Fermented milk products are rich in vitamins and elements that strengthen our skeletal and muscular systems, and have a beneficial effect on the condition of nails, hair, nervous system and blood vessels. Milk also copes well with the problems of constipation and slow metabolism, since many fermented milk products are weak. The only “but” is that you need to know exactly the expiration dates, otherwise you can make a mistake and strengthen the intestines even more. .
The article will introduce you to foods that have a laxative effect and can fight constipation.
Constipation is not only a symptom of many diseases, but also a consequence of intestinal dysfunction. Constipation occurs in the rectum. Sometimes its appearance is provoked by something, in other cases it is pathological. Most often, the appearance of this trouble is explained by a violation of nutritional rules.
In addition to the absence of defecation, abdominal pain, a feeling of fullness, headache, intoxication may appear, there may be no desire to eat, or what is eaten is returned as vomit.
The most unpleasant thing with constipation is stool. It is rough, heavy and smelly. Going to the toilet is difficult and painful. You may push a lot to pass a little stool, but not get any relief.
In addition, due to overstrain, the walls of the blood vessels in the eyes burst, the blood vessels become tense, and constant migraines, hemorrhoids and anal fissures may appear (which in turn leads to inflammatory processes, painful wounds and bleeding).
What is the treatment for constipation?
IMPORTANT: A balanced diet, which will consist of foods with a “laxative” effect, can help you cope with the problem of constipation.
You can prevent and treat constipation without resorting to medications (suppositories, laxative syrups, enemas). To do this, it is important to saturate your menu with foods rich in fiber.
Fiber is a dietary fiber that is later fermented into mucus, which coats the stool and makes it easier to pass.
Another, no less important “laxative” substance is organic acid. It can directly affect intestinal motility, increasing its activity.
It is also interesting that “sugary” foods (berries, fruits, dried fruits, beets) “attract” water to themselves, which means the feces themselves become “watery.” In addition, “sugary” foods can “ferment,” and the substances they release during fermentation directly affect the glands, provoking intestinal contractions.
The same principle of action applies to salty foods (“attracting” water). Fatty foods make stool “soft”, so it is easier for it to move through the intestines.
Even cold foods can affect intestinal function. Such food contains “carbonic acid”. This food affects the thermoreceptors in the intestinal walls, causing them to contract more strongly. What can be classified as cold foods: soda, kvass, kumiss, okroshka, beetroot soup, ice cream.
Products with laxative effect:
Laxative vegetables:
"Laxative" fruits -
In order to eliminate constipation, it is important to choose the right foods for your diet. Few people know that food that “holds together” stool can only worsen your situation.
The table will help you figure out which foods are healthy and which are not.
Product groups | Strong laxative effect | Mild laxative effect | Bonding action |
Dairy (fermented milk) products | Yogurt, kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt | Sour cream, milk, whey, cottage cheese | Powdered milk |
Vegetables and fruits | Apricot, pear, plum, banana, kiwi, avocado, apple, watermelon, melon, beetroot, zucchini, carrot, pumpkin | Berries, greens, cabbage, pineapple, orange, grapes, tomato, beans | Potatoes, eggplant, pomegranate, persimmon, blueberries |
Meat | All types and varieties of meat (high protein content) | ||
Fish | Fatty fish | ||
Bakery products | Cookies, baked goods, bread | ||
Cereals and cereals | Bran, cereals | Buckwheat, oatmeal, pearl barley, millet | Rice, Couscous, bulgur, palenta |
Sweets | Chocolate | ||
Drinks | Freshly squeezed juices | Green tea | Chamomile tea, black tea |
"Bonding" and "loosening" products
The uniqueness of such food products is that they have a very rich and unique composition. Any fermented milk product contains not only vitamins and minerals, but also beneficial bacteria, as well as lactic acids.
What products you need to pay attention to:
Beets are the most popular and effective food product, which has a powerful laxative effect.
How to take it:
The most effective salads:
"Laxative" salad
Any freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juice, decoctions of dried fruits and dried berries have a laxative effect.
It is also useful to drink oil dissolved in water, which will coat the intestinal walls and help move feces.
In addition, it is believed that maintaining a water-salt balance (namely, at least 2 liters of water per day) will help avoid constipation.
What drinks can you drink:
You should include as many “laxative effect” dishes as possible in your menu so as not to experience constipation and carry out their timely prevention.
What dishes are healthy:
Constipation in a child is a consequence of poor nutrition.
There are other reasons:
The correct way to eliminate constipation in a child is to balance his diet.
What to feed (menu):
What not to feed:
IMPORTANT: Maintain a drinking regime and always offer your child juices, decoctions, teas, water, and milk.
How to saturate your diet for pregnant women:
What to eat for a nursing mother:
What a nursing mother should not eat:
Judging by our experience, kefir strengthens if it is older than two days, and fresh did not particularly weaken us. It affects our body either in no way or in a strengthening way. But each person has an individual reaction to kefir and milk.
Therefore, those prone to constipation should try to either buy the freshest kefir, or otherwise maintain normal stools. We had to stop kefir altogether, since the problem with constipation became very acute, the child on his own (without suppositories or without a laxative) stopped pooping altogether. After stopping kefir, I put my daughter on a diet of cabbage, beets and fruits, and that’s the only way she pooped, and then it works every other day. There is an option to make homemade kefir, but it doesn’t always work out and it has the same properties.
Kefir is an acidic product, therefore, when it enters the intestines, it should weaken. Whole milk, on the contrary, should strengthen. Probably, different people have different reactions to kefir, for example, I don’t react to it at all, or the reaction is so insignificant that it’s simply unnoticeable.
Look at the date of production: fresh kefir weakens, and those older than 3 days strengthen; although this is how it should be, but in the end it turns out that everyone’s body reacts differently.
Fresh kefir, i.e. which is poured into a cup from just an open package weakens. But kefir, which will stay strong even in the refrigerator for a day or more.
Kefir can both weaken and promote constipation, it all depends on its maturity. But let me clarify right away that we are not talking about store-bought kefir, which is by and large neutral in this regard, and no matter how long it sits in the refrigerator, nothing will change, unless it completely turns sour. Fresh kefir without preservatives, for example homemade, has a laxative effect. Nowadays, many people make kefir themselves, so there’s nothing complicated about it. It is believed that if kefir has fermented for a day, then the microflora in it has not yet developed enough, and the percentage of alcohol is minimal and thus it has a laxative effect. However, already on the third day of fermentation the effect changes to the opposite.
Kefir definitely weakens. It just affects each body differently; for some, half a glass is enough, while for others, even a liter is enough to get the desired result. There will be no harm to the child, but I would not recommend fresh kefir. In order to get results in the morning, you need to drink kefir at night.
I would not give kefir to your child in your case. It is better to give children's yogurt with bifidobacteria. I know firsthand what kind of constipation can happen from kefir, believe me. I had to undergo surgery on my intestines and the doctor strongly recommended drinking kefir. But after drinking kefir 2 times a day for a week, I began to suffer with stool. Then, after reading reviews about kefir on the Internet, I started drinking yogurt with bifidobacteria, bifacil and bifidok, everything worked out, thank God!
Fresh kefir produced today will weaken, but kefir that has been produced for several days will, on the contrary, strengthen.
However, kefir affects each body slightly differently. For example, my friends give their child kefir with a banana if he gets constipated, but for us, on the contrary, it causes constipation itself, so I never give a banana with kefir at the same time.
Kefir does not have any significant effect on me, however. as the doctor told me, you need to drink a glass of kefir before bed to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do.
Naturally, the kefir must be fresh, otherwise there may be severe poisoning, and then it will definitely weaken.
Kefir is a very healthy dairy product, probably it can safely be called the healthiest of all milks.
Kefir affects each person differently, so I can answer for myself, kefir weakens me.
So if you experience problems in this regard, you should drink a glass of kefir and the body’s functioning will immediately improve.
Although I know that it strengthens some people on the contrary.
Kefir- a unique drink. And in addition to all the usefulness, it is also specific in that it is like Trufaldino: both yours and ours. That is, kefir can be a drink that both strengthens and weakens. But, not at the same time, of course, but depending on what it is used for.
The whole secret of the duality of kefir is that you need to know how strong the kefir is and how fresh it is:
Therefore, in order not to get into trouble, when buying kefir In the store you need to be careful about the following:
In regards to that Should I give my child kefir or not?, then you need to understand that there are a number of restrictions: this includes age and the portability of the product itself. More details here.
Health to the baby and successful experiments with kefir.
Young kefir no older than two days is slightly laxative, it is not a laxative, it just helps the stool pass out much easier, so the question of laxation is a moot point here. And kefir older than three days often strengthens the intestines and can even lead to constipation if you use such kefir daily. Even food prepared with such kefir, such as pancakes and pancakes, will strengthen the intestines, so people with problems with bowel movements are highly undesirable to use older kefir.
If there is a problem with stool, then you should first understand its causes, and not grab the first thing that comes to hand on the pharmacy counter or that is actively positioned in advertising as a laxative made exclusively from natural ingredients. Constipation, alas, affects not only babies, whose gastrointestinal tract has not yet adapted, and not only older people, whose digestive system can no longer cope with emerging problems on its own. Stool retention can occur even in a completely healthy person due to stress, eating unusual food while traveling, insufficient fluid intake, and even due to the basic lack of a toilet when it is so necessary. In general, pregnant women rarely avoid constipation.
Undoubtedly, they can be found in each of us, and they have already proven their effectiveness in practice more than once. But still, let's remember the catchphrase that drugs treat one thing, but cripple something else in our body. A doctor should prescribe these, but he will do this only when he sees a real need for it. After all, in this case, self-medication should not take place, and especially laxative abuse. Unfortunately, many women who dream of losing weight use laxatives regularly and happily cleanse their stomach and intestines of everything unnecessary, as well as all the vital vitamins and minerals taken with food. Be aware that laxatives, as well as enemas, are addictive. Over time, your gastrointestinal tract will understand that you will thoroughly clean it anyway and there is no need for it to try on its own. You simply won't be able to go to the toilet anymore without relaxing medications. But knowing which foods weaken you will help you make very minor adjustments to your diet when needed, without any harm to the body.
So, the most famous actions are dried fruits. Eat what you like best - dried apricots, prunes, raisins, figs. Better yet, pour boiling water over them and then eat with the resulting decoction. Such a drink based on dried apricots or prunes can really help infants during a difficult period (it is better to postpone an enema as a last resort).
Fermented milk products will also help to “relax” the stomach, and at the same time normalize digestion. But know that kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, natural yogurt, acidophilus product, etc. - products with a laxative effect only when they are used for one day. Already after three days, they, on the contrary, lead to constipation. By the way, another common cause of stool retention is dysbacteriosis, so it is recommended to consume fermented milk products regularly - for prevention.
Any vegetable oils that we use in food every day are also included in the group about which they say: “These are the foods that weaken!” But sunflower, olive, corn and other oils will give effect only if they are used in their pure form (for example, a spoonful on an empty stomach) or as a salad dressing, but in no case heat the oil - it will bring harm.
In general, the opinions of nutritionists and other doctors agree on one thing - for those who eat enough vegetables, constipation is not a problem, as well as many other problems, ranging from vitamin deficiency to metabolic disorders (if it is not caused by hormonal imbalances, of course). When thinking about which foods weaken you, don’t forget about beets and pumpkin, which are good for the stomach both boiled and raw. We can recommend using, on occasion, the “Broom” salad, consisting of fresh carrots, cabbage and celery. You can season it with vegetable oil and just a little salt (ideally, during the period of constipation, try not to salt the food at all, or at least not enough salt). The name of this dish was not taken out of thin air - it perfectly “sweeps” out of the intestines everything that is no longer needed.
But the truly unexpected one on our list of “What foods make you weak” is chocolate. Who would have thought that this yummy food contains substances that help relax the intestines and cleanse the body? Just to “heal” your digestion, buy chocolate with the highest cocoa content, that is, the darkest and certainly not milk.
Easy digestion for you!
Why does fresh kefir weaken, and old kefir strengthens?
Whether it weakens or strengthens depends on the maturity of kefir. Kefir comes in three types of freshness. Fresh one-day has a slight laxative effect on the intestines, because. it contains the least amount of germs and alcohol. Two-day-old kefir does not affect our body in any way, but three-day-old kefir strengthens the freshness, because it contains the largest number of enzymes and microorganisms.
Kefir is called a fermented milk product for a reason. it is obtained by fermentation, and fermentation in kefir is of two types - lactic acid and alcoholic. That is, the older the kefir, and three-day old kefir is considered old, the stronger the fermentation processes have gone through in it and the more pronounced its fixing properties. In contrast to one-day young kefir, three-day kefir contains more microflora that is beneficial for the intestines and a higher alcohol content, which together gives the consolidation effect. It is believed that only fresh, only prepared kefir has a laxative effect; the very next day it will be neutral in this regard. Well, store-bought kefirs that use preservatives do not have such properties at all.
Indeed, it is true that young one-day-old kefir has a slight laxative effect on the body, while three-day-old kefir is a little stronger. This all has a fairly simple explanation: young kefir simply contains less microflora and alcohol.
I don’t know, kefir has a laxative effect on me, even on the first day I drink it, even on the third - the result is usually the same.
Well, no matter how we are all different and dairy products affect everyone differently, if you notice such a pattern, it means that kefir affects you exactly the same way.
So these are only the characteristics of the individual organism and nothing more.
Basically, kefir weakens.
Yes, there is no difference, kefir cannot be strengthened at all - it is not rice. Kefir is now less than 50% on the naturalness scale, it’s all made from powdered milk, not like it used to be, and there’s not much use from it. And if you make kefir from natural milk, it has a good effect on the intestines, and it doesn’t matter how many days it is - two, five or seven.
It's all about the number of lactic acid bacteria. In small quantities they encourage the stomach and intestines to work for emptying, and in large quantities - vice versa. So be careful when you give a child with a problematic gastrointestinal tract the day before yesterday’s kefir, we had constipation right up to the crack in the butt ((healed with panthenol later((
Kefir is still a fermented milk product and therefore has a weakening effect on the stomach, but it should be noted that different people have different reactions to the same product, so it cannot be said that for everyone fresh kefir weakens and old kefir strengthens, but in most cases this is exactly the case.
After prolonged fermentation, kefir acts on the gastrointestinal tract of the body, as some claim, with a fixing effect.
Old kefir contains more microflora and alcohol, which contributes to fixation.
Young kefir contains less alcohol and microflora, and therefore you can easily get diarrhea from it.
I know from myself that neither fresh nor old kefir fixes anything anywhere :)
Therefore, I use this dairy product with caution.
Kefir has three degrees of maturity - this is one-day kefir which is called weak, this is two-day kefir which is called medium and this is three-day kefir which is called strong. The weakness and strength of kefir is determined by the content of carbon dioxide and alcohol in kefir, depending on its degree of maturation. Weak kefir has a laxative effect, while strong kefir has a strengthening effect.