If you struggle with constipation, chances are your doctor has told you to eat more fiber and drink more water. It turns out, however, that the clinical guidelines for treating chronic constipation provide limited—and at times outdated—dietary recommendations.
Now, a team of experts, including dietitians, a nutritionist, gastroenterologist, gut physiologist, and general practitioner have reviewed over 75 clinical trials to create 59 recommendation statements. This work represents the first evidence-based dietary guidelines for adults with chronic constipation, and is jointly published in the Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics and Neurogastroenterology & Motility.
“Chronic constipation can have a huge impact on someone’s day-to-day life. For the first time, we’ve provided direction on what dietary approaches could genuinely help, and which diet advice lacks evidence,” Eirini Dimidi, lead author of the study and a lecturer in nutritional sciences at King’s College London, said in a statement. “Being able to improve this condition through dietary changes would allow people to self-manage their symptoms more and, hopefully, improve their quality of life.”
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The guidelines, endorsed by the British Dietetic Association, suggest that kiwi, rye bread, high mineral-content water, psyllium fiber supplements, certain probiotic strains, and magnesium oxide supplements help improve constipation. Focusing on individual symptoms ensures that the guidelines are more useful for personalized care.
Comparatively, commonly recommended approaches like general high-fiber diets and senna supplements did not provide significant evidence of efficacy. This research also reveals that the overall quality of studies on chronic constipation is low. Most trials tested single interventions instead of whole diet approaches.
“Eating a high fibre diet offers many benefits to overall health and has been a go-to recommendation for constipation. However, our guidelines found that there simply isn’t enough evidence to suggest it actually works in constipation specifically,” Dimidi continued. “Instead, our research reveals some new dietary strategies that could indeed help patients. At the same time, we urgently need more high-quality trials to strengthen the evidence on what works and what doesn’t.”
As always, be sure to consult your medical provider before trying a new diet.
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