When It Comes to the Best Products for Relief chronic constipationIs kiwi on your shopping list?
New dietary guidelines from the British Dietetic Association, published on Monday, say kiwi – along with rye bread and some supplements – can help relieve symptoms of constipation.
According to the authors, these recommendations are the first evidence-based recommendations for treating constipation with diet rather than medication.
Chronic constipation affects others 16% of adults worldwideand constipation is the cause of almost 2.5 million doctor visits in the United States per year, according to the American College of Gastroenterology.
Eirini Dimidi, lead author of the guidelines, said existing management guidelines chronic constipation mainly focused on pharmaceuticals.
Some dietary recommendations – eat more fiber, drink more water — are controversial and often lack research to back them up.
“I remember looking at the guidelines and realizing they were just very limited in the number of dietary recommendations,” said Dimidi, a registered dietitian and associate professor of dietetics at King's College London.
To develop the new recommendations, the authors analyzed clinical trials and assessed the effectiveness of each treatment for constipation. Recommendations were jointly published in the journals Human Nutrition & Dietetics and Neurogastroenterology & Motility.
What is chronic constipation?
Constipation, defined as fewer than three bowel movements per week, is considered chronic if it lasts for more than three months.
Symptoms may vary from person to person, but general hard or lumpy stools, abdominal pain and nausea. More severe symptoms Constipation includes blood in the stool, fever, and vomiting.
Constipation can be caused by diet, lifestyle, certain illnesses and injuries, and certain medications. His extremely commonaffecting people of all ages, genders and races.
“I see chronic constipation across the spectrum,” said Sue-Ellen Anderson-Haines, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “I see it in toddlers, I see it in school-aged children, I see it in adults. So it's common,” she said.
Chronic constipation may seriously influence people's lives and limit their physical capabilities, worsening their quality of life and labor productivity.
“If you have chronic constipation, you may not be able to even participate in physical activity because you feel bloated, you feel pain, you feel sick, it can affect your mood,” said Anderson-Haines, who also owns 360 Girls and Women, a nutrition and health practice based in Boston.
How is chronic constipation treated?
Dr. William Chey, a professor of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan and incoming president of the American College of Gastroenterology, said most research on treating chronic constipation has focused on fiber supplements such as psyllium and medications such as bisacodyl, senna and amitiza.
He added that US guidelines “largely focus on drug management of chronic constipation.”
Traditional treatments for constipation Include increasing your fiber intake through foods such as prunes and other fruits and vegetables, drinking more water, and using a variety of laxatives.
While the new recommendations include certain fiber-rich foods and fiber supplements, there are no overall recommendations for a “high fiber diet.”
“When we made these recommendations and looked at the literature, we expected a lot more data on a high-fiber diet, and for constipation there just isn't enough data,” Dimidi said.
“There is a lot of evidence that a high-fiber diet is very beneficial for our overall health, as well as for gut health, such as reducing the risk of colorectal cancer,” she added. “But when it comes to constipation in particular, we just don't have enough evidence to say it relieves constipation.”
What are the new recommendations?
Chey, who was not involved in developing the new guidelines, said the guidelines “provide a valuable roadmap for things that [people] can try as they wait to see their primary care physician.”
He added that people with more severe cases of constipation may need to see a gastroenterologist.
Recommendations include:
- Fiber supplements: More than 10 grams of fiber supplements, such as psyllium, per day can improve stool frequency and consistency and help reduce tension. Fiber supplements should be administered slowly and the dosage increased gradually.
- Probiotics: Some strains of probiotics, including, B. milk And Bacillus coagulants IS2 is unique and may help some people with symptoms. When taking one of these, patients must take the supplement of their choice and follow the manufacturer's instructions for at least four weeks.
- Magnesium oxide supplements: 0.5 to 1.5 grams per day can help improve stool frequency and consistency, reduce symptoms such as bloating and abdominal pain, and improve overall quality of life. The dosage should start at 0.5 grams per day and gradually increase weekly.
- Kiwi: Three a day, peeled or unpeeled, may help improve stool frequency, but not consistency.
- Rye bread. Six to eight slices of rye bread a day may also improve stool frequency, but not consistency. The authors noted that this amount may be unrealistic for some people.
- High-mineral water: In combination with other treatments, 0.5–1.5 liters per day of high-mineral water may also help. One of the key minerals in high mineral water, magnesium, is a known laxative.
The only recommendation that gives Chey pause is probiotics. “People's microbiomes… vary greatly from place to place depending on diet, genetics and environment, so it's very difficult to make any general statements about the use of specific probiotics,” he said.
Overall, though, he said, “I think this kind of guidance would be very helpful.”
Dimidi said she hoped publishing the guidelines could “empower” people with chronic constipation.
“We hope [the guidance] This means doctors are very well informed and can give their patients personalized advice that is very effective, she said. “But also that people with constipation themselves can now access evidence-based information and feel empowered to take control of their symptoms and improve the condition, which has a huge impact on their quality of life.”
