Constipation and the ASD gut

Post Reply New Topic

Hello.
I've been having troubles with constipation for a couple of years now. I'm 38.

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on which foods are known to cause constipation in the ASD GI tract and/or which foods and/or supplements are known to ease the problem.

Thanking you
Jerome
Western Australia

Let this be your weapon lol Buy it in powder form and mix a tea spoon to a table spoon a few times a day between meals.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-psyllium-husk.htm

I have it and it works great for regulating bowel movements and softening stools.

Edit: Solgar is a high quality brand. Go for them if you can. the price is good. Try to avoid the capsules and go straight for the powder.

Sultana Bran, bananas and even avocados keep things moving regularly.

Since you are in WA and I am here in Melb, I thought I might also suggest this new cereal called Goodness Superfoods Digestive 1st. It is pretty good too.

Pinchy

Please keep the ideas coming. I know there are many useful solutions out there and have experienced that whatever one uses, it needs to be sustainable, that is it needs to fit in with ones' regular diet.

I'm also aware that effective elimination is dependent on good digestion so if anyone has any great ideas for improving digestion, I would be eternally grateful.

I'd personally say that the Psyllium husk powder is sustainable. I bought a medium sized jar of it for 10 UK pounds. That will last me a month or two if i use just a 2/3 tea spoons a day mixed in water.

I'd also consider buying ginger and chopping it up finely or grate it like i do and add that into meals, or chuck it into a cup of tea with lemon. Ginger is great for the digestive system and comes at a reasonable price.

Aloe Vera juice is also said to be good for the digestive system in many many ways, but I have not tried it myself.

I would also recommend wholegrain bread, pasta, rice etc rather than the white equivalent. When the wholegrains are removed from the whatever it is, the 'white' end product sticks to the lining of the digestive tract due to its molecular structure. Plus on top of that wholegrains are much healthier.

If you eat meat, chew it up really well before swallowing as it can sometimes have trouble going through the digestive tract.

Eat things like apples and pears. They contain lots of fibre and help to get your digestive tract moving.

Lastly, you could consider a colonic. I've never had one and a lot of people are disgusted by the idea of it, but it is great for people health because it removes bad bacteria and since our colon becomes free from anything stuck to it, we absorb much more nutrition from our food.

Yes thank you I'm actually doing a colon cleanse today. Have done quite a few in the past two years and I swear by them. I can't see my stomach but I can feel things and a colon cleanse or enema for that matter makes me feel so much better.

Thanks for the tips.

Please don't confuse soluble and insoluble fiber. They are not the same.

Fruits and especially vegetables have soluble fiber, which is good for eliminating cholesterol. It can also ferment in your gut, causing gas and bloating.

The "skin" of seeds and grains contains insoluble fiber so the seed can pass through without being digested. Good sources are obviously seeds and grains, the more peel-to-content ratio the better. Wheat/oat bran is mostly all insoluble fiber.

A bowl of oats with a tablespoon of bran every morning does a good job, and isn't hard to swallow. Be sure to drink plenty of water as well.

Cinnamon helps digestion. Simply adding half a tablespoon to some hot tea can do wonders for aiding in digestion. A hot cup of coffee when you feel you need to defecate but need a little assistance can go a long way too.

Recall seeing this article about constipation and kids. It probably holds true for adults also.

"Gluten and milk linked with constipation in kids"
http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/03/10/glut ... n-in-kids/

I have relatives that take magnesium for constipation relief. They take 200mgs of magnesium oxide in the morning and 200mgs in the evening everyday. That seems to keep them regular. Magnesium is the active ingredient in the over the counter constipation relief medicine, Milk of Magnesia.

As a bonus magnesium is good for heart health. Some articles about that:

http://www.heartscanblog.org/search/label/Magnesium

I discovered purely by accident that cocoa is useful for digestion and elimination. One cup of cocoa and everything started moving again. I have found it does not mean necessarily that I can go and eat whatever I like, I still have to be careful. But my stomach is active again.

I feel it's the magnesium as the person above indicated. Cocoa does not seem to be quite enough though so I'll be looking for other pleasant sources of Magnesium. Thank you everone who contributed. If you wish to keep posting your ideas for others benefit - go ahead.

I eat oat bran in my cereal every day. It has made all the difference for me. When I was around your age, I encountered chronic symptoms of bouts of headache, nausea, and dizziness. I found oat bran to be an easy way to get my minimum fiber intake. For one thing, I haven't found the gas problem associated with other sources of fiber. According to Wikipedia, oats have more soluble fiber than any other grain. One thing I like about oatmeal and oat bran is that they mix well with a multitude of toppings and other cereals.

As was mentioned earlier, staying hydrated is important, but I learned the hard way that it is not sufficient as the only means to avoid constipation. As needed, adding extra virgin olive oil to your food is also helpful for this problem. Apples cook up in the microwave to add variety to eating them out of hand.

By the way, you need to increase your fiber intake slowly enough to avoid various problems.

+1 for psyllium husks, great easy way to get fibre & if a gut needs 35g a day, and one apple has 3g, it's a struggle for most of us to get the fibre otherwise. Wheat/oatbran also but psyllium can be bought in capsules or powder with added probiotic - the good bacteria the gut also needs.

++1 for good hydration (helps to make enough stomach acid).

Digestive enzyme supplements & probiotics can help, long or short term.
Papaya, pineapple have lots of these naturally.

Calcium, magnesium, omega 3s and folic acid deficiency can also cause constipation.

Consider if you have something like IBS or food sensitivity, some trigger foods can cause bloating & constipation. This is different to 'classic' allergy in that it doesn't cause rashes etc but still makes you react. Wheat, dairy, gluten are common culprits, also soya, nuts. If you have the patience, try food elimination but needs to be for longer than a month per food item to give your system time to recover.

I used a blood test that looked at IgG antibody reactions to a list of foodstuffs to find out a load of things that I was reacting to, taking those out of my diet has helped a lot. Initially though, I had to cut down on my fibre, as even though it's needed generally my gut needed time out to recover and I needed to get rid of the bloat. Similar rationale to doing a colonic.

The only thing that makes me go is the senesoft pink packet from woolies and coles.

I have to eat 50% of the pack weekly, i am not fussed. It works though.