“Constipation is the most common problem in many household but less discussed. One of the best and silent signs of any abdominal disturbance is constipation. All medical sciences emphasizes that if one is to be considered as healthy then he/she has to have proper bowel movements,” suggests *Dr. Mahesh T.S., Ayurveda expert at Lever ayush.
He also states that as per a research, 31% and 14% of India’s urban population suffered from Functional Constipation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome induced constipation respectively, an alarming rate of 45% of the Indian population suffer from constipation [1] . It is a condition wherein there is little or no bowel movement, and therefore the waste is generally, or extremely hard to expel out of the body, which is tremendously painful [2] .
Now, did you know that constipation not only affects one’s bowel but also the person’s mood? It leaves one feeling extremely irritable and restless with mood swings and a general lack of interest in almost everything. Here’s why:
According to Ayurveda, ‘Vata’ dosha is responsible for the free movement of stool and so, the treatment using Ayurvedic techniques involves balancing the imbalanced Vata dosha. The method used to treat constipation in Ayurveda is known as ‘Mridu Snehana’ or mild oleation.
Apart from Ayurvedic medication, one needs to also include more fibre in their diet, as fibre helps in smooth movement of the bowel. Therefore, eating food rich in fibre like fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, cereals, etc., could be helpful.
It is also extremely important to keep yourself hydrated and drink a lot of water, as during constipation, the colon absorbs all the water from the food, making the stools hard and difficult to expel.
The last option for anyone should be to depend on laxatives. However, they should not be required, as Ayurveda is far superior to other forms of medications that assign tablets and antibiotics to eradicate the problems.
Therefore, Ayurveda is a better substitute for treating chronic constipation and will lead not only in the disease not appearing so often but also in nourishing the entire body.