What is constipation?
Constipation is a common problem in the digestive system that occurs in many people, where bowel movements are slow and difficult to pass waste out, and this condition may last for several days or several weeks.
Symptoms of constipation
- Slow bowel movements.
- Hard, dry and clumpy stools.
- Feeling of complete defecation.
- Flatulence and abdominal pain.
- Not going to defecate for more than 3 days.
- Excessive stress for bowel movement when chronic constipation.
- Feeling of a rectal obstruction prevents bowel movement.
- Constipation can lead to headaches, fatigue, allergies, and skin problems.
If a person suffers from one or two of these symptoms within the past three months, he can consider constipation as chronic.
Causes of constipation
- Changing diet, eating disorders, lethargy, laziness and lack of movement.
- Not drinking enough fluids.
- Not including fiber in the diet.
- Eat a lot of dairy products.
- Resist the urge to stool.
- Overuse of laxatives.
- Some medications (especially strong pain medications like drugs, antidepressants, and iron supplements), antacids that contain calcium or aluminum.
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
- Colon Cancer.
- Pelvic muscle problems associated with bowel movement may lead to chronic constipation. These problems may include:
- Inability to relax pelvic muscles to allow bowel movement (in case of anemia).
- Pelvic muscles that do not coordinate relaxation and contraction properly (in case of dyspnea).
- Pelvic muscle weakness.
- Certain diseases may lead to an imbalance in the body’s hormones, which act to balance the body fluids and thus lead to constipation, such as:
- Overactive parathyroid gland.
- Hypothyroidism .
- Neurological problems can affect the nerves that cause colon and rectal muscles to contract and stool movement through the intestine. These problems include the following: –
- Nerve damage that controls body function (autonomic neuropathy).
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Parkinson’s disease.
- Spinal Cord Injury.
- brain attack.
Reasons for constipation in Ramadan
- Radically changing the diet, which leads to a slow metabolism.
- Eat fried foods, refined carbohydrates, sweets and meat at breakfast, which leads to a lack of nutrients that lead to an unbalanced diet.
- As well as eating large quantities at breakfast.
Complications from chronic constipation
Complications from chronic constipation include:
- Stress for bowel movement may cause hemorrhoids.
- Hard or large stools can rupture the anus (anal fissure).
- Chronic constipation may cause a buildup of stools stuck in the intestine wall.
- Due to the stress of the bowel movement to the rectal prolapse from the anus.
- Toxic waste may accumulate on the lining of the slow moving bowel. This accumulation can cause inflammation of the intestine, as toxins are absorbed from the intestine and returned to the liver via the portal vein.
How to get rid of constipation?
- Eat foods rich in fiber such as whole wheat bread, brown rice, olive oil, beans, vegetables, and fruits.
- During breakfast in Ramadan, eat dates because it is beneficial for the vitamins and minerals it contains.
- Cook food by grilling or boiling, instead of frying.
- Place the food well and eat it slowly.
- Avoid eating sweets, pastries, and high-calorie foods during Ramadan.
- Practice walking for 30 minutes, because walking helps to metabolize, and the mind remains clear, but in the case of snacks.
- Drink enough fluid from the body.
- Avoid eating pickles and salt in Ramadan, as it pulls liquids from the body.
- Avoid caffeine, such as tea and coffee, in Ramadan, because it is a diuretic, and the body can lose valuable minerals and salts that the body needs during the day.
- Avoid eating during bedtime meals, as they work on metabolic disorders such as high and low blood sugar and dehydration.
- Not sleeping right after meals because food may take 2-3 hours to digest.
What are the causes of constipation even if you eat a lot of fiber and water?
- There are people who suffer from constipation even if they eat a lot of fiber, because they do not have enough beneficial bacteria in the intestine to digest the fibers, because the beneficial bacteria are those who digest the fibers.
Therefore, you should initially eat a little fiber and boost the beneficial bacteria by eating probiotics.
- Eating large quantities of more water than the body needs causes dehydration, because too much water expels the potassium and electrolytes (electrolytes) that the body needs to moisturize the colon.
So not consuming more water than the body needs.
Reducing water and increasing electrolyte improves excretion.
Potassium is the most important mineral for improving colon movement.
Some food sources rich in potassium
Beet leaves, avocado, green beans, potatoes, spinach, squash, salmon, Brussels sprouts.
https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-constipation#1
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/constipation/symptoms-causes/syc-20354253
https://www.drberg.com/search?query=causes+constipation
https://the.ismaili/eating-health/eating-healthily-during-month-ramadan