One medium baked sweet potato with skin has 3.8 grams of fiber (most of it is in the skin, so leave the skin on!), which can help prevent constipation. Regular baked potatoes with skin have about 3 grams of fiber and are also good options to prevent constipation.
Eat high-fiber cereals. Vegetables can also add fiber to your diet. Some high-fiber vegetables are asparagus, broccoli, corn, squash, and potatoes (with the skin still on). Salads made with lettuce, spinach, and cabbage will also help.
Sweet potatoes contain a good amount of fiber to help alleviate constipation. One medium sweet potato (about 150 grams) contains 3.6 grams of fiber, which is 14% of the RDI ( 47 ). Sweet potatoes contain mostly insoluble fiber in the form of cellulose and lignin. They also contain the soluble fiber pectin ( 48 ).
The fiber content in potatoes helps prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract.
They are high in fiber, which aids in digestion. It can help relieve constipation and diarrhea if you eat a high-fiber diet. People with digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome may benefit from eating baked potatoes because of the fiber found in them.
You can introduce foods into your diet which have a natural thickening agent, to help with the diarrhoea, such as: Starchy foods such as white bread, pasta and mashed potatoes.
Eating potatoes without removing the alkaloids leads to the development of symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomachache, feeling of weakness, dizziness, and dyspnea about 20 minutes after eating, and food poisoning may develop although it is generally mild.
“It is best to eat thicker, bland foods, including oatmeal, bananas, plain rice, and applesauce,” he says. Other bland foods that are easy to stomach include: Boiled potatoes. Toast.
“Oats are loaded with soluble fiber, which is a type of fiber that allows more water to remain in the stool,” says Smith. “This makes the stool softer and larger, and ultimately easier to pass.”
Foods that help ease constipation
Consider adding some the following fibre-rich foods to your diet to help ease constipation: High fibre cereals such as: bran flakes, Weetabix, porridge, muesli and shredded wheat.
The most common culprits are dairy products, sugary treats, and high-fat meats. So go easy on marbled steaks and sausages, cheese, ice cream, cakes, cookies, and frozen or packaged meals, which tend to lack much fiber.
In general, bulk-forming laxatives, also referred to as fiber supplements, are the gentlest on your body and safest to use long term. Metamucil and Citrucel fall into this category.
Osmotic laxatives such as polyethylene glycol (brand name Miralax) are well-tolerated by most older adults, and can be used daily.
Prunes. The old stand-by so that you don't have to keep standing by. A one-ounce serving of prunes contains two grams of fiber, plus sorbitol — a type of sugar alcohol that draws water into the intestines, helping to flush things out.
Summary Resistant starch in potatoes is a source of nutrition for beneficial gut bacteria. They convert it to the short-chain fatty acid butyrate, which has been linked to reduced inflammation in the colon, improved colon defenses and a lower risk of colorectal cancer.
White potatoes are a good source of resistant starch - a prebiotic that feeds beneficial fora in the colon. The bacteria in the gut then produces short-chain fatty acids, which can heal the gut lining and reduce inflammation.
Plain Potatoes
Also a bland starch like white rice and white toast, potatoes, when baked, are good for when you have a stomach ache. Potatoes (with the peel) contain a lot of potassium and will help put some of that back in your body and soothe your tummy after a long day of upheavals (literally).
Yogurt. The bacteria that turn milk to yogurt are also good for your digestive tract. All yogurt helps keep it healthy and keeps you regular, but yogurt with live cultures or probiotics may be even better at helping you go.
Beans also contain good amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber, both of which help ease constipation in different ways. Soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gel-like consistency, softening stool and making it easier to pass ( 21 ).
“The BRAT diet ― bananas, rice, applesauce and toast ― is one we recommend for a range of digestive issues, and it can help with both constipation and diarrhea.
Wheat bran cereal
This type of cereal mainly contains insoluble fibre – an indigestible fibre sometimes called 'roughage'. This type of fibre is great for addressing constipation – just don't eat too much at once as it can cause bloating and gas.