In this blog post, we’ll discuss the main causes of constipation and how modern diets and lack of exercise affect the gut. Together, we’ll explore the right lifestyle habits to prevent constipation.
A, a freshman in college, has been struggling with constipation lately. She can’t even think about eating breakfast, and her lunch is often bread. In the evenings, when she has time, she often eats fatty foods with her friends. Due to her irregular eating habits, low water intake, and lack of exercise, her digestive system became heavier and heavier. As a result, her bowel movements became sluggish, and she felt uncomfortable and worried about her bowel movements.
Yesterday, she bought tofu and yogurt at the grocery store because they were said to be good for constipation, and she ate breakfast with trepidation. She believed that tofu, which is rich in fiber, and yogurt, which contains lactic acid bacteria, would help relieve constipation. A few minutes later, she rushed to the bathroom at the “purr-purr” signal, and was able to gently pass feces, feeling refreshed and light on her feet.
If anyone reads the above story and doesn’t empathize with A at all, they are blessed. The number of constipation sufferers is increasing every year and constipation is now as common as the common cold. With our busy lives and poor dietary and lifestyle habits, we are living with a ticking time bomb of constipation. But when does this time bomb ignite, and what can we do to protect ourselves from it? Constipation is something that most of us take lightly, and as a result, we don’t know much about it. Let’s dig into constipation together, from causes to prevention.
First, let’s take a look at how feces are made in the body. The two organs directly involved in the production and elimination of feces are the large intestine and the rectum. The large intestine receives food residue from the small intestine, from which it absorbs water and salts. About 300 ml of the water and salt in the food residue that enters the large intestine is absorbed by the ascending colon, while the remaining residue accumulates in the transverse colon, descending colon, and sigmoid colon, and is then excreted. The rectum is responsible for storing fecal matter and then excreting it when we want to pass it.
The smooth movement of the colon and rectum allows us to have a smooth bowel movement. However, just like a car that drives smoothly on a well-paved road can sometimes be late for an appointment due to road conditions, fecal matter can have problems moving through the colon and rectum. Just like waiting for a car to arrive, we often find ourselves waiting for fecal matter that doesn’t arrive, a condition we call constipation.
So, let’s take a look at what causes constipation. There are two main types of constipation: secondary and primary. Secondary constipation is caused by medications used to treat other conditions or diseases. Primary constipation can be categorized into three types: spastic constipation, which is caused by mental stress; functional constipation, which is caused by the muscles around the anus contracting and making it difficult to pass stool; and relaxation constipation. In this article, we’ll focus on the latter, which is caused by poor diet and lifestyle habits in most people.
Causes of flaccid constipation include poor intestinal muscle tone, low-fiber diet, and lack of exercise. In this case, constipation occurs because the intestines lack sensitivity. The intestine performs segmental movements that divide the contents into regular intervals, and it also performs oscillatory movements that mix the contents of the intestine by contracting and relaxing. Finally, the intestines undergo peristalsis, a movement in which each segment moves in turn toward the anus, moving the contents downward. These intestinal motions can occur even if you cut all the nerves to the intestine, so it’s thought that the intestinal wall itself is automatic. However, when the intestines become desensitized due to any of the above causes, the intestines lose their ability to move, and this is what leads to constipation.
Now that we’ve covered the causes of constipation, let’s talk about how to prevent it. In terms of lifestyle and bowel habits, you should exercise and have regular bowel movements at regular times, and in terms of diet, you should eat foods high in fiber and drink plenty of fluids. In A’s case, she didn’t realize this, and her irregular diet, lack of fluids, and lack of exercise led to constipation.
So how does fiber help with constipation? Fiber is not absorbed by the body, and it strongly adsorbs water, so it increases the volume of stools, softens them, and stimulates colon activity to help with bowel movements. However, the problem with high fiber content is that it can be difficult to digest. There is a solution to this problem: fermentation. Fermentation produces a lot of lactic acid bacteria that can break down the fiber, making it easier to digest. Eventually, the fiber and lactic acid bacteria work together to stimulate peristalsis in the large intestine.
Now, based on the above, let’s think about what happened to A’s body this morning. A’s irregular diet has resulted in decreased muscle tone in the intestinal tract itself. She’s struggling with primary constipation, which is constipation caused by dysmotility of the colon and surrounding muscles. But then she eats fiber-rich tofu and probiotic-rich yogurt. The fiber and lactobacilli increased the peristalsis of her intestines, and as a result, she was able to have a bowel movement.
Through A, we learned about constipation, which is something that everyone experiences at least once in their lives. Modern people pay a lot of money for healthy food in order to “eat well and live well,” or “well-being.” However, it is important not only to eat well, but also to digest and excrete the food well. If you eat good food, but it’s not digested or eliminated well, it’s no different than eating bad food. Due to our irregular eating habits, we carry a ticking time bomb of constipation in our bodies, but we need to use our own wisdom to protect ourselves before it explodes.
