What Causes Constipation? A Dietitian Answers.

A Keck Medicine of USC dietitian explains what causes constipation and how to relieve constipation.

Constipation is when you have difficulty passing a bowel movement. Some symptoms of constipation include:

• Pain or straining when trying to pass stool
• Fewer than three bowel movements per week
• Small pellets or very hard stool
• Feeling that stool is stuck or not fully passed

What causes constipation?

There are many causes of constipation. Some of the most common include dehydration, not consuming enough food, a low-fiber diet, low physical activity levels, travel and inconsistent food patterns.

Insufficient food intake is an important cause to consider. In order for your body to correctly produce a bowel movement, it needs enough energy and fiber intake to perform peristalsis to excrete a bowel movement. Peristalsis is the automatic wave-like movement of muscles to move food throughout your digestive system to produce a bowel movement.

Sometimes, the cause for constipation is unknown or due to multiple factors. Chronic constipation, which is considered long-term constipation persisting over three months, can be due to another medical condition that can worsen constipation.

Medical conditions that can cause constipation include:

• Multiple sclerosis
• Diabetes
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Pregnancy
• Parkinson’s disease
• Nerve dysfunction
• Pelvic floor dysfunction

What helps with constipation?

When you have constipation, modifying your diet can help improve and regulate your bowel health. Increasing your fiber intake is one strategy.

It is recommended that women consume 25 grams of fiber daily and men consume 35 grams of fiber daily. If you are consuming very little fiber regularly, it is important to work with your dietitian and doctor to individualize recommendations based on your medical condition(s) and slowly increase fiber intake so the increase is better tolerated by your body.

Some food sources of fiber include:

• Vegetables (especially leafy greens, artichoke hearts, celery and carrots)
• Legumes (including peas, beans and lentils)
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole grains (such as oats, buckwheat, farro, rye and bulgar)
• Soybeans (such as edamame)

If, after trying to increase your fiber intake, your constipation continues, reach out to your doctor and dietitian to discuss other treatment options.

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