I am sure you have tried everything. If I am not wrong, you may be experiencing some degree of stomach ache, flatulence, uneasiness, etc.
If you are suffering from chronic constipation, the random addition of fiber-rich food will not help. You need the right type of fiber at the right combination, at the right time along with an ample amount of fluid.
Therefore not just a particular food, most of the time food combination works best to relieve constipation without causing the side effects.
This blog is all about guiding you on how to have basic Indian foods to relieve constipation. If you are looking for a “doable”, “easy” solution to fix your age-old constipation, this blog is for you.
Indian food Ideas to relieve constipation
Remember, fiber is an indigestible form of complex carbohydrates. A high fiber diet often backfires by giving you stomach ache, gas, etc. A high fiber diet also prevents absorption of calcium, iron, etc.
There are two types of fiber – insoluble and soluble fiber.
The skin of the grains, vegetables, fruits contains insoluble fiber which helps to increase the bulk of the stool.
Soluble fibers are those which are present inside the fruit, vegetables, seeds, cereals, or pulses. They help to make your stool soft.
You need both at the right proportion along with sufficient fluid to avoid the complication of a high fiber diet and poop effortlessly.
Don’t depend on anyone particularly magic drink/ pill/food. Follow these 10 ways to have Indian foods – morning to night – to fix your constipation naturally.
1.Start your day with a super drink
There is nothing best than starting a day with water. How much? It depends on how much you can drink. Starting from 1 glass to 1 liter of water is fine.
Since you are constipated, let’s make the water a super drink. Warm a glass of water. Add a teaspoon of chia seed or sabja seed – whatever is available. Keep it for 10 minutes. As soon as the seeds will swell up, squeeze a lemon into it and drink the water. No need to add honey/ sugar/ brown sugar/ jaggery etc to it. Keep it simple yet effective.
The combination of lemon along with sabja or chia seed works wonders. The citric acid in lemon is a natural laxative that helps to remove the toxins from the body. On the other hand, sabja or chia seeds are high in soluble and insoluble fiber.
I can’t tolerate lemon, what to do?
Soak 1 teaspoon of chia or sabja seed in warm water and drink it after 10 minutes. No need of adding lemon to this drink.
2.Consider porridge/ upma/ smoothie for breakfast and snack
What is special in this right? Stop trusting high fiber cornflakes or muesli, instant noodles/ pasta/soup, etc try having porridge or upma or smoothie for breakfast or for an evening snack.
Always remember it’s the combination which makes a meal healthy, nutritious and help you poop without much effort.
Follow the usual procedure to make upma/ porridge or smoothie.
However, check this basic frame and ingredients to make your breakfast/ snack high fiber yet well balanced in every nutrient-
Table 1: Idea to make usual breakfast/ snack more healthy and balanced to ease constipation –
| Porridge | Upma | Smoothie | |
| Grain (2-3 tablespoon) | Rolled oats/ Dalia/ Suji/ Sattu | Rolled oats/ Dalia/ Suji/ quinoa/ Buckwheat/ Rajgira | Rolled oats/ Barley/ Ragi flower/ Sattu |
| Chopped Fruits/ Vegetables (2-3 tablespoon) |
Apple / Banana/ Papaya/ Grapes/ Custard Apple | Beans, Carrot, Capsicum, Cabbage | Apple / Banana/ Papaya/ Grapes/ Custard Apple |
| Water/ Milk/ Curd (As per the consistency preferred) |
Milk/ Curd/ Water | Water | Milk/ Curd/ Water |
| Dry fruits (2-3 in numbers)* | Dates/ Figs/ Coconut (dried) | Coconut (dried) | Dates or, Figs or. Coconut (dried) |
| Nuts (5-6 in numbers)* | Walnut/ Pistachio | Groundnut | Walnut/ Pistachio |
| Seeds (1 teaspoon)* | Garden cress seed/ Sunflower seed/ Sesame seed | Sesame | Sesame/ Garden cress |
*Consider adding either dry fruits or nuts or seeds to bring the variety of the dish or any two out of these three.
Pick any one ingredient from each box as per your choice. This will help you to bring a wide range of variety at your dining table.
Is dahi / yogurt good for constipation?
Dahi/ Yogurt contains live bacteria which are great for maintaining good gut health. Good gut health is needed to relieve constipation. Many can’t tolerate milk. However, the curd is easily digestible for most people. Curd with ripe banana is one of the popular home remedies to prevent constipation.
3.Have 2 fruits a day –
Fruits are tasty and loaded with micronutrients and dietary fiber when taken with the skin. The skin of the fruit contains mainly insoluble fiber whereas the pulp of the fruit is rich in soluble fiber.
Two whole fruits a day are must not only for easy bowel movement but also for the overall good health.
Consider having one sweet fruit – banana/ apple/ papaya/ custard apple/ beal etc a day. You may add this to your breakfast smoothie/ porridge.
If you are diabetic, consider taking it at the midmorning separately for better blood sugar response.
The other fruit should be any citrus fruit like – lemon/ amla/ mosambi etc. Citrus fruits are a natural laxatives. You may consider having guava also.
What fruits are best for constipation?
Guava, beal, amla, apple, ripe papaya, ripe banana, grape, fig, date, raisin, plum, custard apple, etc are common Indian fruits that are very effective to relieve constipation.
4.Add a few dry fruits in diet
Date, fig, raisin, etc are common Indian dry fruits that are high in dietary fiber and other micronutrients. So adding 3-6 of these to the daily diet is enough to get the benefit.
How to take dry fruits to relieve constipation?
- Add fig, raisin, or date in the breakfast smoothie.
- 2-3 Figs and a cup of warm milk is a good supper choice
- 5-6 overnight soaked raisins in the morning
- 2-3 dates in the morning or at night with warm milk
5. Take vegetable dal along with semi polished rice/ chapati
You must be thinking again what’s new in it?
Dal with vegetables is an easy and complete dish to provide you balanced nutrition as well as soluble and insoluble fiber. Don’t forget to add a dollop of ghee from the top which makes the dish even more helpful to cure constipation.
Talking about vegetables, consider adding some green leafy ones (rich in insoluble fiber) as well as other vegetables (good source of soluble fiber). Feel free to add gourd, pumpkin, spinach, coriander, amaranth, beans, carrot, beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, etc as per your stock.
Having vegetable dal along with semi polished rice or chapatti is a fantastic combination to treat your constipation.
Which dal is good for constipation?
Bengal gram (chana dal), green gram (moong dal), red gram (arhar/tur dal), moth bean, horse gram (Kulthi), rajmah, etc are very high in fiber content, hence, very effective to cure constipation.
Is brown rice good for constipation?
Brown rice is difficult to digest because of its high fiber (insoluble fiber) content. If you are suffering from constipation, probably you are already having a stomach ache, gas, etc. Therefore instead of brown rice, it’s best to take semi-polished rice – which contains a good amount of fiber yet easily digestible compared to brown rice.
Does chapati cause constipation?
Use whole wheat flour or jowar or bajra flour to make chapatti. If you are blessed with good digestion capacity then you may also think of adding 30% wheat bran while making dough to fix your constipation.
6.Add one teaspoon of ghee to your meal
Don’t stress even if you are overweight. If you eat in moderation instead of making you fat, ghee will provide many physiological benefits. Ghee is a natural lubricant. When taken with a meal. It helps to retain the moisture of the food. Thus a spoon full of ghee in daily meals helps to relieve constipation.
7.Include boiled ladies finger in lunch
Ladies finger/ okra/ bhindi whatever you call it, it’s available in the Indian market throughout the year. Consider having 5-8 boiled ladies’ fingers every day along with your lunch. It’s high in soluble as well as insoluble fiber. It is one of the simplest yet effective ideas to fix your constipation.
8.Consider taking spice tea post meal
If you are constipated, eventually you will start having digestion issues, gas, etc. To relieve such symptoms, try taking ginger tea or spice tea after 30 -40 minutes of your lunch or dinner.
All you need to do is boil water, add few pieces of ginger. Boil for another few minutes, strain, and drink the tea. You may add ½ teaspoon of honey to it.
Otherwise, consider having a spice tea. Take a mug of water. Add 1 tsp of cumin, coriander, ajwain, and fennel seeds each. Boil the mixture until the water volume reduces to half. Strain and drink the water.
All these spices are high in fiber. Therefore this drink will not only help in better digestion but also will fix constipation.
9.Have Khichri for dinner
Khichri is undoubtedly the most nutritious and balanced dish in Indian cuisine. It’s simple, easy to make a one-pot meal, and very filling.
Since it’s a combination of grain, pulse, and vegetable, it’s nutritionally balanced, good quality of protein, rich in soluble as well as insoluble fiber. Don’t forget to add a spoon of ghee on top to make your next morning easy.
A balanced meal at the dinner is very important to clean your body next morning.
Table 2 : Follow this frame to pick one or two ingredients from each section to ease the constipation.
| Grain | Pulses | Vegetable |
| Semi polished rice/ Quinoa/ Buckwheat/ Dalia/ Rajgira |
Moong dal/ Chana dal/ Toor dal | Any including some greens and other vegetables |
10.Consider taking a before bed drink
If you are suffering with chronic constipation, a regular “before bed” routine is going to be helpful.
Consider having 1-2 tsp of Isabgul (psyllium husk) in a cup of warm milk/water or, 1 tap of Triphala churna in a cup of warm water.
Is diet enough to relieve constipation?
If you have chronic constipation, only having these foods may not be sufficient. Remember you must keep your body fit to work properly. You should take the following points seriously –
- Avoid packaged and processed foods – they are refined, very low in fiber, loaded with sugar, hidden sugar, salt which is going to do no good to your health. Avoid taking any type of biscuits, soft drinks, pasta, noodles, instant foods, etc.
- Stay active – No matter how busy you are with your desk job, you must start being active throughout the day. Take a break in every 20 – 30 mins. Walk around the room and again get back to your desk. Remember all your household chores like cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc comes under activity not exercise.
- Exercise regularly – Exercise means a physical activity that is little beyond your normal capacity. So any form of exercise will do. Be it walking, running, jogging, yoga, dance swimming, etc. It’s important to enjoy your exercise.
- Sleep well – Sleep is not a luxury. It’s a basic necessity for your body. Try to take deep sleep for 6-8 hrs
- Manage stress – It sounds like a joke in today’s world. However, there is no way but to manage your stress. Develop a hobby or take professional help to fix this.
Bottom line
It’s simple yet difficult. Yes, we are in an era where doing something simple takes a lot of effort. Don’t believe in a quick fix to relieve constipation. In the long run, they will stop working even can backfire you. A good diet, ample activity, and exercise, managing stress, good sleep have no alternative. Simple, basic Indian foods are very powerful to cure constipation. Just adopt a sustainable lifestyle. You will be fine.
5 Comments