Is drinking a lot of water good for constipation？

Is drinking a lot of water good for constipation?

Constipation is a disease that is often neglected. There are many reasons for constipation. It troubles our lives, and has a great relationship with rectal cancer. Long-term constipation seriously reduces people's quality of life and brings huge mental and economic burdens to people.

(1) Insufficient drinking water: People are often too busy to drink water, which causes dryness in the intestines and makes it difficult for intestinal contents to be discharged. Even if some people drink water, their constipation problem does not improve. This is because they drink water in an incorrect way. If they drink water slowly, almost all the water is absorbed into the blood and discharged from the body through urine. It is recommended to drink more water, especially after getting up in the morning.

(2) Dietary factors: For the sake of convenience and trouble, they eat a simple diet and lack crude fiber, which reduces the volume of feces, increases viscosity, slows down the movement in the intestine, and causes excessive absorption of water, leading to constipation. Eating less, low-calorie food, slowing gastrointestinal transit time, can also cause constipation. Reports show that the gastrocolic reflex is related to the amount of food eaten. A 1000cal diet can stimulate colon movement, but a 350cal diet has no such effect. Fat is the main food that stimulates the reflex, while protein has no such effect.

(3) Defecation habits: Some people do not develop the habit of regular bowel movements and often ignore the normal urge to defecate, which inhibits the defecation reflex and causes constipation.

(4) Less activity Some people have reduced activity due to certain diseases and obesity, especially patients who are bedridden or in wheelchairs due to illness. They are prone to constipation due to the lack of exercise stimulation to promote the movement of feces.

(5) Long-term use of laxatives, especially stimulant laxatives, causes damage to the intestinal mucosal nerves, reduces intestinal muscle tension, and leads to severe constipation. In addition, other drugs that cause constipation include opioid analgesics, anticholinergics, antidepressants, calcium ion antagonists, diuretics, etc.

1. Drink water on an empty stomach in the morning. The most effective way is to drink a certain amount of water at a fixed time every day, such as drinking 500 ml (two large cups) of water on an empty stomach every morning. In this way, the water reaches the colon before it can be absorbed in the intestine, which is beneficial for softening the intestinal contents and helping defecation. Long-term persistence can help develop a good habit of getting up early to defecate.

2. Pay attention to supplementing foods with high crude fiber content such as celery, cabbage, and whole wheat foods in your diet.

3. At night, on an empty stomach, do 20-40 sit-ups, or massage the abdomen clockwise along the colon to stimulate the intestines and promote intestinal peristalsis.

4. Exercise regularly and quantitatively to speed up gastrointestinal peristalsis. Improve physical fitness.