Forget fibre, eating your fruit and veg stops constipation

Doctors tell us to eat more fibre if we want to stay regular—but chronic constipation is much more to do with not eating enough vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Chronic constipation—characterised as having little or no bowel movement for three months in a year—affects millions of people, but it needn’t happen to anyone who eats a healthy diet, and adding vegetables and fruits to the daily plate is enough to prevent the problem.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham assessed the diets and bowel movements of around 96,000 people for several years, who were following one of five diets: the Mediterranean diet, a plant-based diet, a low-carb diet, a standard Western diet and an inflammatory diet, which included processed and sugary foods and drinks.

Those who consistently consumed a Western or inflammatory diet were more likely to develop chronic constipation, while those who followed a low-carb diet were much less likely to suffer constipation, the researchers found.

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