Who suffers from constipation, should not immediately reach for a chemical laxative, but rather first try to get the digestion going again in a natural way. We give you tips on how it works again with the digestion without chemical laxatives and present some natural laxatives and laxative home remedies.
Get the digestion going naturally
If you suffer from constipation, you should first take a closer look at your everyday behavior: How healthy do you eat? And what about your physical activity? We’ve put together some tips here that might help you give your digestion a leg up without laxatives:
- Pay conscious attention to your diet: try to consume foods that contain a lot of fiber as much as possible. Dietary fiber is indigestible food components that swell up in the intestines, thereby boosting digestion. Whole-grain products are particularly rich in dietary fiber. In addition, they also occur in fruit, vegetables and legumes in larger quantities.
- Check whether you drink enough. Per day, you should take at least two liters of fluid – preferably water. If you drink too little, this can cause the stool is particularly hard and difficult to excrete.
- Get active in sports: go jogging, swimming, walking or ride a bike. Exercise is like a massage for the intestines and thus helps to boost digestion.
In addition to changing your diet, a light abdominal massage can also help with constipation: Massage your abdomen several times a day around the navel. It is important to perform the circular movements in a clockwise direction.
Natural home remedies for constipation
If you suffer from digestive problems or constipation and they have no success with a change in diet and more exercise, you can also resort to natural home remedies for constipation. These include, for example:
- Sauerkraut or sauerkraut juice
- Dried prunes, apricots or figs (tip: soak prunes in water overnight and do not consume until the next morning).
- Pear juice or prune juice
- Kiwis
- Legumes such as lentils and beans
Stuffing foods such as bananas, cocoa or white flour products, on the other hand, should be avoided.
If the digestive aids do not strike, you can resort to a particularly gentle laxative with swelling agents. Swelling agents include, for example, flaxseed, psyllium or wheat bran. These natural laxatives should always be taken with sufficient liquid, as they swell up in the intestines. Swelling agents can also be taken over a longer period of time without negative health consequences.
When taking bulking agents, however, it should be noted that they can delay or even inhibit the absorption of other medications. Therefore, medications should be given to the body in a staggered manner.
Beware of herbal laxatives
Herbal products have a reputation for being particularly mild and digestible. However, this is not true for some herbal laxatives: herbal laxatives containing the active ingredient anthraquinone are suspected of causing particularly serious side effects such as cancer. Laxatives containing anthraquinone include those made from senna leaves, aloe, rhubarb and sloth bark.
Nowadays, anthraquinone-containing laxatives may only be used for short periods of time due to their side effects. In addition, they may only be prescribed for constipation and no longer for digestive support. In addition, these herbal laxatives are now sold only in package sizes appropriate for therapy.
