Causes and Symptoms of Constipation:

The most common complaint which we hear, particu­larly in the urban areas, is constipation. Millions of rupees are spent by the sufferers on laxatives. Countless cups of tea and coffee are drunk and an equally large number of cigarettes and bidis smoked under the mistaken notion that they would help the bowels move. Little do the sufferers understand that an easy life, sedan try habits, lack of exercise and rich food are the causes of constipation. If the disorder persists for sometime, it can create many complications like headache, lethargy, loss of appetite and apathy. When the waste matter does not come out of the intestines it leads to putrefaction and wind in the stomach; sometimes, the whole abdomen is distended causing acute discomfort.

Natural Home Remedies and Cures for Constipati

The best way to deal with constipation is, of course, to change our food habits. Milk and boiled vegetables, fruits and their juices should be taken in large quantities together with foods with a lot of roughage. But since that is not feasible with most of us because we are slaves to our palate, the following laxatives are recommended:

Ten grams of Senna and 5 grams of Aniseed should be boiled in a cup of water with Gur, strained and drunk the last thing at night. Half a litre of milk mixed with 50 grams of brown sugar drunk at night will give relief. Another way is to eat 40 grams of Gulkand (confection of rose petals) with milk. If these fail to give relief, six grams of the rind of Harad, also known as Halila Zard, should be ground fine and mixed with a little salt. Wash the pqwder down with lukewarm water. Another way is to steep forty grams of pulp of Purging Cassia (Amaltas) in water overnight. -It should be strained in the morning and drunk with twenty grams of sugar. Three grams of Indrain (Colocynth) boiled in a cupful of water will also help the constipated bowels.