It is impossible to imagine a full-fledged diet without dairy products. After all, they contain a large number of vitamins, healthy proteins and minerals. Such food is especially necessary for a growing child's body. However, one can often 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 daily inclusion of dairy products in the diet. A complete rejection of such food can adversely affect health.
Positive effect on the digestive tract
How does milk affect constipation? Does this product have laxative or firming 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 free.
Milk contains a large amount of protein - casein. When this substance enters the body, it envelops the walls of the digestive tract and protects the tissue from the aggressive effects of gastric juice. This helps eliminate heartburn. Many people with gastritis with high acidity know that drinking a glass of milk relieves stomach pain.
Possible harm
Does milk help with constipation? When stool is delayed, this product can make the situation worse. 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 lump through the digestive tract slows down. In addition, casein reduces intestinal motility. This leads to a delay in bowel movements. Therefore, you should not abuse milk with problems with stools.
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 very moderate amounts of milk. For adults, it is much more beneficial to include dairy products in the diet: kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, cottage cheese.
Is it possible to drink milk with high fat content with constipation? Such a product can only be harmful. Often patients mistakenly believe that fatty foods have laxative properties. However, excess milk lipids are poorly digested and can cause constipation.
A lot of people suffer from intolerance to milk sugar - lactose. According to medical statistics, this feature is observed in 18-20% of people. In the body of patients, the enzyme lactase, which breaks down milk sugar, is poorly produced. In such cases, the use of milk for constipation should be completely abandoned. Even a small amount of product can trigger flatulence, stool retention and abdominal pain.
Cow and goat milk
How bad is cow's milk for constipation? This product contains a large amount of casein. In addition, cattle milk has a high fat content. This can cause stagnation in the intestines and stool retention. Therefore, doctors do not recommend drinking undiluted cow's milk for 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 less likely to cause allergic reactions and stool retention. Goat milk contains only easily digestible fats. This drink is especially useful for children.
However, goat milk should not be abused for constipation. Excessive amounts of this product may cause delayed bowel movements and abdominal pain.
If goat milk was purchased not from a store, but from individuals, then the product must be boiled. This will help prevent 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 consuming milk during constipation. This will not affect the state of his body. Milk can easily be replaced with dairy products, which are much more beneficial for the stomach and intestines.
However, many people love this drink and are not ready to completely exclude it from the diet. In such cases, the following recommendations of doctors will help reduce the harm from drinking milk:
- When constipation is allowed to drink only skim milk. If the drink has a high fat content, then it must be diluted with water. This will reduce the concentration of lipids and casein.
- With stool delays, you can drink only hot milk. It stimulates intestinal motility. A cold drink weakens peristalsis.
- No more than 1 cup 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 in hot diluted or skim milk, this product has a laxative effect.
Milk for children
If an adult with a tendency to constipation can completely exclude milk from the diet, then this product is necessary for the child. After all, a growing body needs calcium. So that this healthy drink does not cause stool delay in a child, it is necessary to adhere to the following recommendations of children's gastroenterologists:
- Cow's milk can be included in the baby's menu only from the age of 1 year. For infants, it is better to use ready-made milk formulas as complementary foods.
- Children should only be given pasteurized milk from a store that has undergone special processing.
- The milk fat content for children should not exceed 2.5%.
- Goat milk can only be included in the diet over the age of 3 years.
- If the baby suffers from constipation, then milk should be given to him diluted and hot. Such a drink helps to liquefy stool.
Other dairy products
What can replace milk with a tendency to constipation? Doctors recommend including dairy products in the daily menu:
- kefir;
- yogurt;
- fermented baked milk;
- cottage cheese.
These products are natural prebiotics. They fill the intestines with beneficial bacteria, which helps to normalize digestion. It is also recommended to drink fermented milk drinks with acidophilus bacillus and bifidobacteria: "Acidophilus", "Bifidoc", "Bifilife."
Sour cream can be eaten only with constipation provoked by intestinal cramps. If the delay in the stool is caused by other reasons, then it is better to refuse this product. Sour cream contains a lot of fat and can make the situation worse.
Milk enemas
Traditional medicine recommends for constipation to introduce milk into the body in the form of enemas. 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 method of treatment should not be resorted to too often.
Doctors confirm that enemas with milk 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 dysbiosis. The procedure can be done no more than 3 to 4 days. Otherwise, lazy bowel syndrome may develop, and self-emptying will be difficult.
Patients respond positively to the use of enemas with milk for constipation. According to reviews, this method helped them quickly empty their intestines, as well as get rid of flatulence and abdominal pain.
In some cases, frequent constipation is triggered 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
We can conclude that milk with constipation can be drunk only in a very moderate amount and in a diluted form. An adult can completely abandon the use of this drink. It is much more useful to use kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and other dairy products. This will help to enrich the body with vitamins and beneficial bacteria, as well as normalize the intestines.