Milk for constipation: useful properties, effects on the gastrointestinal tract and doctors' reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Full nutrition is impossible to imagine without dairy products. After all, they contain a large amount of vitamins, he althy proteins and minerals. Such food is especially necessary for a growing child's body. However, it is often possible to hear the opinion that milk should not be used for constipation, since this product has fixing properties. Is it so? Let's try to figure it out.

Benefit

Consider the beneficial properties of milk. This product has the following effects on the body:

• strengthens the immune system;
• prevents the appearance of vascular diseases;
• reduces the risk of tumor formation;
• normalizes glucose levels;
• promotes bone strength;
• calms the nervous system.

Doctors recommend including dairy products in your diet every day. Complete refusal of such food can adversely affect he alth.

Positive effect on the digestive tract

HowDoes milk affect constipation? Does this product have laxative or fixative properties? To answer these questions, you need to understand the composition of milk. This drink contains the following substances that interact with the digestive tract:

• proteins;
• fats;
• lactose.

Milk contains a large amount of protein - casein. When this substance enters the body, it envelops the walls of the digestive tract and protects tissues from the aggressive effects of gastric juice. This helps to eliminate heartburn. Many people who suffer from gastritis with high acidity know that drinking a glass of milk relieves stomach pain.

Possible harm

Does milk help with constipation? With stool retention, this product may worsen the situation. When casein envelops the walls of the stomach, the absorption of nutrients in the organ is significantly reduced. As a result, the passage of the food bolus through the gastrointestinal tract slows down. In addition, casein reduces intestinal motility. This leads to a delay in defecation. Therefore, in no case should you abuse milk for problems with stool.

Casein is well absorbed only in childhood. This is due to the fact that a special enzyme is produced in the child's body - proteinase, which is involved in the processing of milk protein. However, in adults, this substance is not synthesized. Doctors recommend that patients over the age of 30 consume milk in very moderate amounts. It is much more useful for adults to include sour-milk in the diet.products: kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, cottage cheese.

Can I drink high-fat milk with constipation? Such a product can only bring harm. Often patients mistakenly believe that fatty foods have laxative properties. However, excess milk lipids are poorly digested and can cause constipation.

Many people suffer from intolerance to milk sugar - lactose. According to medical statistics, this feature is noted in 18-20% of people. In the body of patients, the enzyme lactase is poorly produced, which breaks down milk sugar. In such cases, the use of milk for constipation should be completely abandoned. Even a small amount of the product can provoke flatulence, stool retention and abdominal pain.

Cow and goat milk

How bad is cow's milk for constipation? This product is high in casein. In addition, cattle milk has a high fat content. This can cause congestion in the intestines and stool retention. Therefore, doctors do not recommend drinking undiluted cow's milk if you have problems with bowel movements.

Can I drink goat's milk for constipation? This product does much less harm. It contains a small amount of casein and is less likely to cause allergic reactions and stool retention. Goat milk contains only easily digestible fats. This drink is especially good for children.

However, goat milk should not beabuse for constipation. In excess, this product may cause delayed bowel movements and abdominal pain.

If goat's milk was purchased not in a store, but from individuals, then the product must be boiled. This will help avoid infection with dangerous infections such as tick-borne encephalitis and foot and mouth disease.

How to use the product for constipation

An adult can completely stop drinking milk during constipation. This will not affect the state of his body in any way. Milk can be easily replaced with fermented milk products, which are much he althier for the stomach and intestines.

However, many people love this drink and are not ready to completely eliminate it from the diet. In such cases, the following recommendations from doctors will help reduce the harm from drinking milk:

1. When constipated, only skim milk is allowed. If the drink has a high fat content, then it must be diluted with water. This will reduce the concentration of lipids and casein.
2. When stool is delayed, you can only drink hot milk. It stimulates intestinal motility. A cold drink weakens peristalsis.
3. No more than 1 glass of milk is allowed per day. It is recommended to drink it in the morning on an empty stomach. It is useful to add a spoonful of honey to hot diluted or skimmed milk, this product has a laxative effect.

Milk for babies

If an adult with a tendency to constipation can completely exclude milk from the diet, then the child needs this product. After all, a growing organismcalcium is required. So that this he althy drink does not cause stool retention in a child, it is necessary to adhere to the following recommendations of pediatric gastroenterologists:

1. Cow's milk can only be included in the baby's menu from the age of 1 year. For babies, it is better to use ready-made milk formulas as complementary foods.
2. Children should only be given pasteurized milk from the store that has undergone special processing.
3. The fat content of milk for children should not exceed 2.5%.
4. Goat milk can only be included in the diet over the age of 3.
5. If the baby suffers from constipation, then milk should be given to him diluted and hot. Such a drink helps to liquefy solid feces.

Other dairy products

What can replace milk with a tendency to constipation? Doctors recommend including fermented milk products in the daily menu:

• kefir;
• curdled milk;
• ryazhenka;
• cottage cheese.

These products are natural prebiotics. They fill the intestines with beneficial bacteria, which helps to normalize digestion. It is also recommended to use fermented milk drinks with acidophilus bacillus and bifidobacteria: Acidophilus, Bifidok, Bifilife.

Sour cream can only be eaten with constipation, provoked by intestinal spasms. If the stool retention is caused by other reasons, then it is better to refuse this product. Sour cream is quite high in fat and can make things worse.

Milk enemas

Traditional medicine recommends injecting milk into the body in the form of enemas for constipation. For the procedure, you should use a product with a fat content of about 3%, heated to a temperature of +36 degrees. Milk enema helps to quickly empty the intestines and cope even with multi-day constipation. However, this treatment should not be used too often.

Doctors confirm milk enemas help with constipation. With this procedure, casein and fats enter the intestines, bypassing the stomach, and increase peristalsis. However, experts emphasize that the frequent use of milk enemas can lead to dysbacteriosis. The procedure can be done no more than 3-4 days. Otherwise, lazy bowel syndrome may develop, and self-emptying will be difficult.

Patients respond positively to the use of milk enemas for constipation. Reviews report that this method helped them quickly empty their intestines, as well as get rid of flatulence and abdominal pain.

In some cases, frequent constipation is provoked by the presence of parasites (pinworms, Giardia) in the digestive tract. With such pathologies, garlic should be added to the milk enema. This vegetable removes helminths and protozoa from the body.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that milk for constipation can be drunk only in very moderate amounts and in diluted form. An adult can completely refuse to use this drink. It is much more useful to use kefir, fermented baked milk,curdled milk, cottage cheese and other dairy products. This will help enrich the body with vitamins and beneficial bacteria, as well as normalize bowel function.