A college freshman suffers from constipation due to irregular diet and lack of exercise. Constipation is caused by poor bowel motility, which can be improved with fiber, probiotics, and a regular lifestyle.
A, a freshman in college, has been suffering from constipation lately. She can’t even think about eating breakfast, and she often eats bread for lunch. In the evening, when she has more time, she often eats fatty foods with her friends. Due to her irregular eating habits, not drinking enough water, and not exercising enough, her digestive system became heavier and heavier. As a result, her bowel movements became sluggish, and she felt uncomfortable and troubled.
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 people 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 colon is absorbed by the ascending colon, while the rest of the residue accumulates in the transverse colon, descending colon, and sigmoid colon before being excreted. The rectum is primarily 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, where the contents are divided into segments at regular intervals, and oscillatory movements, where the contents are mixed by repeated contractions and relaxations. 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. ‘ 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 can’t be digested or eliminated well, it’s no different than eating bad food. Due to irregular eating habits, modern people carry a ticking time bomb of constipation in their bodies, but it’s up to you to use your own wisdom to protect your body before it explodes.
