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Do Apples Cause Constipation?

By Deepa Ranganathan

Constipation can be mild or chronic depending on the severity of the problem. Often a reduction in the bowel movement leads to constipation in humans. With low bowel movement, you would face problems passing stool out of your body.

In some cases, where constipation exists for a longer duration, you may even face pains while trying to pass stool. In case of infants, the bowel movement can stay absent for as long as 7 days.

Do Apples Cause Constipation?

Well, bowel movement or passing of stool depends entirely on the person’s body and metabolism. Some of you may not face trouble when passing stool while for some of you constipation is a regular feature that headlines your day. Chronic constipation can lead to tear of mucosal membrane of your anus which may then cause bleeding and anal fissure in some cases.

ALSO SEE: Health Effects Of Sleeping Late

Constipation is indeed a problem but, do apples cause this issue? There’s a saying “an apple a day can keep the doctor away”. While this saying is true, it seems truly unbelievable that the apple which promises to keep you healthy can actually cause constipation. Let’s understand the common causes for constipation before reasoning out if apples do cause constipation or not.

Constipation Causes
If you have been on a low fibre diet for a long time, you may be facing constipation issues. Lack of physical activity and not having enough water can also lead to constipation issues. In case you don’t go to the bathroom to pass the stool when you have the urge to do so, even then you can face constipation issues. While these are the major reasons for constipation, there are some other issues too like colon cancer, pregnancy and neurological disorders which can cause constipation. Certain bowel diseases can also lead to constipation. If you have been on medications for a long time, even then you could be experiencing constipation.

Apples & Constipation
Apples are supposed to induce the urge to empty your bowels. At no point can they cause constipation. When you consume apples with their peels, you are actually having a fibrous diet which is necessary to reduce symptoms of constipation in your body. So, basically given the fact that apples are good for your health, apples can’t really cause constipation. In fact they reduce the growth of colonic bacteria which is responsible for inducing constipation thus making things better for you.

Apple Detox
While most people say that apples don’t cause constipation, there is a group that tends to believe otherwise. Here’s a fact proving that apples can actually cause constipation. While fibre is supposed to relieve constipation, it is also true that when you are having a fibrous diet, you are supposed to follow it up with water so that the bulk of fiber moves out of the GI tract of your body. While apples do not possess the ability to relieve you of the constipation or cure it, they do have the ability to make the passage smooth for you, whenever you wish to relieve it. So if you are looking to cure constipation, you should not have apples. While apples don’t cure constipation, you will find that organic apple cider vinegar is the perfect cure for your constipation issues. So, next time you want to prevent constipation, have apples every day. But, if you are suffering from constipation, try the organic apple cider vinegar that cures most of your stomach issues.

Story first published: Friday, February 28, 2014, 18:44 [IST]
Read more about: constipation diet