What is Constipation and What Effects Behind Constipation

  

Constipation is defined as having a bowel movement fewer than three time per week. With constipation stools are usually hard, dry, small in size, and difficult to eliminate. Some people who are constipated find it painful to have a bowel movement and often experience straining, bloating and the sensation of a full bowel. Some people think they are constipated if they do not have a bowel movement every day. However normal stool elimination may be three times a day or three times a week, depending on the person. Constipation is a symptom , not a disease. Almost everyone experiences constipation at some point in their life and a poor diet typically is the cause.
Most constipation is temporary and not serious. Understanding its causes, prevention, and treatment will help most people find relief. Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints in the world. More than 40 million have frequent constipation, accounting for 2.5 million physician visits a year. Those reporting constipation most often are women and adults ages 65 and older. Pregnant women may have constipation and it is a common problem following childbirth or surgery.Self-treatment of constipation with over-the-counter that is called OTC laxatives is by for the most common.
  Many symptoms are attributed by patients to constipation and include headache, malaise, nausea and a bad taste in the mouth. Other symptoms include abdominal bloating and or discomfort from the irritable bowl syndrome , aw well as local and perinatal pain. To understand constipation , it helps to know the colon, or large intestine, work. As food moves through the colon, the colon absorbs water from the food while it forms waste products, or stool. Muscle contraction in the colon then push the stool toward the rectum. By the time stool reaches the rectum it is solid, because most of the water has been absorbed. Constipation occurs when the colon absorbs too much water or if the colon,s muscle contractions are slow or sluggish, causing the stool to move through the colon too slowly. As a result stool can become hard and dry.
          Common causes of constipation are not enough fiber in the diet, lack of physical activity, medications, milk, irritable bowel syndrome, changes in life or routine such as pregnancy, aging, and travel, abuse of laxatives, ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement. People who eat a high fiber diet are less likely to become constipated.
          The most common causes of constipation are a diet low in fiber or a diet high in fats, such as cheese, eggs, and meats. Fiber-both soluble and insoluble-is the part of fruits, vegetables and grains that the body cannot digest. Soluble fiber dissolves easily in water and takes on a soft, gel-like texture in the intestines. Insoluble fiber passes through the intestines almost unchanged. The bulk and soft texture of fiber help to prevent hard, dry stools that are difficult to pass.
  Americans eat and average of 5 to 14 grams of fiber daily, which is short of the 20 to 35 grams recommended by the American Diabetic Association. Both children and adults often eat too many refined and processed foods from which the natural fiber has been removed.