Identifying Efficacious And Suspect Natural Agents For Constipation

by Yuri Kakharov on May 18, 2010 · diet

in diet

Should a person try out natural medications though there are so many effective and powerful industrial pharmaceuticals. Conventional pharmaceuticals benefit from the statistical power of clinical trials that can tease out their small but beneficial effects. This in turn translates into support by physicians because the results of a clinical trial can be boiled down into simple language for decision making. The only drawbacks are that conventional medications, while statistically speaking are broadly effective, may still not work for a particular individual.

The story with natural medications is even more complex. Without the benefit of a clinical trial, most natural medications show their efficacy only through folklore and small-scale studies in research projects. Worse still, they may be effective in only a subset of patients much like regular pharmaceuticals. It is also unlikely that natural medications will ever benefit from a clinical trial as few companies want to undertake the expensive process for a treatment they cannot patent.

The question for natural treatments is two-fold: is it useful at all, and is it useful for the particular patient? A few examples of natural treatments can help frame the discussion. Scientific research and statistical analysis shows omega 3 fatty acids to be beneficial for cholesterol control, and Vitamin D for cancer prevention and general health. In contrast, Vitamin E and A, goji and acai berries do not have ameliorative effects for any sort of ailment.

From these observations one can see that there is a range of efficacious natural treatments, but it is hard to tell without some scientific research. Vitamin A and D are both vitamins, yet one is shown to be useful whereas the other is just a nutritional requirement. Let us consider a few natural treatments for constipation that are somewhat accepted.

For people interested in natural methods of relief, there can be a few possibilities. The most broadly applicable approach proposed by doctors in the absence of patient history is high fiber therapy. Such therapy involves eating a lot of common foods with high fiber or consuming extra supplements that contain fiber.

Some complain that the effort needed in homing in on high fiber foods is too much. A solution to remedy this is to consider the available popular dietary fiber supplements. These are sold under brands like metamucil and frequently contain crushed powdered forms of plant material like the plantago. Patients who undergo this treatment type may require about a half month until the effects are completely felt.

Different kinds of laxatives are available to sufferers with constipation problems. Among the most accepted are the well understood stimulant and osmotic laxatives. The names are based on the chemical basis of action. The osmotic laxatives draw liquid out of the internal cells into the intestinal lumen which helps acceleration of transit of food matter. Stimulating medication increase the activity of the intestines.

Peruse the most up-to-date information in relation to constipation remedy. Specialty detail resources on laxatives osmotic are available.

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