What Causes Constipation
What Causes Constipation?
There is no simple answer to the question: “What causes constipation?” The causal factors are many and varied. They range from age to gender to hormonal changes to medical problems to an imbalanced diet. In order to understand what the cause is, you first need to consider the characteristics and/or symptoms of constipation. These are indicative of the type and severity of the health problem. You also need to weed out any other possible causes – to be positive that it is constipation alone and not the end product or symptom of another health issue.
Constipation can be a debilitative problem. It is described as being the inability to defecate within a 3-day period. Doctors may also say symptoms of constipation include difficulty in eliminations and/or the passage of hard stools. You are not alone in this problem. Approximately 27% of the Western population has a problem with constipation. In fact, everyone experiences difficulty in eliminating at least once in their lifetime. As a result, it is necessary to consider the length of the bouts of constipation before deciding whether treatment for constipation should be conservative or invasive.
The root cause of the health issue could be diet. An individual may not be eating enough fiber or drinking enough water. Other causal factors include the side effects of certain medications such as anti-depressants or painkillers. Diseases such as diabetes mellitus or hypothyroidism may also include constipation. Diabetic patients often have a sluggish colon. Pregnancy can also result in a hormonal imbalance. As a result, pregnancy and constipation are not unknown to each other.
Deficiencies of B5, vitamin C, choline and arginine may also result in constipation. There are also foods that cause constipation. These include highly processed proteinous foods, cheese and dairy products. These are only a few reasons why it is necessary to carefully investigate what causes constipation before you embark upon a round of treatment.
natural remedies for constipation
how to get rid of constipation