Regular bowel movements keep the body healthy through elimination of waste products. Stool can become hard, dry and unable to pass through the colon. When this occurs, a stool softener can alleviate the pain, cramping and straining associated with hard stools. Expensive prescription stool softeners carry many side effects and require daily dosing. Prevention and relief with natural remedies works with the body's own chemistry to soften stools and are easier to incorporate into daily living.
Drink More Fluids
Eight to 10 glasses of liquids such as water, herbal teas and juice keep stool naturally moist and easier to pass through the colon. Caffeinated and alcoholic beverages don't count as these drinks dehydrate rather than hydrate stool. Milk products may cause constipation in some people, so it's best not to use milk as part of the daily fluid goal.
Increase Activity
Sedentary people may experience more challenges with hard stool and frequent constipation. Activity stimulates the metabolism and intestines to move waste through the body. Activities as simple as walking or the bending and stretching done in gardening or yoga, provides adequate stimulation for the bowels to move and keeps them soft. Vigorous activity that stresses the body can actually slow down digestion and cause constipation as the body focus energy on the cardiovascular system and take energy away from digestive processes, according to the textbook "Pathophysiology: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses."
Eat More Fiber
Including more fiber-rich foods in the diet promotes regular bowel movements. Fiber doesn't allow food to stagnate in the intestines. The longer stool remains in the intestines, the harder it becomes. Drinking plenty of fluids keeps the fiber moist and stool softened to pass easily through the colon, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Including more fruit in the diet also softens stool and moves it through the digestive tract.
Try Aloe Vera
Aloe vera juice, available at health food stores and drugstores, acts as a powerful natural laxative, according to UMMC. Initial doses should be small and taken according to label directions in order to avoid cramping, states Phyllis A. Balch in her book "Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing." Aloe vera also comes in a dried herb formula, but aloe vera juice hydrates and softens the stool.
References
- "Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing"; Phyllis A. Balch; 2006
- "The Herbal Drugstore"; Linda B. White, M.D. and Steven Foster; 2000
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Constipation
- The Mayo Clinic: Constipation
