Foods That Cause Constipation – The Facts You Need to Know

There are numerous foods that cause constipation, but did you know that there are at least four foods that you probably eat on a regular basis that will give you hard stools?  Four common constipation causing foods are:

• White Bread
• White Rice
• Spaghetti
• Pizza

White Bread and Starch

Digestive disorders like hard stools can be produced by the consumption of overly starchy foods.  This makes it very difficult to have a normal bowel movement.  While it is true that when you chew food, some of the saliva will break down the starch in foods, once the food reaches the stomach, the enzymes in the stomach are incapable of breaking down any starchy foods.  The latter fact is because the stomach’s pH levels are too low.  Starchy foods therefore move into the intestinal tract.  At that time, the body produces Amylase, an enzyme, which works on breaking down the difficult to digest, starchy food. 

White Bread and Gluten

White bread lacks the ability to bulk up the stools the way whole wheat bread or bran cereal can.  White bread contains processed white flour which serves to make digestion more difficult.  This variety of bread also contains high amounts of gluten: a protein derived from wheat that causes the bread to bind and to remain together as the yeast in the bread causes it to rise.  The gluten, because it is a super sticky substance, causes bowel movement complications.  The bread remains in the digestive tract longer, causing sluggish digestion and issues with constipation.

White Rice

White rice has less fiber when it is compared to its brown rice counterpart.  Rice is made with processed flour: a substance that acts much like gluten when it reaches the intestinal tract.  The white flour becomes like a sticky, hard to assimilate paste, and this creates bowel movement complications.  Since white rice is a form of refined grain, all of the natural bran, a stool bulking substance, has been removed from the rice: this is also a constipation contributing factor.

Spaghetti

Spaghetti is made from water and white flour: a big constipation inciter.  Sometimes spaghetti contains semolina: a durum wheat which is high in protein and coarsely ground.  This product is what lends a slightly yellowish color to spaghetti.  Semolina is also super high in carbohydrates consisting of 20 grams for carbohydrates for every three tablespoons of the product.  Spaghetti is impressively high in starch content, which further slows the digestive and metabolic process too.

Pizza

Even pizza, a worldwide favorite food, is one of many foods that cause constipation.  Since the crust of pizza is made from white flour, the product becomes a sticky, goo-like substance in the intestines which is difficult to assimilate in the body.  Cheese on the pizza is also binding because it contains milk, another product that is very difficult to digest.  Pizza therefore takes longer to be broken down in the intestinal tract, and as it sits inside the intestines it has the opportunity to become hardened stool.