Bananas: The More You Eat, The More Constipated You Get
In daily life, many people believe that eating bananas can help with bowel regularity, so some people with constipation eat them frequently. However, for some people, not only do bananas fail to resolve constipation, they can actually cause it. It's no wonder that constipated patients often wonder: why does eating more bananas make it harder to have a bowel movement? This is because bananas do not actually have a laxative effect.
Bananas: The More You Eat, The More Constipated You Get
Everyone knows that when bananas are unripe, their peel is green, and the flesh is so astringent it's inedible. When fully ripe, the astringent taste is gone, leaving them soft, sweet, and popular with children and the elderly. Bananas are tropical and subtropical fruits. To facilitate storage and transportation, they must be picked while the peel is still green before being stored. The bananas we eat in the north are all ripened after picking. The astringent taste of unripe bananas comes from the large amount of tannic acid they contain. This can lead to significant constipation
After a banana ripens, although the astringent taste is gone, the tannic acid is still present. Tannic acid has a very strong astringent effect, which can bind stool into hard, dry masses, thereby causing constipation. The most typical cases are in the elderly and children, who, after eating bananas, not only fail to relieve constipation but may actually experience it.
There are many foods that can help with bowel regularity
Many foods can help with bowel regularity, such as coarse grains like apples, sweet potatoes, and corn. Apples are rich in pectin, a type of dietary fiber, so they have a "dual-regulating" effect on bowel movements. When constipated, eating more apples can help soften stool and promote bowel movements. The pectin in apples can absorb up to 2.5 times its own volume in water, softening the stool and making it easier to pass, thus relieving constipation. Apples also prevent and treat constipation
When you have diarrhea, the pectin in apples can absorb excess water from the stool, making it thicker and thus helping to stop diarrhea. This "dual-regulating" effect of apples is very gentle, making it especially suitable for the elderly and infants. In addition, coarse grains like sweet potatoes, corn, oats, and buckwheat are rich in dietary fiber and also have the effect of preventing and treating constipation.