What are the causes of lazy bowel, and what is the treatment?

What causes lazy gut?
Every time you eat, your nerves send a signal to your digestive system to start a series of activities.

The muscles of the digestive system move food forward in a wave-length motion called "peristalsis." But this movement can be blocked, too slow, or not a strong enough contraction to move the food forward.

Bowel-related reflexes can become more or less effective due to:

Rely on laxatives
Restricted eating patterns
Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
drug use
Anesthesia
irritable bowel syndrome
There may be other causes for weak muscles as well. Sometimes the reason is as simple as not having enough fiber in your diet.

treatment options

Depending on the cause of your slow bowel movements, treatment approaches may vary. Here are some solutions that you can try to encourage more frequent and easy bowel movements.

dietary changes
Delayed bowel movements can result from a lack of fiber in your diet. A diet that focuses on natural, unprocessed fruits and vegetables should kick-start your digestion and make you more regular. Examples include:

Almonds and almond milk
Plum, fig, apple and banana
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts
Flax seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
Consider adding 2 to 4 extra glasses of water to your daily routine.

Limiting dairy products, which can be hard to digest, and cutting out bleached, processed, and preserved baked goods heavily may also help. Ice cream, chips and frozen meals have little fiber and should be avoided.

Cutting back on coffee that dehydrates the digestive system can be a way to balance bowel movements.

Additionally, adding an over-the-counter fiber supplement containing psyllium has been shown in clinical studies to make bowel movements more regular.

natural laxatives
Artificial laxatives can make symptoms of lazy gut worse. But there are natural laxatives that you can try to break the digestive process.

Adding three to four cups of green tea to your daily routine may improve digestion.

Playing sports
Light exercise can direct your blood to circulate through your abdomen. For some people, this gets in the way. Consistent exercise may affect lazy gut symptoms by keeping the digestive system "turned on" and engaged. Some yoga poses may help relieve constipation.

Takeaway
If constipation problems are constantly coming back, even with changes in diet and lifestyle, you need to talk to your doctor. In rare cases, a lazy bowel can mean a more serious health condition. You should also contact your doctor in the following cases:

You have severe abdominal pain that is not relieved by stool
You have diarrhea accompanied by a high temperature (over 101 degrees), chills, vomiting or dizzy spells
You have diarrhea or constipation that lasts for more than two weeks