Natural laxatives: Six home remedies that work quickly

With natural laxatives you can stimulate your bowels and help them empty. We’ll show you six home remedies for constipation.

Laxatives are primarily used for constipation. Many cases of constipation can be effectively treated with natural laxatives in both children and adults. Constipation, scientifically known as obstipation, is one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints. It involves bowel movements less than three times a week, and these can often only occur with pain.

Natural laxatives can help stimulate intestinal activity and thus relieve constipation in a long-term and gentle way.

This is why blockages occur

Constipation can be chronic or temporary. Temporary constipation affects almost everyone at some point.

There are many causes of constipation – the following are just a selection of the most common:

• unbalanced diet (too little fruit and vegetables, little fiber)
• insufficient fluid intake
• lack of movement
• stress
• Metabolic disorders (e.g. diabetes mellitus or hypothyroidism)
• Side effects of medication

In the next section, we will introduce you to natural laxatives that you can use to stimulate your bowels immediately. Even if you want to fast, you can try these home remedies to properly empty your bowels before starting your fast.

Six natural laxatives

To stimulate bowel emptying, these natural laxatives can help:

1. A simple home remedy that works immediately: drink a glass of water on an empty stomach before breakfast. This stimulates intestinal activity and promotes bowel movements.
2. Another well-known laxative that works immediately is coffee at breakfast. This also stimulates the intestines after getting up.
3. Include psyllium husks or linseed in your breakfast. Due to their high fiber content, these swell in the intestines and gently stimulate them.
4. To further stimulate your bowel activity, you can also gently massage your stomach in circular movements and place a hot water bottle on it. You can also use this to help children who suffer from constipation.

5. Dried fruits, such as prunes and dried figs, are also rich in fiber and therefore stimulate bowel function. However, due to their high sugar content, you should only eat them in moderation.

6. Sauerkraut juice can also help you with constipation. It is best to drink the juice early on an empty stomach. This is when the effect is strongest. Start with a small amount of juice and increase the amount if necessary. Otherwise, constipation can quickly turn into diarrhea.

You should initially eat foods that are particularly high in fiber, such as psyllium husks, linseed and dried fruit, in small quantities. You can then increase the amount little by little. If you suddenly eat a lot of fiber all at once, this can actually make constipation worse. Also make sure that you eat foods that are high in fiber with plenty of liquid and drink enough throughout the day.

Important: If you suffer from constipation for several weeks, you should seek medical attention. If other symptoms occur, such as severe pain or blood in the stool, you should seek medical advice immediately.

Preventing constipation: This helps

Constipation is unpleasant, so it’s best not to let it happen in the first place. If you pay attention to a few things in your everyday life, you can largely avoid constipation and you don’t need any special natural laxatives.

• Eat healthily. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables as well as whole grain products and foods rich in fiber. Avoid fast food and convenience foods as much as possible.

• Take your time to eat and chew well. This will make it easier for your intestines to work later.

• Drink plenty of water. Two liters a day is ideal.

• Are you very stressed right now? This can also lead to constipation. In this case, relaxation exercises and breathing exercises can help.
• Integrate enough sport and exercise into your everyday life. You can find inspiration here: Doing sport: How to find the right sport.
• Take your time when going to the toilet and don’t put pressure on yourself. If you can’t go straight away, sit for a few minutes.