It’s obvious that my aunt has suffered from thyroid dysfunction. She doesn’t need a specialist to tell her because of her obvious symptoms of thyroid problem like protruding eyes and swollen neck.
Besides the prominent eyes and swelling neck, my aunt always complains about fatigue, cold hands and feet, weight gain, insomnia, constipation, forgetfulness and heavy menstrual periods.
Family members have been urging her to get a thorough checkup at a nearby hospital.
There are some of us here who do not visit the toilet often enough. Beware. If you have less than three stools per week, you are suffering from constipation.
Constipation is a symptom, not a disease or a diagnosis. It simply means having fewer bowel movements than usual, with stools that are hard or difficult to excrete. The number of time one passes motion varies from person to person. Some people pass motion daily while others may only do it once or twice a week.
Here are 5 Simple self care tips on constipation:
1. Diet – Increase your fiber intake by taking more vegetables and fruits. Low fiber diet increases the likelihood of constipation while high fiber diet not only prevents constipation but is also known to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Try to eat papaya before you sleep. I find that it makes passing motion the next day a lot easier.
2. Exercise – Regular exercises help your bowel movement. Conversely, immobilization and lack of exercise increases the risk of constipation.
3. Water intake – You should take at least 2 liters of water daily, and more when the weather is hot or when you perspire profusely.
If you are like me who doesn’t like drinking water because it is too plain. Then, squeeze some lime or lemon juice into the water to add taste to it. If you drink a glass of water added with a free drops of lime or lemon upon waking up in the morning , it helps your bowel movement tremendously- This is my personal experience.
4. Prune juice has been known to improve bowel movement.
5. Try not to resist the urge to pass motion or put off a trip to the bathroom.
I read about Digestive Advantage IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Caplets, 92-Count Box
I haven’t been officially diagnosed with IBS, but the symptoms were all there so I figured that if this worked, that must be my problem!
Digestive Advantage IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Caplets, 92-Count Box
Just one important tip if you have IBS: Start every meal or snack with 1 or 2 bites of a soluble fiber food (carrots, brown rice, potato, etc). It lessens the shock to your digestive “brain” and makes a big difference.
Now the only time I have my old digestive troubles is when I’m under stress, so I exercise and do breathing exercises to try to relax.