Diet & Nutrition

If you are suffering from mild to moderate constipation (having a bowel movement fewer than three times per week), constipation can be treated at home by making some changes to your diet. The most essential change is to eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of fiber. Fiber and water help soothe the process to pass stool through the colon. Some foods high in fiber include fruits, legumes, whole-grain bread, and cereals.

Guidelines for Managing Constipation:

Increase fluids to at least six to eight glasses per day.

Eat a diet high in fiber.

Eat fresh fruits, fruit juices, and vegetables.

Avoid pasta, pastries, cheese, rice, and foods with white sugar.

Exercise regularly.

Establish a regular time for defection (the best times for evacuations are usually after a meal).

Drink warm prune juice or other warm beverages one hour before the scheduled defecation time to stimulate the urge.

Use toilet or bedside commode instead of bedpan if possible (Ideal position is a modified squatting position with feet placed on a stool.)

Relax by reading or listening to music in the bathroom.

Don’t delay when you have the urge to evacuate.

Avoid laxatives and enema abuse.

Take stool softeners, suppositories, or laxatives as ordered. (Overuse of laxatives can cause constipation.)

Use enemas or manual disimpaction for severe constipation.

Report constipation that frequently reoccurs or that does not respond to treatment to physician.

Following a diet high in fiber has a wide range of benefits, including improving bowel Fiber is an ingredient in many common foods such as fruits, grains, and vegetables that our body cannot break down. Adding more fiber to your diet helps ensure that food is moving quickly through your digestive tract and consuming the proper amount of fiber daily along with adequate fluid intake enables your digestive tract to function properly. We recommend consuming 25-35 grams of fiber per day to help improve bowel and colon health. The proper amount of fiber has been shown to have many benefits, including decreasing cholesterol, improving glucose control, and may reduce your risk of high diverticulosis, colon cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Many fiber-containing foods also have good sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 

INSOLUBLE FIBER SOURCES

Cellulose	Hemicellulose	Lignin	Bran
Apples	Apples	Bran	Bran
Beets	Bananas	Brazil nuts	Whole grains
Bran	Beans	Carrots
Brazil nuts	Beets	Cereals
Broccoli	Bran	Eggplant
Cabbage	Brussel sprouts	Fruits with edible seeds
Carrots	Cabbage	Green beans
Celery	Cereals	Mature vegetables
Cucumber skins	Corn	Peaches
Green beans	Leafy greens	Pears
Lima Beans	Pears	Peas
Pears	Peppers	Potatoes
Peas	Whole grains	Radishes
Peppers		Radishes
Vegetables		Strawberries
Wax Beans		Tomatoes
Whole grains		Tomatoes
Whole wheat flour		Whole grains

SOLUBLE FIBER SOURCES

Gums	Pectin	Mucilage
Barley	Apples	Psyllium
Dried Beans	Bananas
Guar gum	Beets
Legumes	Cabbage
Oatbran	Carrots
	Citrus
	Okra
	Peas

We recommend rotating the food and fiber types. In general, whole grain products have more fiber than refined grains. Gradually increase your fiber intake until your bowel movement are optimum for you (consult your physician for information and guidance). There are also many dietary supplements available for fiber if you are not able to get a properly balanced diet, but gas and bloating may worsen with intake.

Food sensitivities or intolerances can be extremely painful, uncomfortable, and inconvenient to deal with. Common symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, bloating or gas, abdominal pain, constipation, and/or diarrhea. In some cases, a Low Fodmap diet can be the most effective way to combat these sensitivities by reducing or eliminating foods containing these types of carbohydrates. 

Foods Suitable for a Low FODMAP Diet

Fruit	Vegetables	Grain Foods	Milk Products	Other
Fruit banana, blueberry, boysenberry, cantaloupe, cranberry, durian, grape, grapefruit, honeydew melon, kiwifruit, lemon, lime, mandarin, orange, passionfruit, pawpaw, raspberry, rhubarb, rockmelon, star anise, strawberry, tangelo Note: If the fruit is dried, eat in small quantities	Vegetables Alfalfa, bamboo shoots, bean shoots, bok choy, carrot, celery, choko, choy sum, eggplant, endive, ginger, green beans, lettuce, olives, parsnip, potato, pumpkin, red capsicum (bell pepper), silverbeet, spinach, squash, swede, sweet potato, taro, tomato, turnip, yam, zucchini	Cereals	Milk *Lactose-free milk, *oat milk, *rice milk, *soy milk *Check for additives	Tofu
	Herbs Basil, chili, coriander, ginger, lemongrass, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme	Bread 100% spelt bread	Cheeses Hard cheese, and brie and camembert	Sweeteners Sugar* (sucrose), glucose, artificial sweeteners not ending in ‘-ol’
		Rice	Yogurt Lactose-free varieties	Honey Substitutes Golden Syrup*. Maple Syrup*, Molasses, treacle *small quantities
		Oats	Ice-Cream Substitutes Gelati, sorbet
		Polenta	Butter Substitutes Olive oil
		Other Arrowroot, millet, psyllium, quinoa, sorgum, tapioca

Eliminate Foods Containing FODMAPs

Excess Fructose	Lactose	Fructans	Galactans	Polyols
Fruit Apples, mango, nashi, pear, tinned fruit in natural juice, watermelon	Milk Milk from cows, goats, or sheets, custard, ice cream, yogurt	Vegetables Artichoke, asparagus, beetroot, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, fennel, garlic, leek, okra, onion (all), shallots, spring onion	Legumes Baked beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, soybeans	Fruit Apple, apricot, avocado, blackberry, cherry, longon, lychee, rashi, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, prune, watermelon
Sweeteners	Cheeses Soft, unripened cheeses, cottage, cream, mascarpone, ricotta	Cereals Wheat and rye, in large amounts of egg bread, crackers, cookies, couscous, pasta		Vegetables Cauliflower, green capsicum (bell pepper), mushroom, sweet corn
Fructose, high fructose, corn syrup		Fruit Custard apple, persimmon, watermelon		Sweeteners Sorbitol (420), Mannitol (421), Isomalt (953), Maltitol (965, Xylitol (967)
Large total fructose dose Concentrated fruit sources, large serves of fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice		Miscellaneous Chicory, dandelion, insulin pistachio
Honey Corn syrup, fruisana