A Drink That Relieves Acute and Chronic Constipation With No Side Effects

Kyle J. Norton 

Green tea may have a therapeutic and positive effect in prevention and treatment of acute and chronic constipation, some scientists suggested.

Constipation, a most common complain of people of all age in US,  is a condition characterized by infrequent bowel movements.

People with the condition may experience symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, and particularly in feeling of incompletely passed the bowel movement.

In case of chronic constipation, according to Mayo Clinic, symptoms may also include passing fewer 3 stools per week, having lumpy or hard stools, straining to have bowel movements, feeling as though there’s a blockage in your rectum,…. and. feeling as though you can’t completely empty the stool from your rectum(5).

According to general belief, constipation is associated to poor diet and an physical inactive lifestyle.

In other words, eating too much junk food and lack of exercise are the common causes of constipation.

Some researchers suggested, “Difficulties with bowel function are common and may be due to several causes including slow colonic transit and obstructed defecation” and “Improvements over the past few years in our understanding of the complex process of defecation, along with the increasing use of radiological and anorectal physiology studies, have led to improved treatment results”(6).

Slow colonic transit is the process of the uncoordination of the enteric neurons and gastrointestinal muscle that cause stool not moving through the small and large intestine(6). 

Obstructed defecation, is a condition of difficultly in emptying the rectum occurred even with frequent visits to the toilet and even with passing soft motions.(6).

Truly, besides the common causes of unhealthy diet and life style, constipation is also associated to

* Socioenvironmental factors

 According to a territory-wide cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted in 2318 Hong Kong Chinese elementary school students. socioenvironmental factors are associated with childhood constipation, including children who lived with neither parent, had inadequate company of parents at home, refused to pass bowel movements in school, spent long hours doing homework, had inadequate sleep, and had decreased fiber intake and frequent consumption of fast food(7). 

* Hormonal factors

Constipation may be caused by hormone imbalance, such as disturbance in the serotonin transmission system, which results in a cascade of alterations in a number of gut neuroendocrine hormones/transmitters(8). 

* Medication factors

Certain medication intake also may induce the condition, including opoid pain relievers like (Morphine, Codeine), anti-cholinergic (Atropine), Trihexiphenidyl Antispasmodics (Dicyclomine),…….. and Tricyclic antidepressants(Amytriptyline).

According to statistic, constipation affects 1/6 people over 12 years old in Canada.

Green tea, is a precious drink processes numbers of health benefit known to almost everyone in Asia and Western world.

However, as yin in nature herbal medicine or food, long term injection of large amounts may obstruct the balance of yin-yang, induced “yin excessive syndrome” or “yang vacuity syndrome”, according to traditional Chinese medicine.

In the examine the effects of Pu-erh tea on constipation in ICR mice induced by carbon injection researchers found that mice in control group without administrated Pu-erh green tea expressed a significant weight loss, food and water intake in compared to experiment group.

In compared to first black stool time of normal group of 90 min, control (injection of carbon) of 221 min and bisacodyl treatment group (100 mg/kg in control group) of 118 min, mice in control group treated with green tea at doses of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg showed an improved stool passing time of 178, 155 and 139 min, respectively.

Importantly, application of green tea Pu-erh also expressed a strong increase of serum levels of

*. Motilin (MTL) in the blood steam in stimulated the contraction of the fundus and antrum and accelerated gastric emptying; 
*. Gastrin, a peptide hormone in stimulated secretion of gastric acid (HCl) by the parietal cells of the stomach in improved gastric motility; 
*. Endothelin (ET), a peptide hormone with function in contraction of rat stomach strips, rat colon, and guinea pig ileum; 
*. Acetylcholine enzyme (AchE) chemical released by motor neurons of the nervous system in order to activate muscles; 
* Substance P (SP) a amino-acids peptide in induction of rapid contraction of the smooth muscle of the digestive tract and 
*. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a potent vasodilator, in regulated smooth muscle activity and blood flow in the gastrointestinal tract.

And decrease of somatostatin (SS) hormone in reduced gastric acid secretion and emission of gastrointestinal hormones, such as gastrin.

Additionally, in comparison of 2 types of commonly used osmotic laxative polyethylene glycol (PEG), namely PEG with electrolytes mixed with water and PEG without electrolytes mixed with tea or other sources such as juice and coffee for taste, researchers at the Pirkanmaan Erikoislääkäripalvelu conducted a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study at ten private assisted-living facilities or communal nursing homes in Finland.

Selected patients were.required to have used isotonic PEG at a stable dose without any other treatment for constipation (except for Plantago ovata seeds) for at least 2 weeks prior to a run-in period and randomly assigned receive hypotonic PEG or continued to receive isotonic PEG, both dissolved in water, 12 g once or twice daily or once every other day, for 4 weeks.

At the end of the experience periods, researchers found that the mean (SD) weekly stool frequencies are not different in both hypotonic and isotonic PEG groups, although soft or normal stool consistency of 70% was higher in the hypotonic PEG group in compared to 52% in isotonic PEG group.

Moreover, both products are considered safe without inducing stool straining or gastrointestinal symptoms, although level of sodium was statistically and significantly lower in the hypotonic PEG group at the last day of testing of the study in compared to other group.

Dr. Seinelä L, after taking into account of other co factors said, “Both treatments appear safe, well tolerated and, when dissolved in water, well accepted by the majority of the patients. When desired, switching from isotonic to hypotonic PEG can safely take place in elderly individuals without compromising efficacy”.

However, a total of 1,705 female Japanese dietetic students aged 18-20 years and free of current disease studies suggested the intake of tea is associated to constipation(3) without mentioning types of tea used in the surveys.

According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, green tea is yin in nature with function in relieved indigestion and smoothed bowel movements through promotion of fluid production(4) and constipation is a result of over expression of yang or deficiency of yin, therefore, we do believe, the tea mentioned in the study were red, black or herbal tea with yang sufficiency.

Taken together, green tea may be considered as a functional food for prevention and treatment of constipation.

Intake of green tea extracts should be taken with exceptional care due to toxicity reported in medical literature. 

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Component analysis of Pu-erh and its anti-constipation effects by Li G1, Wang Q1, Qian Y1, Zhou Y1, Wang R1, Zhao X1.(PubMed)
(2) Comparison of polyethylene glycol with and without electrolytes in the treatment of constipation in elderly institutionalized patients: a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study by Seinelä L1, Sairanen U, Laine T, Kurl S, Pettersson T, Happonen P.(PubMed)
(3) Dietary intake in relation to self-reported constipation among Japanese women aged 18-20 years by Murakami K1, Okubo H, Sasaki S.(PubMed)
(4) History of Green Tea by Tao de Wan
(5) Constipation, Mayo Clinic
(6) Constipation and Obstructed Defecation by Scott R. Steele, M.D.1 and Anders Mellgren, M.D., Ph.D(PMC)
(7) Socioenvironmental factors associated with constipation in Hong Kong children and Rome III criteria by Tam YH1, Li AM, So HK, Shit KY, Pang KK, Wong YS, Tsui SY, Mou JW, Chan KW, Lee KH(PubMed)
( 8) Chronic constipation and treatment options (Review) by El-Salhy M1, Svensen R, Hatlebakk JG, Gilja OH, Hausken T(PubMed)