Common Constipation Culprits

Common Constipation Culprits

Constipation is a real problem, which can cause significant inconvenience, discomfort, and even disability for some individuals. For most people, these are likely to be food sensitivity problems, as opposed to irreversible pathological diseases. Chronic constipation is not an inevitable consequence of aging; it can usually be alleviated by knowing which foods are gumming up the works.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is commonly divided into two main types: “IBS-C” (IBS with constipation) and “IBS-D” (IBS with diarrhea). This blog post focuses on IBS-C.

GOLDEN RULE OF IBS-C: This is primarily about indigestion. If a food is hard to digest, it will slow things down. It’s that simple.

When exploring the connection between your symptoms and these foods for yourself, keep in mind that poorly-digested foods can cause delayed or prolonged symptoms because they are processed so slowly. Most of these foods can affect digestion for several days after you swallow them. It is also important to recognize that sluggish digestion can cause all kinds of other problems north of the intestines, including heartburn and reflux (“GERD”).

THE FIVE MOST COMMON CULPRITS:

1. GLUTEN. This is a sticky protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. This protein has a special globular structure that is very hard for our enzymes to digest.

2. CASEIN. This is a sticky protein found in most dairy products. Baby cows come with a special enzyme in their stomachs called rennet, which is designed especially to break down casein. Humans do not have rennet, so casein is very hard for us to digest. Hard cheeses and high-protein yogurts (such as “Greek style” yogurts) are especially good at triggering IBS-C.

3. CRUCIFEROUS VEGGIES. Lots of veggies happen to be crucifers, including broccoli, kale, and cabbage. This veggie family contains high amounts of an indigestible short-chain carbohydrate (or oligosaccharide) called raffinose. Human enzymes cannot break down raffinose into sugar, but bacteria in the colon love to munch on raffinose and turn it into a lovely gas called methane. This will not only make you unpopular at parties, but can slow digestion and cause significant bloating and discomfort, as well.

4. LEGUMES. These are beans and pod vegetables, including soy, lentils, green beans, peas, and garbanzo beans. There are two main reasons why these foods are hard to digest. One is that they contain lots of raffinose (see #3), and the other is that they contain high amounts of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber acts like a sponge in the digestive tract—it absorbs water and swells into a big sticky gel that can form a large, lovely CLOG. Soluble fiber cannot be digested except by bacteria in the colon, so it also eventually forms delightful gases.

5. NUTS. These are very closely related to legumes. Nuts and legumes are both types of seeds, and therefore contain similar compounds, namely indigestible short-chain carbohydrates and soluble fiber. All seeds also contain enzyme inhibitors which interfere with our ability to digest the proteins within these foods. These inhibitors are damaged or destroyed by cooking, but we often do not cook nuts before eating them. This may be why some people find nuts even more difficult to digest than legumes, which are always thoroughly cooked before eating.

The above are just the most likely suspects in constipation, but keep in mind that everyone is different, and these are not the only foods that can cause problems for people.  For instance, there are people who say that other foods that can be problematic, including raw vegetables of all kinds, gelatin (especially if very concentrated, such as in gummi candies), grains (even those that do not include gluten, such as rice), and fruits high in pectin and insoluble fiber, such as apples and bananas.

HYDRATION. Keep in mind that water is important for your digestion. It keeps the food you eat moving along through your intestines and it keeps your intestines smooth and flexible, too. Dehydration is one of the most common causes of chronic constipation. The food you eat makes its way from your stomach to the large intestine, or colon. If you don’t have enough water in your body already -- if you're dehydrated -- the large intestine soaks up water from your food waste. This makes hard stools that are difficult to pass. So remember to drink plenty of water. Besides water, you can also drink fruit and vegetable juices, clear soups, and herbal teas. These are also good sources of fluids for healthy digestion. Not all fluids are great for hydration. Some are diuretics, which get rid of water from your body and lead to dehydration. So limit the intake of caffeinated drinks, such as tea and coffee, and avoid alcohol. 

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