a lot more time (and pain, and money) visiting your chiropractor; who won't be unhappy. Or you make the time to enjoy these quick constipation relief foods that are full of fibre and phytosterols.

Or you spend it visiting the oncologist. He won't be unhappy either. It's very kind of you to pay for our next skiing trip.

Alternatively, you could spend a little time each day making us both a touch grumpy; by exercising and pay attention to your diet, and staying out of our clutches.

A slipped disc in the lower back can affect the autonomic nerves that supply the bowels; constipation is a common complaint. Worse, the inactivity related to a severe sciatica makes the problem yet more difficult.

Eating plenty of these quick constipation relief foods when you injure yourself is important. Straining on the toilet requires the so called valsalva manoever; the loo also means prolonged sitting which is forbidden. It will certainly aggravate any lumbar disk prolapse.

In conclusion, there's nothing wrong with psyllium fibre for constipation; just prunes are more effective, and cheaper; and a good deal tastier too in my opinion.

Psyllium has the added advantage of proven cholesterol lowering properties; but then prunes do too because of their fibre.

In really stubborn cases, and you are desperate for quick constipation relief then there's no reason not to use both.

That freshly ground flax seed that I recommend adding to your cereal every day is rich in omega 3, a natural anti inflammatory, but also it contains a lot of lignans which reduce cholesterol and also add fibre for the colon.

Beetroot for constipation

Honest injun, beetroot beats the lot when it comes to quick constipation relief. Beetroot constipation ...

More quick constipation relief

Whilst on a recent locum in Holland I very soon became constipated, without Helen about, and eating too much lovely Dutch bread and cheese. It's sounds a little bizarre, but two green salads a day soon fixed that.

It's all about more fibre; not the insoluble form in bran but primarily the water soluble fibre found in fruit and salad; both are important though.

Smart bran

Smart bran for quick constipation relief is not a good idea; it binds calcium and other minerals in the gut.

If you want smart bran for your constipation then a far better solution is to enjoy bread made with 100% healthy flour that has all the minerals, and where phytic acid is much less of a problem. 

More thoughts on the subject can be found at WebMD; what is constipation?

• Are phytates bad?
  

Piles

I recently had a question from a patient about piles that were plaguing his wife. Surgery is threatened. In the short term, quick constipation relief will help, but long term focusing on foods to reduce inflammation is just as important. If there are varicosities in the veins of the rectum, it's almost certainly happening elsewhere too; that means embolism, sudden heart attack and stroke.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic practice has much to do with headaches and slipped discs; both are good reasons to be regular. This quick constipation relief page is so easy to introduce to your diet.

Retaining toxic bowel material for longer than needed in the colon is certainly one of the cause of a low grade woozy headache. It's the reason why drinking more water helps; it makes you more regular.

And of course your salads and fruit are mainly water, with a bit of flavouring and vitamins! And a lot of soluble fibre.

• Headache chiropractic

Useful links

• Recipe for Tabouli Tabouleh ... guaranteed to cure your constipation. Make it in ten minutes.
• What is a dietary fiber? Web: https://tinyurl.com/suf3bs8p
  

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