What can one eat after costipation relief to avoid regular costipation

[Jackieboo]

Please advise as to the food one can eat to avoid regular costipation

[IBSNetwork Partner IBS Network]

IBS is different in everyone what works for one may not work for another

Do you know what your triggers are? First step would be to find out what they are by keeping a wellness diary this will help to identify what your triggers are and learning what works for you have a read about the dairy here theibsnetwork.org/blog/how-...

There may be other factors that are linked to your symptoms that have nothing to do with food, ie stress, anxiety life style factors, work. Taking medications, may well not be the answer.

Taking medications and diet, lifestyle changes ect will help but once you have discovered your triggers, there may be something causing them that you are not aware of and then you can start to look at what works for you diet or medication and self-management. A healthy diet isn’t always the solution some parts of that healthy diet may be a trigger food for you. Have a look at this factsheet here IBS (bda.uk.com)

Have you downloaded our take control booklet? theibsnetwork.org/blog/down...

Have a look at the range of details factsheets one on constipation Constipation-Factsheet-booklet-web-.pdf (theibsnetwork.org) and medications MEDICATIONS-factsheet-booklet-WEB-00000002-.pdf (theibsnetwork.org)

Have you looked at and worked through the self care programme? There is a huge amount of information on there re symptoms and medications Constipation | The IBS Network

[grumpyold]

Brilliant information from the IBSNetwork. For me, personally, I have helped my 20 year long constipation with 2 kiwis a day, one Alflorex pro biotic a day and about 2 litres of boiled water. Everyone is different of course but I saw the kiwi suggestion on a programme about gut health, a few months ago. Sorry, cannot remember the name.

Prior to this, I had tried all the "usual" foods to aid constipation and nothing else worked so I was amazed to finally find something that has.

[Jackieboo in reply to grumpyold]

Thank u will definitely try it

[grumpyold in reply to Jackieboo]

Hope it can help. The Alflorex I buy is from Supplement Hub, online and I get the chewable banana and strawberry ones. I like them because you can take at any time of day and don't have to be on an empty stomach.

I remembered the gut health programme's name....."Know your S***." It began in January this year and there were about 4 episodes I think. I got lots of tips from it. Still available to watch on Youtube.

Good luck.

[Jackieboo in reply to grumpyold]

Thank u

[xjrs]

What is your fibre intake like? To improve constipation in the short term you can try ground flaxseed on your breakfast, starting at 1 teaspoon and increasing at 1 teaspoon every 2-3 days - you'll need to consume extra water with it.

These foods are also high fibre:

8-9 Prunes

2 tablespoon chia seeds (soaked for 10-15 mins in milk or non dairy milk with cereal or water)

Shredded wheat (or if GF: Nutribrex)

60g Quinoa

Wholewheat bread

75g Whole grain pastas (if GF: Buckwheat)

2 Hard pears

5 Dried apricots

90g Raspberries

1 orange (contain a natural laxative)

2 kiwi.

I find that I need to have 1 orange or 2 kiwi a day and then another high fibre fruit later in the day to help with BMs. Introduce new foods and any fibre increases slowly, starting with one new thing at a time, waiting for 2-3 days for a response and keep a food diary. You may not need to consume as much fibre as I do.

For breakfast I make a porridge of 4 tablespoon of oat bran and 4 tablespoon all bran (wheat bran), 2.5 small cups of water and microwave for 10 mins. I then mix in 2 tablespoon of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and leave to stand for 15-20 mins since the chia seeds need to form a gel. On top of that I place 8 prunes and eat. The best thing to do is to start with normal oats in similar quantities and, if needed, replace one of the tablespoons of oats with oat bran for a couple of days, carrying on doing this every couple of days until you get to 4 tablespoon of oat bran and 4 tablespoon of oats. Then start replacing with wheat bran in the same manner. You can then add the other ingredients one at a time. You might find you do not need the complete 'recipe' to have a BM. All these individual components are down to tolerance e.g. you may not tolerate wheat (see later about Alflorex), so it is best to keep a food diary (I do this on a spreadsheet) recording symptoms for up to 2-3 days after each change.

I also take 30 drops of ginger extract before bedtime to aid motility. You may need to work up the dose to say 7 drop increments each night.

Exercise can help with BMs. The government recommends 150 mins of moderate exercise (e.g. walking as if you are late for an appointment) or 75 of intense exercise (e.g. jogging) per week. I also have a bit of a walk around straight after breakfast to get things moving.

You need to ensure that you are drinking enough fluids (2 litres of fluid per day).

There is some good advice about constipation here:

theibsnetwork.org/constipat...

theibsnetwork.org/constipat...

There are also medications that help IBS-C (constipation dominant IBS). I suffer from IBS-C and have been prescribed Linaclotide for it. I also take Alflorex probiotic which has made me more tolerant to taking in the extra fibre I need for a BM.

Failing dietary measures, you can try Optifibre, which needs to be worked up to a dose according to instructions. You may not need the full dose - watch out for gas and increment to a level that is acceptable for you.

Some people are more prone to constipation due to their intestinal anatomy. Through colonoscopies I have been told that I have a long loopy (redundant) colon. This means that food takes longer to pass through and in the mean time the intestines have more time to suck out water from the stool, drying them out and causing constipation. I have found that I need to consume much more fibre than other people to have regular BMs.

I have also found useful having most of my food at meal times, leaving 4-5 hours of not eating between meals, eating my fruit snack before a meal. This means that your digestive system has time to process each meal. It also allows something called the MMC (migrating motor complex) to run which sweeps food waste from your small intestine into your large intestine. This only happens when you have an empty stomach. When people snack regularly, it prevents the MMC from working properly. I also find the larger meals help to push things along better than drip feeding through snacking.

[Jackieboo]

Thank u so much this is very informative,I have also introduced ,spinach last night and green tea b4 bed ,I just need to stick to high Fibre foods and run from white bread and all .thank u

[Hidden in reply to Jackieboo]

Eat a big bowl of raisin bran each morning.

[Trec]

Constipation has plagued me for most of my life and IBS for the latter ten years as well as occasionally before that. I have IBS-M though mainly C with bouts of D which knock me out. A few years ago I did the FODmap elimination diet under a hospital dietician for 8 weeks which I think is far too long as I reacted badly (i.e. diarrhoea and pain etc.) when I reintroduced food which had caused no problem previously. This has improved gradually over time but I have to be very careful. Constipation remains a problem of course but what has helped me most is having porridge with milled flax seed on for breakfast - I also add a few cranberries for sweetness as I’m not really a lover of porridge! - as mentioned above the amount needs to be built up gradually and drink water to absorb it - which I often forget though it absorbs the milk when heated in the porridge and I always have a mug of tea with my breakfast so hope that helps! Recently I have taken a teaspoon of Inulin at bedtime which helps further and is supposed to induce a better sleep, as well as a Magnesium tablet. This has improved things for me though not all the time but I am cautious as with IBS-M it’s so easy to tip the balance the other way which is something I dread! Lots of advice above so good luck I hope you find something that helps.

[Jackieboo in reply to Trec]

Thank u so much

[Elf3]

I found that whole foods get digested quicker in me naturally still not normal speed but letting my stomach muscle try build up strength, breads meats tend to take a lot longer, it is said to not be important to go bathroom everyday but for weeks at a time I hate to think what it’s doing all stagnant in my digestive track 🤢😷 .. lots of healthy information on here from soo many soo good luck certain you will find a lot that works for you

[Jackieboo in reply to Elf3]

Thank u

[dogandbone]

Hello. I have had constipation since my teens and I have been having 2tablespoons of Organic linseed gold for over 7 years with shredded wheat, nuts, and fruit. I was told to wash the seeds and eat whole as they swell up in the bowel and help constipation. They have helped me considerably even though I have diverticulitis, a slow bowel transit and a hiatus hernia. Organic Yeo Valley Natural Yoghurt helps too. Home made curry with mainly vegetables and very little meat as this has slow digestion. Eat plenty of fibre and drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Vegetables help as in leafy greens, spinach, broccoli, beetroot and some root veg. Fruit especially kiwi gold, pineapple. a banana now and again as they have a lot of fat and sugar.Hope this helps and you find a solution. E

[Jackieboo in reply to dogandbone]

Thank u have started my Fibre intack

[BabblingBrooks]

I drink coconut milk if I start getting constipated.

[Jackieboo in reply to BabblingBrooks]

Thank u