Herbal Help for Constipation

When manufacturers of Ex-Lax announced the arrival of a "new" formulation of the product a few years ago, took herbal medicine pioneer in the treatment of constipation. Of course, is not exactly a difficult competition to win. The main ingredient of Ex-Lax, phenolphthalein, was withdrawn from the market by the FDA, leaving little choice but to change the wording. Senna, a stimulant laxative herbal became the "new" Ex-Lax ingredient for today has become one of the main remedies for constipation relief.

Actually there are several options for herbal treatment of constipation. In most of them can be divided into two categories: laxatives and stimulants bulk laxatives. Stimulant laxatives act of forcing contractions of the smooth muscle of the colon and drawing water from the body inside the colon, allowing a loser feces. Bulk laxatives, on the other hand, are products that extend inside the colon when mixed with water. Once expanded, launching the colon of natural contractions seeking to expel the substance bulky. (The trick bulk laxatives is that you have to drink plenty of water to the product laxative or I would not work.)

Stimulant laxatives herbal include Senna, shell, castor oil, buckthorn juice and dried aloe. Senna is the most readily available to these because of their popularity as an ingredient in brand-name products as Sennakot and Ex-Lax. The active components of senna are called anthraquinones. All stimulant laxatives containing anthraquinone-like the ingredients that give herbs their cathartic effect. S

timulant laxatives, whether herbal or not, everyone has basically the same risks. When used daily for over 1-2 weeks that could lead to "laxative-dependency syndrome". This means that the muscles of the colon become lazy and not very well contract unless you take more than laxatives. Rebound constipation may result from stopping the product after prolonged use.

Bulk laxatives, on the other hand, are based in the colon normal muscle contractions and usually do not lead to dependence. Laxatives herbal bulk are flaxseed, psyllium and apple pectin. The first two are actually seeds and seed parts that swell with the addition of water to form a voluminous mass inside the colon. Apple pectin does the same, except it is from shells and not apple seeds. The main risk in the use of laxatives is that bulk of obstruction of the intestines that can occur when the product or mixture of water can not get through. Once again, the drinking water in bulk with laxatives is essential, without it, laxatives may become hard as a rock inside the colon. As you can imagine, the rocks in the colon are not easy to pass.

A general rule would be as follows: If you suffer from chronic constipation, use a laxative bulk regularly (with water) to help train its system to have regular bowel movements without the use of stimulants. Save the stimulants for occasional use.