Constipation

[Devocat]

Problem with constipation have been a vegan for the last 6 months. Any ideas welcome.

[Zest]

Hi Devocat

I am sorry you're having a problem with constipation. I don't know if you've had chance to look at the NHS pages about constipation - they might be helpful to you:

nhs.uk/conditions/constipat...

Zest

[Devocat in reply to Zest]

Thank you very much.

It was helpfull

[Lyndaki]

Fybogel helps me. It’s a gentle, natural product so should be OK as a vegan.

[Devocat in reply to Lyndaki]

Thank you I tried it yesterday and it works.

[Lyndaki in reply to Devocat]

Great!

[mhawk]

Hello there,

Have you been in consultation with your doctor?

Have your thyroid checked.

If all is well, try my combination of Metamucil 2 tbsp with 8oz water twice a day with meals. I also added the Evening Primrose Oil 1000mg at night to ensure good movement by the next morning. If you are older and no contraindication try some Black Cohosh 540 mg one tablet twice a day. And a little exercise to boost bowel movement! Have a good day!

[Devocat in reply to mhawk]

Thank you will look at this

[Clematisviola]

Try 1 apple and 4 dried apricots get them in a pack from Sainsburys

Every day

You can cut up apricots and have them on a breakfast cereal such as muesli and eat apple later in day.

[Devocat in reply to Clematisviola]

Thanks very much

[Kitten-whiskers Administrator Vegan star]

We all need to get enough fibre, hopefully thats all it, due to a change in diet but if more severe then it maybe advisable to get your Thyroid Checked barring in mind that the blood tests are not that accurate, the earlier in the morning you can have the sacred blood test the closer to your real TSH levels, unless asked they tend not to check FT3 & FT4 levels but you can request this as it can be helpul. I am also Vegan, so hopefully its just your change in diet.

[Devocat]

Thanks i believe it is just change

[solvedit]

For general constipation, one should also drink water before meals and in the morning after brush.

So a glass of water in the morning after brush, then a glass of water just before breakfast, a glass of water just before lunch and just before afternoon tea and before dinner. So above routine is in addition to your usual water consumption.

It has worked for many I know.

Give it a try.

[TheAwfulToad]

If your constipation coincided with going vegan, you know what the answer is. It's incredibly hard to eat a vegan diet and stay healthy, particularly if you're doing the Western variant (Eastern veganism typically includes some dairy, and more fat). Make sure you're eating a wide range of foods - ie., vegetables! - and not relying on Standard British Stodge minus the meat.

Although dieticians always witter on about 'fibre', there's no evidence that lack of fibre per se is the root cause of constipation (and adding fibre doesn't necessarily help). It's more usually associated with an all-round poor diet, without any simple, single cause. Take a good look at your eating habits before turning to pills and potions, however 'natural'. You will become habituated to them.