Constipation can be quite a mood spoiler that can leave you feeling bloated and uneasy. It is often caused due to lack of exercise, loss of fiber in the body or inadequate water intake. But there are other surprising reasons of constipation, which you sure never considered.
1. Hypothyroidism: Thyroid is one of those illnesses that hijacks your metabolism and affects the muscles in the intestinal tract, making it slow down. This causes trouble while passing motion.
2. Depression: Depression slows down your body’s regular functioning. You are more likely to spend more hours in bed than getting involved in any kind of activity. Your eating pattern changes. Higher intake of carbs and unhealthy comfort food can increase the chances of constipation.
3. Pregnancy: Pregnancy can play havoc with your hormones. During pregnancy, the hormone progesterone tends to relax the muscles in the bowel, which makes results in constipation. Also, the weight of the growing uterus affects the stool, which moves through a thin pipe and travels slow.
4. Laxative overuse: Using laxatives regularly can harm the normal functioning of your colon muscles, which will begin to depend on external forces to perform the regular functions.
5. Painkillers: These can cause constipation especially narcotics, aspirin and Ibuprofen. This is one of the reasons doctors usually prescribe laxatives or stool softeners along with heavy dosage of painkillers.
6. Chocolates: Research suggests that chocolate causes constipation. The high amount of antioxidant content in dark chocolate is healthy, but milk chocolates are known to cause abdominal discomfort and constipation.
7. Vitamins: Not all vitamins cause stool problems, but some components such as calcium and iron can be troublesome for your colon. Sometimes doctors may prescribe stool-softening meds along with your vitamins, if you really need to continue taking them.
8. Dairy products: A high-protein diet that’s low in fiber can cause constipation too. High-fat foods such as cheese, eggs and meat will slow down your digestion. So it’s a good idea to add some fiber in your food in the form of veggies and salads.
9. Inflammatory bowel disease: This is a chronic problem that leads to two diseases-ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease-that can cause weight loss, cramps and even bloody stools along with other health problems. This is a sign of inflammation in the rectum or obstruction in the small intestine.
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