Drink plenty of water or other liquids to keep your bowel movements soft and your digestive tract running smoothly. When you think you have had enough, drink another 3 glasses. In addition to water, add plenty of fruits and vegetables and whole grains to your diet and cut back on cheese and bread products made with white flour. Repeat this every day and your stools will pass much more easily.
Fiber
The indigestible parts of fruits and vegetables may not contain vitamins and minerals, but they do play an important role in keeping you healthy. Because fiber does not dissolve in water, it increases the bulk of your bowel movements and softens them, making them pass through your system more easily. Check the labels on breakfast cereals and other processed foods to help you meet the recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine for 38 g or fiber for men under 50 or 25 g for women and 30 g of fiber for men over 50 or 21 g for women.
Fruits, Vegetables and Legumes
All fruits, vegetables and legumes have fiber, with some having more than others. Beans are especially high, with 1 cup of pinto beans containing 15 g of fiber, kidney beans with 14 g of fiber and chickpeas at 13 g, according to the USDA nutritional database. Frozen raspberries, an especially high-fiber fruit, contains 11 g of fiber in a 1-cup serving. The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse lists other fruits with lots of fiber including prunes with 4 g in each half-cup serving, 1 apple with 3 g, and 1 pear with 4 g. The list of high-fiber vegetables includes ½-cup of winter squash with 3 g of fiber, 1 sweet potato with 5 g, 1 potato with the skin at 4 g and 1/2 cup of spinach at 3.5 g.
Whole Grains
Brown rice, whole grain pasta and whole wheat bread contain the outer layer or bran of the grain. Manufacturers remove the bran when processing white rice and white flour, leaving those products with little fiber. Read labels on bread and cereals and choose those that say ""whole grain" or "whole wheat" or that contain at least 10 percent of your daily recommended percentage for fiber. Choose cereals with the least amount of processing, such as rolled oats instead of instant oats.
Foods to Avoid
Follow the guidelines of the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse and limit the amount of dairy products you eat, such as ice cream and cheese, if you have problems with constipation or hard bowel movements. The NDDIC also recommends that you cut back on eating meat and processed foods.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. . .Fiber
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Constipation
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