There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to pass a stool that just won't come out. For some people it can be an ordeal that lasts just a few minutes, but others have to endure stubborn constipation for days on end. To coax the stool out, you can take laxatives that are easily available over the counter but if you want to take a more natural route then experts recommend eating raw kiwi.
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What causes constipation?
Constipation is a condition in which an individual doesn’t have regular bowel movements. This means that you are excreting stool less than three times a week, and in most cases the stool you are passing is unsatisfyingly small, hard, and dry.
John Hopkins Medicine explains that the colon plays a huge role in the texture and consistency of your poop. It processes your food, turns it into stool, and moves it towards the rectum. If the process is too slow, the colon could absorb an excess amount of water from the stool, making it rock solid and an absolute pain to push out.
There are several factors that could contribute to the slow-paced movement of excrement in the large intestine including: medication, lack of exercise, dehydration, lack of fibre in the diet, travel, pregnancy, and also using too many laxatives.
How does kiwi help?
When you have constipation, most experts will recommend that you increase your fibre intake, particularly your dietary fibre as it softens stool and increases its weight which makes it easier to pass.
One fruit that is abundantly rich in this kind of fibre is kiwi. While speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr. Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy said:
The humble kiwifruit has many digestive benefits for anyone suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms, including constipation.
According to Dr. Lee, fibre in kiwis ‘speeds up the transit time of digestive contents to pass through the GI tract,’ which makes the stool softer and decreases abdominal pain.
Professionals at the Sunshine Coast Dietetics say that the next time your pipe is blocked, you could try unclogging it by eating two kiwis a day. Clinical research manager, Samuel W. Chey of University of Michigan, also confirmed that along with prunes and psyllium, kiwifruit could be an effective treatment for chronic constipation. He said when presenting his study at American College of Gastroenterology ACG 2020 Virtual:
Prunes and psyllium are reconfirmed as effective options to treat chronic constipation with prunes demonstrating the strongest response for our primary outcome.
And for the first time in the North American population, kiwifruit was shown to be an effective well-tolerated and well-received natural treatment option for chronic constipation.
