Constipation Relieved Naturally

Constipation is a problem that affects many Americans every day. Constipation is mainly due to poor eating habits, insufficient exercise, not getting enough fiber and not drinking enough water. Constipation is quite uncomfortable and most everyone knows when they have it. Common symptoms include:

Straining to have a bowel movement

Hard stools ? pellet like stools

Not having a bowel movement every day

Not totally emptying your bowels each time you have a movement

If you eat right and adopt a healthy lifestyle, you need not every suffer from constipation, but what can you do in the meantime?

One way to help get things moving is to increase your intake of potassium through eating foods it naturally occurs in. You remember your grandmother telling you to eat prunes to relieve constipation, right? Well that is because prunes are high in potassium!

Potassium works wonders on the walls of the colon and helps to stimulate peristaltic action which makes your bowels move. It also helps to clean out layers of mucus and dried fecal matter that have built up along the colon walls.

Other foods that contain potassium include: tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, kale, sesame seeds, wheat germ, brewers yeast, pineapple and cauliflower.

Another natural remedy for constipation is Aloe. This herb that works so good on your outsides can also help your insides too! Aloe and its cousins buckthorn, frangula and senna have natural laxative chemicals and can be very powerful constipation cures It is recommended you take any of these herbs with caution and not for extended periods of time.

Psyllium has long been used to help relieve symptoms of constipation as it is loaded with soluble fiber. Make sure you take psyllium with lots of water.

Flax seed is used in may packaged products that treat constipation. You can buy the flaxseeds and crush them yourself. Take one or two tablespoons a day with lots of water. You will need to make sure you get at least 8 glasses of water a day when using flax.

Rhubarb has laxative properties and is high in fiber. Since the properties that give it it's laxative qualities are similar to those in senna, this can be very powerful so use with caution!

While using natural remedies for constipation is much better then taking laxatives, the best thing to do is to practice prevention by eating lots of fruits and vegetables, getting adequate exercise and drinking lots of water.

Lee Dobbins writes for Colon Articles where you can find a wealth of information on how to take care of your colon. Find more articles on constipation and colon care at Colon Care Articles.

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President-elect Barack Obama arrives with Nancy Killefer, his appointee as White House Chief Performance Officer, during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, January 7, 2009. (Jason Reed/Reuters)AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday the recession could "linger for years" unless Congress pumps unprecedented sums from Washington into the economy.



Pedestrians walk past Generations Menswear on 8th Ave. in New York Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Retailers are reporting dismal sales for December, confirming fears that the holiday season was the weakest in four decades.  (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)AP - Retailers reported dismal sales figures for December on Thursday as even Wal-Mart Stores Inc., one of the bright spots in the industry, finally buckled under the pressures of the deteriorating economy.



Palestinian demonstrators use sling-shots to hurl stones at Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israel's military operation in Gaza, in the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah,Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday after a three-hour lull to allow delivery of humanitarian aid, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt. Despite the heavy fighting, strides appeared to be being made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)AP - Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into Israel early Thursday, threatening to open a new front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with a bloody offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 people. Israel responded with mortar shells.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris smiles as he meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Illinois Republicans are promising tough questions Thursday for Senate-appointee Roland Burris on why he accepted a position offered by disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich and whether he promised the governor anything in return.



General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner addresses the media during a news conference at GM world headquarters in Detroit, Michigan December 19, 2008. Wagoner said on Thursday he was confident the automaker will win the concessions it needs from the United Auto Workers union to meet the restructuring terms dictated by the $13.4 billion federal bailout. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)AP - New claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week while the number of people continuing to seek aid rose sharply, the government said Thursday.



President-elect Barack Obama, flanked by President George W. Bush, and former President George H.W. Bush, speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2008, during a meeting, with former presidents Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - The House and Senate are coming together in a centuries-old tradition to count the electoral votes from the November election and formally declare that Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.



Buckshot the bull is corralled in front of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday Jan. 8, 2009, in conjunction with opening bell ceremonies to be rung by the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - Wall Street headed for a sharply lower open Thursday, as bad news from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. signaled that even the stronger U.S. retailers struggled during the holiday shopping season.



Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer delivers the keynote address Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - Microsoft Corp.'s next version of the Windows operating system is almost ready for prime time. That's one message Chief Executive Steve Ballmer delivered on the eve of the official opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show.



Christian Bale accepts the favorite action movie award for 'The Dark Knight' at the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)AP - "The Dark Knight" soared away with every trophy it was nominated for Wednesday at the 35th annual fan-favorite CBS ceremony. The caped crusader flick won five awards, including favorite cast, superhero, action movie and on-screen matchup for Christian Bale's Batman and the late Heath Ledger's Joker.



Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops poses with the BCS championship trophy during a press conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Oklahoma will play Florida for the NCAA BCS football championship Thursday, Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP - The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators meet tonight for the BCS championship. It's a matchup that includes a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, an SEC vs. Big 12 debate and more than its share of trash talk.



President-elect Barack Obama arrives with Nancy Killefer, his appointee as White House Chief Performance Officer, during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, January 7, 2009. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama will seek Thursday to rally support for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.



Israeli soldiers mourn during the funeral of their comrade Alex Mashavisky at a cemetery in Beer Sheva January 7, 2009. (Eric Gaillard/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday amid sharp Red Cross criticism that it was delaying access to casualties.



A worker brings carts back into a Walmart store in Westminster, Colorado in this August 14, 2008 file photograph. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc led U.S. retailers in posting disappointing December same-store sales on Thursday, and it cut its quarterly earnings forecast despite being the store of choice in a recession.



Reuters - The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who pioneered efforts to design regulation around the ways people behave, as regulatory czar, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Senator Charles Schumer on Capitol Hill in a file photo. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc is leading other lenders in advanced talks with key U.S. senators on legislation that would allow judges to set new repayment terms for millions of mortgage holders who wind up in bankruptcy court, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people involved in the talks.



People walk past the Bank of England in central London, January 8, 2009. (Rob Bodman/Reuters)Reuters - Bleak economic data in Europe and a wave of profit warnings and job cuts worldwide renewed investors' fears on Thursday, strengthening the case for more government stimulus efforts and encouraging rate cuts.



A news cameraman films outside the headquarters of Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, January 8, 2009. (Krishnendu Halder/Reuters)Reuters - India vowed to strengthen laws to prevent corporate fraud after Satyam Computer, the country's fourth-largest software company, shocked investors by revealing profits had been falsely inflated for years.



Oleh Dubyna, the head of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz, arrives at the European parliament Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels January 8, 2009. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)Reuters - Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas row at a meeting in Moscow but will continue talks to end the dispute which has choked off supplies to Europe, a senior Ukrainian gas official said on Thursday.



Palestinian youth inspect a destroyed kindergarten following an Israeli air strike overnight in Gaza City. Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon have sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)AFP - Rockets fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday sparked a new military alert as Israeli jets carried out mass strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza.



A Palestinian protestor flashes the V for 'victory' sign in front of an Israeli soldier near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city. Israeli warplanes bombed suspected arms-smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza early Thursday, as diplomats worked to secure a ceasefire in an offensive that has killed 700 Palestinians.(AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)AFP - Israeli warplanes bombed suspected arms-smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza early Thursday, as diplomats worked to secure a ceasefire in an offensive that has killed 700 Palestinians.




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