What are the best natural laxative foods? There are many natural laxatives that can help with digestive health. And this can help to improve, increase your stool consistency and frequency. Some of the bulk forming laxatives that you can purchase, or use are Metamucil or Citrucel.
And this can be available in pill or powder form. How this works is it moves through the body undigested by absorbing water and swelling to form stools.
What are the best natural laxative foods? Photo credit: iStock-Wirestock
Different Types of Laxatives
- Lubricant laxatives can help soften the stool for easier passage. And mineral oil would be considered a lubricant laxative.
- Stool softeners help with increasing the amount of water absorbed by the stools to make them softer to pass. The types of stool softeners are docusate sodium and docusate calcium.
- Stimulant laxatives can help you speed the movement of your digestive system. And these are available in tablets, pills, powders, chewables, liquids. And some of those stimulant laxatives brand names are Ex-Lax, Dulcolax, etc.
- Over the counter laxatives can start to work within a few hours to a few days to really take a full effect.
Some of the natural laxative foods that you can eat that can help with treating constipation is:
Berries– Berries are high in fiber and are considered a mild natural laxative. Strawberries contain 1.8 grams of fiber per ¾ cup. And blueberries contain about 3.6 grams of fiber. And blackberries contain about 8 grams of fiber per cup.
Legumes are high in fiber and act as a natural laxative. Studies show that eating legumes helps to increase your body’s production of butyric acid. Research studies show that butyric acid can help treat people who are constipated.
Leafy green vegetables. Some of them are spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli, etc. These vegetables are rich in magnesium and can help improve regularity while preventing constipation. Magnesium is one of the main ingredients in laxatives that can help to draw water into the intestines to help pass stools.
Prunes are one of the most notable natural laxative foods that you can eat. It provides lots of fiber with 7.7 grams per serving. Several research studies have shown that prunes can increase stool frequency and improve constipation better than other natural laxatives.
Apples are high in fiber and pectin and pectin is a type of soluble fiber that acts as a laxative. Apples provides 3 grams of fiber per one cup.
Kiwifruit has a lot of natural laxative properties to help with constipation. One cup of kiwifruit contains about 5.4 grams of fiber. And this fruit has a mix of insoluble and soluble fiber.
Chia Seeds are high in fiber and one ounce contains 9.8 grams of fiber. Research studies have shown that eating chia seeds can help increase your stool frequency.
Water
Drinking water has been shown in research studies to help treat constipation by staying hydrated. Drinking water regularly will help to improve the consistency of your stool making it easier to pass.
Some of the side effects to laxatives are:
- Vomiting
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Headache
The Bottom Line is the best natural laxative foods to treat constipation to eat are apples, prunes, kiwifruit, berries, etc. And green leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, kale cabbage, etc.
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References
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