Difficulty defecating can be overcome with this one easy way

Having less than three bowel movements a week and having hard, painful stools can be considered constipation. Constipation can happen to anyone. Usually, constipation is caused by not eating enough fiber or drinking enough water. What not many people know, exercise can help solve your constipation problem. Why is that?

The benefits of exercise to cure constipation

People who are active in motion tend to have a smoother digestive system than people who are lazy to move, aka mager. This benefit is achieved in a number of ways.

First, exercise can control the production of the hormone progesterone, which is thought to play a role in constipation. The longer the food remains in the large intestine, the less water is absorbed. This can cause the stool to dry out and eventually harden, making it hard for you to have a bowel movement. Decreasing levels of the hormone progesterone can help improve the movement of food in your intestines.

In addition, exercise increases blood flow throughout your body - which includes your digestive system. When the blood flow to the organs in the stomach is smooth, the stomach can increase the production of digestive enzymes and the intestines will also contract more easily. Both of these things are needed to move the pile of feces down the end of the intestine to the anus for removal.

Exercise is also thought to increase appetite. When food intake increases, the frequency of bowel movements also increases to digest these foods. As a result, the urge to defecate has increased.

What sports can help improve digestion?

Exercises that can improve your digestive system are light aerobic exercises that increase your breathing and heart rate. Better heart and lung fitness results in a smoother flow of blood, resulting in more efficient bowel movements.

Examples of aerobic exercise that you can do when you have difficulty defecating are walking or jogging for 10 to 15 minutes every day, cycling, swimming, or aerobic exercise.

What needs to be considered

Exercise is good for dealing with constipation problems. But pay attention to the time you exercise.

Don't exercise right after eating. After eating, blood flow should go down to the stomach and intestines to help digest the food. However, if you exercise right after eating, the blood will actually flow more to the muscles of the body that are actively moving. As a result, the blood flow to the stomach is even less. This means that the stomach produces less digestive enzymes and the intestines move more slowly to push food waste into the anus. That is why, exercising after eating can actually cause you to be constipated and bloated.

We recommend that, exercise before eating or at least one hour after eating. As many say, wait for your food to go down first. Don't forget to keep your fluid needs hydrated by drinking before, during, and after exercising. It will be more difficult for the intestines to absorb nutrients from food when your body is not properly hydrated.