There are too many foods labeled as "constipating" by different conflicting theories. This article discusses eight categories of examples, briefly:
1. Foods stripped of their dietary fiber. Examples: wheat and rice polished to sparkling whiteness. Fruits that are processed into meltingly sweet drinks. This theory is favoured by the mainstream medical community.
2. Foods containing dietary fiber eaten excessively. This is propounded by people who do not believe in the lack of dietary fiber as a cause of constipation. Human carnivores would love this theory.
3. Foods containing opioid peptides. Examples are wheat - again, and milk therefore dairy products. Cancer patients who need to rely on opioid pain killers experience constipation as a prominent side effect which is very difficult to relieve even by prescriptive laxatives and stool softeners.
4. Foods containing beta-carbolines. Cooking and processing food produces beta-carbolines. People who believe in this theory would think that cooked meat and vegetables can make them constipated. What is left for them to eat is raw fruits, meat and eggs.
5. Foods taken excessively at the wrong time. For example: taken in moderation, banana promotes bowel movements; taken excessively, banana is constipating. Some mothers who give more bananas than their babies could handle would know this. It is even said that women can become temporarily constipated when they eat bananas during late nights. Too much snacks and later super can confuse the biological clock to the extend it doesn't know when to "let go".
6. Beef. People who think opiod peptides and beta carbolines are constipating believes fresh raw beef relieves constipation. To be pragmatic though, only hunters and butchers can obtain such freshness. That's why there are people who believe raw or rare beef may contain parasites that can cause constipation. On the other extreme, well-done beef is hard on the digestion. Beef is better served medium or medium rare.
7. Wine. In the West, wine helps to digest the notoriously constipating cheese. In the East, wine is frowned upon by traditional Chinese medicine when a constipation sufferer has the following symptoms: dry stools, little amount of urination which is dark, abdominal distention with tenderness, flushed cheeks, preference for cold drinks to quench thirst, bad breath, vexation, feverish, red tongue with yellow and dry fur plus rapid pulse. To a Chinese physician, this is accumulation of heat in the stomach and intestines, a possible consequence of boozing and greasy food. This heat impairs circulation of body fluid, drying up the intestines and resulting in constipation. Wine is said to aggravate the symptoms.
8. Unusual Chinese theories : eel, dog and snake meat can worsen the constipation of a patient with too much accumulated heat as stated above. Other offensive foods are: garlic, onion, mustard, pomegranate, apricot, cherry and coconut.
There are many caveats to the above list of foods that are said to cause constipation. What is constipating to one person may not affect another person. Individual health condition must be taken into consideration; while majority would agree on most of the foods mentioned here, a patient of celiac disease would them to be a cause of the opposite effect, diarrhea. By the way , these are definitely not suggestions for a person who is having diarrhea. Overall, a discussion of constipating foods helps to highlight the fact that eating right to suit personal needs is a science by itself.
