51 NATURAL LAXATIVES THAT REALLY WORK-Get rid of constipation in a jiffy
Natural laxatives are perfect for getting rid of constipation. Many people are suffering from constipation these days. In fact, it has almost become an epidemic today. But, many people don’t know how to cure constipation with the help of natural laxatives. You can easily get rid of constipation within the comfort of your home with these simple remedies.
If you try to use certain over the counter laxatives prescribed by your doctor, they work efficiently only for some time. Later on, they don’t work as your body gets habituated to them. The only solution to avoid this problem is to find natural laxatives amongst the food substances that we consume regularly. So, let’s talk about natural laxatives that can help you with constipation maladies.
Natural laxatives:
1. Coconuts:
Coconuts are very healthy for your gut. They relieve constipation effortlessly. They act as a natural laxative when taken in any form. Coconut can be taken in the form of coconut oil, coconut milk or even coconut water. You can even make a powder of coconuts and store it in an airtight container. Then, you can mix this powder with water to make an effective liquid laxative.
You can also take Extra virgin coconut oil which is very natural. It has no preservatives that damage your health. You just need to take about 2 spoons of Extra virgin coconut oil daily at night and drink it. You can mix 2 spoons of dry coconut powder in a glass of water and drink at night. Alternatively, just drink coconut water daily.
In whatever form you take coconut, it effectively promotes movement of your bowel. If you take this natural laxative daily for some months, you will notice that you no longer suffer from constipation. You will also prevent very troublesome diseases like hemorrhoids or piles by taking coconut products regularly.
2. Broccoli sprouts:
Broccoli is a vegetable full od fiber content. It helps in the passage of stools very easily. But, Broccoli sprouts are far more beneficial in controlling constipation than Broccoli vegetable. They remove all the excess toxins from your body and help in detoxifying your intestines.
In addition to relieving constipation and acting as a natural laxative, you will detoxify your body with broccoli sprouts and get many essential vitamins and minerals at the same time.
3. Apples:
Apples are one of the best natural laxatives available today. They are delicious and help us with our constipation problems too. Apples are a rich source of fiber. They contain an insoluble fiber called Pectin which is the main reason behind the laxative properties of Apples.
This Pectin is present in the skin of Apples. Each Apple, when consumed with the skin, contains 3 grams of Pectin or fiber. This helps you to move your bowels easily. If you are not fond of Apple skin, just make a juice of Apples and drink it. You can also add prunes juice to the Apple juice to enhance its laxative properties.
4. Using Sugar-free gum:
Sugar-free gums and candies have a label written at the back of them that too much of sugar-free gum can lead to diarrhea or loose motions. So, you can tweak this side effect and take them when you are severely constipated. This will ease your bowels. But, make sure you don’t take them in excess as they might end up causing bloating of stomach and abdominal cramps.
5. Baking soda:
This is one natural laxative that you might not have thought about. Just mix a spoon of Baking soda in 1 cup of lukewarm water and drink it. It helps the air in the gut to escape outside due to its bicarbonate content. You will feel relieved after few minutes of taking this.
This remedy is being followed from ages. But, make sure you don’t take it if you are suffering from conditions like high blood pressure, heart diseases and kidney problems like the renal failure. The high salt content of baking soda can lead to water retention in the body and damage our heart, kidneys and increase blood pressure further.
6. Carrots:
Carrots are one of the best natural laxatives known to the people. They act like laxative mainly due to their high fiber content. Each carrot has about 1 to 2 grams of fiber, including both soluble and insoluble fiber.
The carrot adds bulk or mass to your stools. It also absorbs water in the gut and makes your stools soft and easy to pass. You can either eat carrots directly, add them to your salads, make a veggie smoothie. You can even add carrot to your cakes, or any other baked products like bread. Carrots when boiled or steamed also contain an equal quantity of fiber that helps your bowels to pass easily.
7. Onions:
Onions are a rich source of fiber. They help in getting rid of food particles that are stuck to the walls of the intestines. They also help in getting rid of toxins in the body. These properties make onions one of the best natural laxatives.
In addition to being a natural laxative, onions also help in getting rid of intestinal parasites or worms.
They help in preventing various carcinomas or cancer. To benefit from the laxative action of onions, you need to eat raw onions rather than cooked ones. You can include raw onions in salads and you can even drink raw onion juice by mixing some lemon juice and salt with it.
8. Avocado:
Avocados are rich in many essential nutrients. They are rich in vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin B complexes like folate and pyridoxine. They also contain monounsaturated fatty acids which help in maintaining our cholesterol within normal limits.
Avocados are amongst the natural laxatives that are yummy too. You can mash an avocado and then mix some lemon juice, salt and coriander leaves or cilantro to it. Your yummy, yet healthy natural laxative is ready for action.
9. Aloe vera:
Aloe vera has ben used as a laxative from many centuries. Its laxative action is mainly due to the presence of certain substances in it called anthraquinones. They increase the motility of the intestinal wall muscles which enables the intestines to push the food easily.
It also increases the water content of the gut and also enhances the secretion of a substance called mucus from the intestinal wall. Mucus makes the intestinal wall sticky and easy for the stools to pass. The water content also makes the stools soft and easy to pass through the intestine. Just consume 2 to 3 spoons of Aloe vera gel either directly or by mixing it in a glass of water at night daily.
10. Flaxseeds:
One of the reasons for constipation is the absence of bulk-forming agents in the stools. People are generally eating more of junk food and it doesn’t add to the bulk of the stool. People who eat more of fibrous food don’t develop constipation easily as fiber forms the bulk of stool and enables easy passage of stools.
Flax seeds are an excellent source of fiber. You can make flax seeds powder and add some jaggery powder and clarified butter or ghee to it and eat it in a delicious way and get rid of constipation. You can also add flax seed powder to your salads, gravies, curries, etc. It acts like one of the best natural laxatives and you won’t suffer from the pain of constipation anymore.
11. Green veggies of green leafy vegetables:
Green leafy vegetables are rich in insoluble fiber which is not absorbed by the body. This insoluble fiber makes forms the bulk mass of the stool. These green leafy vegetables also contain an electrolyte or mineral called Magnesium.
Foods rich in magnesium help in absorbing more water into the intestine and thereby making the food soft and easy to pass. Eat more of leafy vegetables like spinach, collards, cilantro, etc daily.You can make green smoothies or salads with them.
12. Yogurt:
Yogurt is considered to be probiotics. Probiotics are substances which promote the growth of healthy bacteria in our intestines. They also ward off bacteria which cause diseases in the intestines. Yogurt helps in maintaining a healthy balance of intestinal helpful flora.
Eat yogurt daily. You can add yogurt to your fruit smoothies as well. Furthermore, you can make a drink called lassi which is quite popular in India by blending some Ice, honey, lemon zest with the yogurt. You can make buttermilk with yogurt by adding some salt, water, ice, ginger and lemon juice to it. All these recipes with yogurt quench your thirst, prevent dehydration and act as good natural laxatives as well.
13. Olive oil:
Olive is one of the natural laxatives which works wonderfully. It’s very easily available, easily stored and works very fast too. It makes the intestinal wall slimy and easy for the passage of stools. Just add some lemon juice to the olive oil and take it on an empty stomach every day.
14. Castor oil:
Castor oil is one of the natural laxatives that has been used even by our ancestors. It works very well that it is very popular amongst people of some countries like India. It stimulates the movement of the intestinal walls called peristalsis. So, it is called a stimulant laxative.
Due to increased peristaltic action of the bowel, our bowels get emptied very easily. Such is its effect that it is even used to clean and empty the bowel before performing some surgeries. Now, you can imagine how effective castor oil is for getting rid of constipation.
Just add some lemon juice and honey to a spoon of castor oil and drink. You can take it just before sleeping or on an empty stomach early in the morning.
15. Salt water:
Yes, it’s true this is one of the natural laxatives that is readily available in each and every home. Saltwater increases the osmolarity in the intestines. This promotes the movement of water from the blood vessels into the intestines.
This movement of water makes the stools extremely soft and very easy to pass. In fact, in some natural therapy centers, they make people drink several glasses of salt water early in the morning to cleanse the intestines completely.
You too can follow the same remedy. You can drink at least 5 to 6 glasses of water mixed with a spoon of salt each. But remember to make it habituated very slowly by drinking only a few glasses in the first few weeks. Or else you might develop abdominal bloating and cramps. Follow this salt water treatment once a week.
16. Water:
Water is one of the best natural laxatives. It is just indispensable part of life. We drink water every day. But in order to pass easy feces, we need to drink water that too a little warm water early in the morning. Drink this on an empty stomach before eating anything else.
This makes your stool soft. Water also promotes the movement of your gut muscles . If you drink 2 glasses of warm water daily, you will no longer suffer from constipation. If you don’t feel like drinking empty water, you can also mix some lemon juice and honey to water and drink. This helps you lose excess weight as well. What a lovely double benefit.
17. Triphala powder for constipation:
Triphala powder is one of the best ayurvedic natural laxatives. It is made of 3 herbs called Amalaki, Haritaki, and Vibhitaki. The main ingredient aiding the laxative properties of Triphala powder is Amalaki or Indian gooseberry powder.
Just take a spoon of Triphala powder mixed in a glass of warm water at night. Drink this just before sleeping. Don’t drink anything after that. You will notice that your stools are very free the next morning. You can continue taking Triphala powder for a month or so until your bowels feel completely normal. Triphala powder is an excellent colon cleanser.
18. Lemon juice:
Lemons are excellent natural laxatives. They are yummy too and add to your daily Vitamin C requirement. Squeeze a lemon in a glass of warm water, mix some honey with it and drink daily in the morning on an empty stomach. It cleanses your colon very efficiently.
You can even add lemon juice to mashed Avocados like I mentioned before. It also helps you in getting rid of constipation fast.
19. Guavas:
Many people tend to ignore Guavas as they are very cheap or inexpensive. But, they have a lot of properties which promote our health. They are very rich in fiber. They contribute to almost 10 to 12 % of the daily required fiber intake.
If you take Guavas regularly, their seeds and the Guava peel contains a lot of fiber which helps in adding to the bulk of the stool. This makes stool very easy to pass through the intestines.
20. Prunes:
Prunes are natural laxatives with so many beneficial effects on the body. They help in making the consistency of stools appropriate for easy passage through our bowels. You need to eat about 5 to 8 prunes per day or at least try to drink a glass of prune juice on an empty stomach daily.
21. Isabgol:
Isabgol is also known as Psyllium husk or Ispaghula. It is produced from a plant called Plantago Ovata which is mainly found in countries like India, Pakistan, etc. It is easily available online. You need to soak about a spoon of Isabgol or Psyllium husk in a glass of water.
Psyllium husk absorbs the water and becomes very large. Then drink it daily at night before bedtime. It also becomes sticky or mucilaginous upon absorbing water. This helps in easy passage of stools.
22. Papaya:
Papaya is one of the best natural laxatives which is easily available in the market. It is rich in Vitamin A which helps our skin, hair, and eyes too. Eat a quarter of papaya every morning to experience its full benefits. It is rich in insoluble fiber which helps in easy bowel movements. If you don’t feel like eating papayas, make some papaya juice, add some honey and lemon juice to it and drink regularly.
23. Bananas:
Bananas act as good natural laxatives due to 2 reasons. One is their high fiber content and the other is their ability to act similar to probiotics and promote the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria. What are you waiting for? Just grab a banana and start eating right away and get rid of constipation.
24. Leguminous seeds:
Legumes like beans and peas are high in fiber content. They act as good natural laxatives mainly due to the insoluble fibers present in them. Legumes can even be fed to small kids to get rid of constipation. They are rich in proteins and helps to build muscles in you. Proteins are required for many metabolic processes in all the cells of the body. So, only they are called building blocks of the body.
25. Sunflower seeds:
Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber. Their laxative action is mainly due to their high fiber content which is not absorbed by the intestines and it pushes the food out through the intestines as it forms the bulk of the stools.
26. Ginger:
Ginger is one of the perfect natural laxatives. It is very soothing to the intestines. Ginger enhances the speed of digestion in the body. It also regulates the movements of the bowel very efficiently. You can make Ginger tea by boiling some grated or mashed ginger in some water and adding some lemon juice and honey to it.
27. Whole grain foods:
Junk foods or processed foods don’t contain any fiber in them and they lead to constipation issues. People consuming more pizzas and burgers are more prone to develop constipation. You start eating whole grain foods and ditch fast foods. You will definitely experience that they act as best natural laxatives as they are rich in fiber.
28. Molasses:
Molasses, that too blackstrap molasses act as good natural laxatives. These molasses are rich in magnesium. Magnesium helps in retaining water and promotes intestinal peristalsis which makes bowel movements easy.
29. Coffee:
Yes, I know you love coffee. I too love drinking Coffee. Our favorite coffee can help us in getting rid of constipation as well. It is one of the perfect natural laxatives. Coffee is a good peristaltic agent. It stimulates intestinal muscles to contract and flush out the stools and toxins. But, make sure you don’t drink it in excess as it can make you dehydrates.
30. Apple cider vinegar:
Apple cider vinegar is also one of the good natural laxatives. It promotes the growth of helpful bacteria in the gut. It also flushes out all the toxins from the body. Just mix 1 or 2 spoons of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and drink daily early in the morning.
31. Tomatoes:
Tomatoes are rich in insoluble fiber which makes passing stools very easy. They are also rich in many vital vitamins and nutrients that are essential for skin, hair, and health. Drink tomato juice regularly or eat raw tomatoes as it is. You can also add them to your salads.
32. Watermelon:
We already told you that water makes stool soft and easy for it to pass through the intestine. Now, you all know that watermelon contains water mostly. It is almost 90% water and the rest fiber, both of which make it one of the ideal natural laxatives. Make watermelon juice and drink. Add some ginger and lemon to it to boost up its laxative properties. It makes you rejuvenated too.
33. Berries:
Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries are rich in fiber content. This fiber helps you to forget constipation. You will also love this remedy for constipation as they are very yummy. Make a smoothie with these berries and some yogurt. It tastes like heaven and you can have one of the best natural laxatives to take care of you.
34. Beetroot:
Beetroot is yet again another source of high fiber content. It helps you to pass your bowel easily as its rich in fiber and it also promotes the motility of the intestines.
35. Amla or Indian gooseberry powder:
It is a very good way of keeping your constipation under control. Just add a spoon of Amla or Indian gooseberry powder to warm water and drink on an empty stomach early in the morning. It is also rich in vitamin C which helps your overall health.
36. Cabbage:
Cabbage is very rich in fiber which makes your stool mass bulk and facilitates its easy passage. It also ensures that your stool becomes soft and easy to pass.
37. Peppers:
Peppers either cayenne pepper or black pepper or just normal spicy peppers which can be used in daily cooking promote healthy digestion. They stimulate the secretion of enzymes in the gut which digests food properly and facilitate their easy removal from the body.
38. Sabja seeds or sweet basil seeds:
These seeds are excellent natural laxatives. They swell to about 10 times their original size when soaked in water. This makes them extremely rich in fiber and water content. They add to the bulk of stool and make it pass through intestine easily. Basil seeds also fill up your stomach and help you eat less food and lose weight too. They have a multitude of other benefits too.
39. Epsom salt:
Epsom salt contains magnesium which enhances the peristaltic activity of the bowels. It also absorbs water from the blood vessels and makes the stools soft. Just add a spoon of Epsom salt to a glass of water and drink it when you feel constipated.
40. Dandelion tea:
Many of you might not have heard about dandelions. But, their leaves are effective in combating constipation. Just take a spoon of dandelion leaves, place them in a glass of hot water and allow them to steep for some time. Then drink it. It relieves constipation in a jiffy. So, it’s one of the perfect natural laxatives.
41. Cinnamon:
Cinnamon powder is one of the natural laxatives that was widely used in Ayurvedic medicines in India. If you are suffering from constipation, just add a spoon of cinnamon powder to a cup of warm milk and drink before bedtime.
Drink this every day. You will notice that your constipation has vanished after a month of its usage. It also helps you to control blood sugar levels if you have diabetes and it also boosts immunity in you.
42. Cow ghee and milk:
Cow ghee has many medicinal properties. Curing consr=tipation is one of them. Add 2 spoons of cow ghee to a glass of warm milk and drink it at night before sleeping. It will surely help you with constipation within few days.
43. Raisins:
Raisins are a good source of dietary fiber. Soak a spoon of raisins in water at night. Eat them early I the morning along with the water. The fiber content of raisins will help you in clearing your bowel easily.
44. Fenugreek seeds for constipation:
Fenugreek seeds are very effective in treating constipation. Just soak 1 or 2 spoons of fenugreek seeds overnight. Then eat the seeds in the morning. If you feel that they are very bitter, you can make a paste out of them and swallow the paste with water.
They are one of the best natural laxatives available. But, make sure that you don’t eat them if you suffer from hypoglycemia as they reduce blood sugar levels. But, if you are a diabetic and have constipation, it will work wonder on you.
45. Honey:
Honey stimulates the gut very well and helps in flushing out toxins and stools. Add a spoon of honey to warm water and drink it early in the morning. Add lemon juice to this to boost the laxative effects of honey and warm water.
46. Basil leaves or Tulsi leaves:
Basil leaves are one of the natural laxatives that are widely used in countries like India. They are found in almost every home there. People of other countries can easily find them in Asian or Indian stores. They help in easing bowel movement very effectively. Just make a tea of basil leaves.
Boil some water. Add crushed basil leaves to it and steep for some time. Then drink the warm basil tea to relieve constipation. You can also chew fresh basil leaves whenever you want.
47. Figs:
Figs are very good to control constipation. Make a paste of figs and add it to some warm milk and drink it. You can also eat fresh figs directly. They ease bowel movements very well due to their high fiber content.
48. Sesame seeds:
Sesame seeds are very effective in easing constipation. Just add them to your salads, make laddus of them and eat. Laddus are a sweet dish made from sesame seed powder, jaggery, and ghee or clarified butter in India. You can also add sesame seed powder to your curries, gravies, fruit juices or smoothies.
49. Omega 3 fatty acids:
Foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids will help you to make the intestinal wall slimy and easy for the stools to pass. Include them regularly in the diet.
50. Garlic:
Many people are not aware that garlic helps in easy passage of stools or bowel movements. They have a myth that it causes constipation. But, the fact is that the medicinal contents of Garlic promote the intestinal motility and easy passage of stools. Eat fresh and raw garlic mixed in your salads daily. It protects your heart and liver too. It is one of the perfect natural laxatives which has antimicrobial properties too.
51. Cloves:
Cloves are a perfect way to ease your constipation. Just make a powder of 5 to 6 cloves and add them to boiling water and allow to steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Then add some honey and lemon juice to it and drink your clove tea and watch your constipation run away.
You have seen all the possible ways to use natural laxatives to get rid of your constipation. Don’t use all of them. Try to include at least some of them in your diet regularly to forget constipation. Now, tell us which natural laxatives have you used and how have they helped you get rid of constipation?
