Regular exercise is even important for your bowels. Getting things moving can quite literally get things moving. Walking is great for your digestive system as well as your mental well-being.

Increasing fibre in your diet is also key. Make sure you are having sufficient fruit and vegetables along with whole grains in your daily diet.  A whooping 25g of fibre per day is recommended but most people aren't getting anywhere near this.  Try adding up your fibre for a couple of days to see if you are hitting the target. The website nutritionfoundation.org.nz has helpful information, or alternatively you can add up your daily fibre intake on an app. Take care to ramp up fibre intake slowly.

Staying hydrated is another essential. It is recommended that you have between 1.5 to 2 L of water per day.  

At the pharmacy we have a range of medicines to help treat constipation, from gentle and mild (such as lactulose and coloxyl &senna) to more intensive help (eg.microlax enemas), depending on what you need. Our pharmacists can help you choose what is right for you. 

Recent studies indicate that probiotics (good bacteria) may be helpful for certain types of constipation, However not all probiotics are designed for helping with constipation, so make sure you get the right one. At Unichem Manly Pharmacy, we use our practitioner only range Metagenic's Ultra Flora GI Regulate to help people with constipation and have had some amazing results. 

Unfortunately aging can not only unbalance our gastrointestinal flora but may in some instances lead to reduced digestive enzymes. With the help of a nutritional practitioner, these can be added back, thus aiding in treatment of constipation and other gut problems.

It’s also important to remember that there are some conditions that may seem like constipation, but may be something more serious. That’s why you should always check with one of our pharmacists. 

If you are having issues with constipation, come and see one of our pharmacists for information, or for one on one advice see our nutritionally qualified pharmacist in our Gut Health Clinic. Call (09)424-7708 or click here to book your appointment.

Can Constipation Cause a Heart Attack?

An international study led by Monash University researchers showed that individuals suffering from constipation were more than twice as likely to suffer from a major cardiac event (heart attacks, stroke, heart failure) as those without constipation.  But before you panic this does not mean that if you are constipated that you are going to have a heart attack. What it does mean that there is some link between our gut and our cardiovascular system. We also know that straining to pass a bowel motion can cause your blood pressure to spike which certainly can put you at risk of a cardiovascular event. In summary it means we need to think about constipation more seriously in terms of our health, rather than dismissing it as simply a discomfort.