Mediterranean, Vegan Diets Reduce Constipation

If you ever have problems pooping, you know how annoying and sometimes painful it can be. Constipation is clinically defined than less than three intestinal movements per week. But that’s not all. If your chair is hard, dry or clumpy or you have to make an effort to get you out, you may be clogged. And if you are able to go, but have the feeling that you can’t get everything out? This is also a sign of constipation.

If you can refer to it, you know that you are not alone. About 16% of American adults have constipation symptoms. This number increases for over 60 to 33%. And constipation can be expensive. Some experts estimate that people with constipation and commercial health insurance an average of 8,700 US dollars in health costs compared to people without constipation.

As a rule, two things are increased that are recommended to get things moving. However, a new study by Mass General Brigham in Boston has some other suggestions for nutrition and which foods can help. They published their findings in the magazine Gastroenterology. Let us collapse what you have found.

How was this study carried out?

The researchers drew data from three large long-term studies previously carried out in the USA: the nursing care study (NHS), the nursing care study II (NHSII) and the Follow-up study of the health professions (HPFS). The NHS started in 1976 and comprised 121,700 female nurses. The NHSII comprised over 116,400 female nurses and began in 1989. From 1986 the HPFS took over a little more than 51,500 male health workers.

From these cohorts, the researchers pulled data to participants who met their criteria and led almost 28,000 women from the NHS with an average age of 78 years, around 56,000 women from the NHSII with an average age of 61 years and over 12,200 men from the HPFS with an average age of 79 years.

They also took data on demographies, including age, gender, breed, smoking status, physical activity, medical history, medication, nutritional supplements, BMI and socio -economic status.

The constipation was evaluated in half -yearly questionnaires and asked: “Were you disrupted by constipation for at least 12 weeks last year (not necessarily in succession)?”

People with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) were identified by answering the constipation question with yes, and “If so, were their intestinal movements associated with abdominal pain?” Researchers defined chronic constipation as a intestinal movement every three or more days.

In all three cohorts, frequency questionnaires (FFQS) were filled out every four years. The FFQs comprised 131 food and beverage articles that asked how often and how many participants had eaten. The answers were converted into average portions per day. The researchers then applied this to five different eating patterns, which led to each individual, including the AMED scores (alternative Mediterranean Diet), the vegetable nutrition index (PDI), the LCD score (low-carb diet), western nutrition and empirical food inflammation pattern (Edip). The Edip tries to quantify the amount of inflammatory food that you eat by chasing 18 food groups that can increase the inflammatory markers in the body.

Based on their points, the participants were mentioned in groups called quintiles. The quintile ranged from low to high scores.

What did this study find?

During the study examination times that was 25 to 30 years, there were over 7,500 cases of chronic constipation. After statistical analyzes were carried out, including adaptation to confusing factors (i.e. demographic data and fiber intake), the researchers found:

• Compared to the lowest groups, the groups, which were the highest in Mediterranean nutrition and diet on a plant -based diet, experienced a reduced risk of constipation of 16% and 20%.
• The groups, which were highest on the inflammatory diet scale (EDIP) and the western nutritional scale, were associated with an increased risk of constipation by 24% and 22%.
• Among the individual dietary components were a higher absorption of all types of vegetables, nuts and salad dressings with less risk for constipation.
• Comparing the highest quintile (Q5) with the lowest (Q1) was a greater compliance with the Mediterranean diet and a vegetable diet with 25% and a 27% reduced risk of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.

These results suggest that a greater compliance with the Mediterranean diet or a plant -based diet reduces the risk of chronic constipation. This is independent of the fiber intake. In other words, the researchers started the entire fiber intake and still found that these eating patterns, even by reinforcing the constipation, have still contributed to the risk of constipation that the fiber plugs affect constipation.

In particular, they found that tomatoes, cross -ready vegetables, leaf green vegetables and dark yellow vegetables seemed to be the primary dietary components that bore the protective associations between the AMED and PDI with a reduced risk of constipation.

It was the food pattern that increased the risk of constipation, western nutrition and the Edip. The western diet, which is sometimes referred to as a typical American diet, is characterized by a high absorption of red or processed meat, refined grains, fries fries, high -fat dairy products, sweets, desserts and butter.

How does that apply to real life?

In addition to vegetables, researchers also found strong associations between nuts and healthy fats with a reduced risk of constipation. Since the researchers adapt to fiber, they have essentially removed the effects of fiber on the constipation for analysis. This indicates that there is a different component in these foods that are responsible for reducing the constipation risk.

“Although the study is not specifically the mechanisms with which these diets were protecting Kyle Staller, MD, MPH. “These advantages are most likely driven in the way they have an impact on our intestinal microbioma, the community of bacteria and other microbes that live in our intestine.

Nevertheless, Staller says that fiber is still an important nutrient to avoid constipation and the support of a healthy intestine.

If you are not ready to work with the Mediterranean or herbal diets, according to this study, you can add the food that have more influence on constipation: tomatoes, cross-ready vegetables, leaf green vegetables, dark yellow vegetables, nuts and healthy fats like olive oil. Do you need inspiration? Try our roasted Squash & Lentilkohl salad to get your green/crusader and dark yellow vegetables and olive oil. Or our delicious tomato salad with lemon basil vinaigrette to fill yourself with tomatoes and olive oil.

If you are ready to choose, a great place for our 7-day meal schedule for beginners or our 7-day meal schedule for a healthy intestine is. The Mediterranean diet is loaded with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, pods, nuts, seeds, seafood, lean protein, healthy fats and some dairy products.

If you want to try a menu without meat, but a little yogurt or kefir, read our 7-day nutrition plan for herbal nutrition for beginners. If you believe that herbal base means boring, this will change your opinion!

Other habits that can affect constipation are physical activity, stress and fluid intake. And while alcohol can help you go, warn these study authors to use it as constipation, as this can have negative consequences for your intestinal health and other organs, including your brain. In the long run, absorbing chronic inflammation can increase regularly, which in turn increases the risk of illness – exactly the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Our expert

This study suggests that the Mediterranean and herbal diets are connected to lower constipation rates. At the other end of the spectrum, the western diet and the inflammatory diets, which are connected to higher constipation rates, fall. According to these researchers, it is not just fiber that contribute to a reduced risk of constipation. The antioxidants in vegetables, nuts and healthy fats also seem to contribute. There are many reasons why the Mediterranean diet has been classified for several years than the healthiest eating pattern. After the Mediterranean diet, the reduction in disease risk, including heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis and macular degeneration, also helps. Now we can add constipation to the list.