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Why Are So Many Women Struggling With Constipation?
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Why Are So Many Women Struggling With Constipation?
I’ve spoken to three women this week alone who are struggling with constipation.
This made me wonder just how common this really is.
Turns out, very. 💩
Around 1 in 8 people globally meet the criteria for functional constipation, and it appears to be more common in women, around 14.6% of women compared with 10.6% of men.
It also becomes increasingly common as we get older.
Going back the conversations I had, one of the women has recently had chemotherapy and told me constipation was one of the worst parts of it.
Another has struggled for years. Her doctor just recommends the latest medication, instead of trying to heal her.
My father really struggled as he aged, so I have always kept on the ever growing medications that are being added all the time to “treat” constipation, and cannot help but wonder if the pharma industry also funds the “accepted” research in order to protect profits (would they ever).
Have you, or a loved one, struggled with constipation?
Did you find something that genuinely helped?
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9 Replies
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Research link, 1 in 8 people globally meet criteria for functional constipation: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41919745/
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I constantly struggle with this and yes it’s gotten worse as I’ve aged (now 60). I take 400-600mg of magnesium almost every night and it really helps. It’s usually a combination of of glycinate and citrate. I want to try psyllium husks in water as I just read that’s the best for you. But it needs to be in water and drank regularly.
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It’s not just women that’s affected, men too have this problem, as I understand it, the causes can be many and varied, I found it useful to first learn how the body works, (physiology) ideally from a person or source from at least 50 years ago, then, if you want to remember it, research the results, why? because 50 years ago, this condition was rare, so it’s fair to assume something has changed (spoilt for choice) I like to eliminate the easy things first, hydration and digestive fluids, both require clean water and minerals, I found a good quality sea/Himalayan salt worked for me, also a bit of daily exercise won’t do any harm, walking if you can, or maybe swimming for those who find the former a challenge, just one other thing, any improvement could take a week or more to be noticed, which makes sense since it can take weeks or months to develop.
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Yes, men suffer too, I just used women, as they have a higher rate of constipation, and that in itself is interesting to me.
Thank you for sharing your experience and top tips.
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Metamucil is the standard remedy. Another one is to eat an entire bunch of raw celery.
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Oh, celery a new one to me, going to explore this, thank you.
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66yo female. Same here. I’ve found 3 dried prunes a day keep me fairly regular. When I feel I need more help I brew a cup of herbal tea…Organic Smooth Move by Traditional Medicinals. I’ll drink 1/2 before bed & save the other 1/2 cup in fridge for next night if needed. Works great for me. Note: I only use the tea occasionally.
Of course staying hydrated with good water, eating clean & some form of exercise is always helpful.
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I have found prebiotics and fiber to be really helpful. I tried lot of probiotics but none helped.
We are supposed to eat about 50gms of fibers every day and most don’t get enough. I use a prebiotic powder with 5 different types of prebiotics(different levels of resistant starch) and Psyllium husk(import to mix in hot water and wait 10-15mins and get 2 kinds that are known to have less lead), beans, peas. This has eliminated the issue for me.
I would avoid smooth move/senna tea long term as that creates dependency I have heard.
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Thanks @brad_ima will pass this along to my friend that suffers.
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