Constipation can be very frustrating especially when you’ve tried every drink, remedy, or foods that should be helping you but aren’t. You feel bloated and gassy, you’re tired all the time, you’re having mood swings, and just feel uncomfortable! Here are 57 foods to avoid when constipated if you want to change all of the above.
You see, maintaining a healthy gut is key to reducing constipation and by choosing high fiber foods and reducing certain types of foods from your diet, you can successfully reset your gut. By doing so, you not only get to have regular bowel movements but you’ll also be able to reduce inflammation as well.
Common Causes Of Constipation
Constipation can be caused by genetics but in most cases, it’s actually the side effect of your daily lifestyle and eating habits. Hormone deficiency can also cause constipation symptoms but it’s usually what we eat that messes up the balance in the gut. Studies also show that not exercising regularly can prevent regular bowel movements as well.
Other factors like how you sit on the toilet, stress, and weakened intestines can play an important role in how the colon is emptied. This is why I always recommend seeking professional help with any condition before trying to treat yourself, however, changing your diet is a healthy way to start finding relief from constipation.
Symptoms Of Constipation
Constipation basically means your poop is having a hard time coming out, and it can make your stomach feel pretty uncomfortable. When you are constipated, you might only go to the bathroom fewer than three times a week and when you finally do go, the poop is often hard, dry, and shaped like little pebble rocks.
You might have to push or strain really hard to get it out, and it can sometimes hurt or feel like your stomach didn’t get totally emptied. It is also common to feel super full, bloated, or like you have an uncomfortable ache in your belly until things start moving again.
When To Worry About Constipation
You should always consult with your doctor if you notice a change in your bowel habits, but seek immediate medical attention if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Sudden constipation that is accompanied by pain
- Complete inability to pass stool or gas
- Severe pain when passing stool
- Blood in the stool
- Change in the size, shape, and consistency of your stool
- Constipated for more than 2 weeks
Foods To Avoid When Constipated
So first off, let’s talk about why maintaining a healthy gut helps reduce constipation. You see a healthy gut is made of balanced bacteria and microbiomes. (a microbiome protects us against germs, breaks down food to release energy, and produces vitamins”)
Over time, as we eat a lot of processed and fatty foods, it disrupts the microbiome of our stomach and causes constipation and inflammation. Also, not eating the right foods can lead to unbalanced bacteria in the gut which in many cases has been shown to cause constipation symptoms.
Now just so you know, other factors like smoking, not exercising, drinking alcohol, taking too many antibiotics, stress, and not sleeping well can lead to an unhealthy gut too. That’s why it’s important to change your lifestyle as well as your diet to improve your gut health.
Additionally, an unhealthy gut won’t produce the right amount of stomach acids and enzymes needed to break down carbs, fats, and proteins correctly, therefore, it begins to lag. Your job is to consider fixing this problem by adding fruits, vegetables, and high-fiber foods to your diet, this will help you get rid of constipation long-term.
To reduce constipation symptoms almost completely, you will need to consume 25 grams of dietary fiber daily for women and 30 grams for men. You also need to drink up to 8 glasses of water daily and do some exercise. Try these old-fashioned constipation remedies!
1. Fast Food
Fast foods such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, burritos, muffins, tacos, and sandwiches are usually high in fat and low in dietary fiber which is essential in reducing constipation. Although delicious, you are just not getting the right nutrition from them.
You see, fast foods tend to contain a ton of carbs so you definitely don’t want that when suffering from constipation because as I mentioned above, they are simply harder to digest. Try opting for healthier versions of these foods like vegan burgers with whole wheat bread and make your own snacks at home using high-fiber ingredients.
2. Fried Foods
Fried foods such as French fries, cheese sticks, chicken, fish, chicken strips, onion rings, and fish fingers, are extremely high in calories and trans fat. Also, they are low in fiber, and water, and high in sodium which causes water retention. Eating fried foods can lead to gut inflammation, therefore, constipation.
3. Foods Made With White Flour
Eating foods that are made with white flour such as bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, muffins, bagels, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, cereals, cupcakes, pretzels, chips, and crackers can be very hard to digest. These type of foods puts a workload on your colon making it harder to poop because they have very high starch content.
4. Types Of Protein
So we all know that protein is great for you but not all protein is easy on the stomach. For example, red meat, hot dogs, briskets, pork belly, ribs, eggs, and meat with high-fat content slows down digestion because these types of protein take longer to be broken down in the gut.
Also, this study shows that eating red meat a lot can damage the cells that line the bowel. Also, these types of protein listed above do not contain any dietary fiber so there is no way you are having a bowel movement after eating them. It’s better to eat more turkey, chicken, or fish when constipated.
5. Foods High In Gluten
Foods that are high in gluten such as candies, cakes, pies, cookies, crackers, bulgur wheat, cereals, white bread, whole wheat bread, potato bread, rye bread, sourdough bread, whole wheat wraps, wheat crackers, barley, flour tortillas, and communion wrappers can cause digestive issues and constipation especially if gluten-intolerant.
Most people are allergic to gluten and they don’t even know that they are. Some of the common symptoms of gluten intolerance include constipation or diarrhea, bloating and gas, fatigue, stomach pain, and indigestion.
6. Processed Foods
So processed foods such as white rice, white pasta, and white bread tend to have little to no fiber because, during processing, the bran and germs are removed to prolong shelf-life. Eating these foods will cause constipation therefore, it’s better to go for whole grains instead if you are not gluten intolerant.
7. Dairy Foods & Drinks
Similar to being gluten intolerant, some people are allergic to dairy foods and when consumed can lead to constipation. You see, dairy products such as milk, ice cream, and cheese contain calcium which can cause constipation if you are lactose intolerant.
8. Alcohol
It’s okay to have a glass or two every once in a while but drinking alcohol regularly can stop your body from holding on to water which is needed in your colon to give your stool bulk. That’s because alcohol stops your body from releasing a hormone called vasopressin.
Vasopressin helps your body hold water, less vasopressin will make you pee more, which leads to dehydration as well, which is never good for constipation. Also, people who are allergic to gluten can also experience constipation symptoms after drinking beer, ale, stout, or porter because they contain barley.
List Of Foods That Cause Constipation
Here is a list of all the constipation-causing foods you need to avoid because these are foods that worsen constipation and may lead to inflammation, obesity, and other health problems. So you are actually solving 3 problems by eliminating the following foods, improving your health, losing weight, and reducing constipation.
- Red meat
- High-fat meat
- Briskets
- Pork belly
- Ribs
- Eggs
- Hot dogs
- Fried Chicken
- Fried Fish
- Fish Fingers
- Chicken strips
- Cheese sticks
- Onion rings
- Hamburgers
- Cheeseburgers
- Pizza
- Burritos
- Sandwiches
- Bagels
- Muffins
- Tacos
- French fries
- Chips
- Candies
- Pies
- Cupcakes
- Cakes
- Pancakes
- Waffles
- Cereals
- Doughnuts
- Pretzels
- Crackers
- Wheat crackers
- Whole wheat wraps
- Flour tortillas
- White bread
- Cheese
- Ice cream
- Cookies
- Chocolate
- Chewing gum
- Sugary sweets
- White rice
- White Pasta
- Wheat
- Barley
- Rye
- Triticale
- Spelt
- Kamut
- Multigrain
- Seven grain
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Pastries
- Persimmons
- under-riped bananas
Fruits To Avoid When Constipated
There are not many fruits that cause constipation except for 2 in particular. The first is persimmons which contain a compound called tannins known to cause constipation. The second is semi-ripe or under-ripe bananas, that’s because they contain a type of resistant starch that leads to constipation when consumed.
Best Foods For Constipation
Now that we have a whole list of bad foods for constipation, what can you actually eat to help you poop? Well, start by adding high-probiotic foods to your diet such as yogurt, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, kimchi, and sourdough to your diet. Other foods like almonds, leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, apples, prunes, apricots, and oats can help reduce constipation.
Conclusion
Now you know about the foods that worsen constipation and what you need to eat instead. Changing your diet and eating healthy is the only way to get rid of constipation so I am definitely rooting for you! Please don’t forget to share it with your friends. That’s a great help to me. Stay awesome until next time!