🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Are You Really Constipated?
Do you think you suffer from constipation—but truly do you? Our lives are filled with advertisements promoting bowel regularity, making us believe daily defecation is essential for health. However, Dr. Huston disagrees. Many people experience psychological constipation—they perceive themselves as constipated, but actually aren’t. In reality, bowel movement frequency varies greatly among individuals. For some, three bowel movements per day may be normal; for others, three times a week might suffice.
Is Your Fluid Intake Adequate?
Experts unanimously agree that the primary step for constipation sufferers is to assess their diet. The most crucial dietary factors are fiber and fluids. Consuming ample amounts of both is necessary to soften stool and promote its passage through the colon. How much fluid and fiber is enough? Adults should drink at least six cups of fluid daily—eight cups are better. While all liquids work, water is the best choice. Regarding fiber intake, see the next section.
Consume Abundant Fiber
Harper notes that most Americans don’t consume enough fiber. The American Dietetic Association recommends adults consume 20–35 grams of dietary fiber daily, with constipation patients needing at least 30 grams. Where does fiber come from? Harper says: “Fiber comes from complex carbohydrates—such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.” With mindful food choices, obtaining 30 grams of fiber daily is achievable. For instance, half a cup of mung beans provides 5 grams; one small apple offers 3 grams; one bowl of oat bran delivers 13 grams. Top sources of fiber include dried cooked legumes, dried plums, figs, grapes, popcorn, oats, pears, and nuts. However, gradually increase fiber intake to avoid excessive flatulence.
Cultivate Exercise Habits
You know exercise benefits the heart, but did you know it also helps the intestines? “Generally, regular physical activity promotes food transit through the gut and helps relieve constipation,” says Professor Ashney.
Walking During Pregnancy
Any form of regular exercise helps relieve constipation, but walking is most frequently recommended by experts. Walking is especially beneficial for pregnant women, whose intestinal motility may be impaired due to fetal growth. Dr. Tang advises everyone—including pregnant women—to walk 20–30 minutes daily. Pregnant women should avoid walking too strenuously.
Self-Training on the Toilet
Many people habitually use the toilet only when they feel the urge, rather than following natural bodily signals. Suppressing the urge can gradually lead to constipation. But it’s never too late to improve your habits. Dr. Huston says: “After meals is the most natural time to defecate. So try sitting on the toilet for 10 minutes after each meal. Over time, this trains the colon to develop a natural routine.”
Relax Your Mind
When startled or stressed, your mouth dries up and your heart races. Your intestines also stop moving. Dr. Lorde explains this is a fight-or-flight response. If you feel pressure from constipation, try relaxing or listening to upbeat music.
Laugh Heartily
Laughter shakes the abdomen, helping prevent constipation lasting one or two days. It acts like a massage on the intestines, aids digestion, and relieves stress and tension, says Kallum.
Use Laxatives Cautiously
Over-the-counter laxatives usually work effectively, but they can cause dependency. Overuse of these chemical products makes your intestines reliant on them, worsening constipation. When should you use laxatives? “Almost never,” says Dr. Rousseau.
Identify Natural Laxatives
Besides chemical laxatives, many pharmacies sell another type labeled “natural” or “herbal laxatives.” These often contain ground psyllium seed—a highly concentrated fiber source. Unlike chemical laxatives, it doesn’t cause dependency and is generally safe for long-term use. However, always take with plenty of water (follow instructions carefully) to prevent the product from sticking in the intestines.
Try Your Doctor’s Special Formula
Many psyllium-based laxatives are expensive. You can buy psyllium at health food stores and prepare your own blend, possibly more cost-effective. Dr. Lorde suggests mixing 2 parts psyllium, 1 part flaxseed, and 1 part oat bran, grinding together into a high-fiber mixture. “Mix this with water into a paste and consume a portion around 9 PM nightly,” says Dr. Lorde.
Occasional Use of Fast-Acting Relief
If fiber fails, consider using enemas or suppositories—they act faster than other remedies. Dr. Rousseau says occasional use is acceptable, but frequent use may lead to rectal dependence, worsening constipation. Use only water or alkaline solution enemas. Never use soap water—it may irritate the intestines. When buying suppositories, choose glycerin-based ones; avoid harsh chemical types.
Be Cautious with Medications and Supplements
Many drugs can trigger or worsen constipation. Common culprits include aluminum- or calcium-containing antacids, antihistamines, anti-Parkinson medications, calcium supplements, diuretics, anesthetics, phenothiazines, sedatives, and tricyclic antidepressants.
Pay Attention to Certain Foods
Some foods may cause constipation in certain individuals but have no effect—or even opposite effects—on others. For example, milk may severely cause constipation in some but induce diarrhea in others. If your constipation stems from colonic spasm, avoid gas-producing foods like beans, cauliflower, and cabbage. If constipation causes severe pain, you may have spastic colitis.
Reduce Portion Size
Dr. Huston advises those with spastic colitis to avoid large meals, as they stretch the digestive tract and worsen constipation.
Exercise Caution with Herbal Remedies
There are countless herbal treatments for constipation. Commonly mentioned ones include senna juice, cascara, rhubarb, and buckthorn bark—all effective, but Dr. Lorde warns: use them cautiously. Some herbal laxatives, like chemical ones, should not be overused.
Avoid Excessive Straining
Forcing bowel movements is unwise and may cause hemorrhoids or anal fissures—painful conditions that further narrow the anus and worsen constipation. Excessive straining also raises blood pressure and slows heart rate. Dr. Rousseau notes that some elderly constipation patients have even fainted while on the toilet, sometimes resulting in fractures.
Avoid Pure Vegetable Oils
Eliminating pure plant oils—such as vegetable oil, olive oil, or soybean oil—from your diet may help relieve chronic constipation, says Dr. Deel. Dr. Deel explains: “It’s not the oils themselves that are bad, but when consumers ingest pure refined oils, they tend to cause constipation and various other digestive issues.” His theory is based on early 20th-century health reformer Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (brother of the founder of Kellogg’s cereal). The issue lies in these oils forming a film in the stomach, hindering the digestion of carbohydrates and proteins in the stomach and small intestine. “This delays proper digestion by about 20 hours, leading to food fermentation, gas production, and accumulation of toxins in the colon and large intestine.”
Medical Tip
Consult a doctor for safety. Constipation itself is usually not serious, but seek medical attention if severe symptoms persist for over three weeks, mobility is impaired, or there is blood in the stool. Constipation may signal an underlying serious illness, though rare. Additionally, if constipation is accompanied by abdominal bloating, it may indicate intestinal obstruction.
Home Self-Treatment:
1. Massage
Lie on your back, stack both palms, and perform clockwise circular motions centered on the navel, focusing on the upper and lower abdomen until warmth is felt—about 2 minutes. Then press and rub acupoints Zhongwan, Tianshu, and Qihai for 1 minute each. Press and rub the Zhigou point with your thumb until a sensation of soreness and distension is felt—about 1 minute. Finally, use the heel of your hand to stroke the rectus abdominis muscle from top to bottom—about half a minute. Lastly, lie on your back again, and the practitioner uses the palm heel to stroke the lower back and sacral region—about 1 minute.
2. Gua Sha
Vigorously scrape along the meridian points: Dazhui, Dajiu, Gao Huang, Shentang, Dachangshu, Tianshu, Shangjuxu, and Zhigou. For heat stagnation, add scraping at Quchi and Hegu. For qi stagnation, add scraping at Zhongwan and Xingjian. For qi and blood deficiency, lightly scrape Pishu. For lower jiao deficiency, lightly scrape from Qihai to Guanyuan. Each point group scraped for 3–5 minutes.
3. Plaster Application
① Three field snails, a little salt. Crush the snails, mix with salt, and apply to the Qihai acupoint. Apply once daily.
② 6 grams of powdered licorice root, 6 grams of honey, 3 grams of musk. Mix into a finger-thick strip, insert into the anus. Bowel movement occurs within 5 minutes.
③ 9 grams of mirabilite, dissolve in water, add powdered soapberry, mix well, and apply to the navel. Apply once daily.
4. Health-Beneficial Exercises
Lie on your back, slightly raise your head level with your chest, close eyes slightly, touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, keep feet together, place one hand on the chest and one on the abdomen. Perform deep abdominal breathing: inhale slowly through the nose, expanding the abdomen to lift the hand on the belly. Then exhale slowly, letting the hand fall gently—both hands relaxed. Practice once or twice daily, 500–100 breaths per session. Swallow saliva in three portions.
Constipation