First of all, one must remember in this connection that the lower bowel or rectum is subject to education, and not by any means the least important factor in overcoming a tendency to constipation, is the regular morning visit to the water closet.
The author would discourage the habit which some have of "straining at stool." This act of straining at stool together with the pressure which the hard fecal masses make on the blood vessels, increases the blood pressure in the veins of the rectum to such a high degree that it is likely to cause hemorrhoids or piles. But if the position favorable to the passage of the bowels be taken regularly, every morning, and a reasonable time spent in that position, and if the daily passage is brought about at that time, the muscles of the rectum will be educated to the point of contracting upon its contents at that time and under those conditions regularly, and this will be a strong factor towards regulating the movements of the bowels.
But the most important thing to consider in this condition is the dietetic regulation of the bowels. There are some foods that tend to constipate while others act as a laxative.
Such foods for example, as contain a considerable portion of tannin, are always constipating. Strong teas have a constipating effect, particularly such as the bitter English Breakfast teas, in which there is a very large proportion of tannin. This large percentage of tannin accounts for the prevalence of constipation among female tea drinkers.
Unripe fruits contain a high percentage of tannin which, in the ripening processes of the fruit, becomes changed into cellulose and sugar. Any fruit that quickly turns brown after a cut surface is exposed to the air and that stains a steel-bladed knife black quickly when the fruit is cut, possesses a high percentage of tannin, and is not in a wholesome condition to eat. Unripe peaches and apples possess this characteristic. These fruits should be eaten only when ripe.
If one's diet contains too small a percentage of cellulose or pulp material, a tendency to constipation will be noticed. It has been found from investigation of this subject that the cellulose or undigested material of the cereals, vegetables and fruits, is an absolute essential to good bowel action. The cellulose makes bulk in the bowels and the simple presence of this bulk of undigested material stimulates the muscular contractions.
If one were to choose for example, a diet of meat, eggs, nuts, corn starch, tapioca, sugar, fats and oils, i.e., diets which will be almost completely digested and absorbed, leaving a very small amount of undigested material in the intestines, the bulk of the material in the intestines would be so small that they would not be stimulated to contract. Therefore this small bulk of material, together with certain excretions from the liver and other organs, would be retained in the bowel and undergo fermentation there. Injurious substances which result from the fermentation would be absorbed, causing what is known as autointoxication, complicated with constipation. If one, however, mixes with the condensed foods named above a good proportion of cereals, fruits and vegetables, all of which possess a considerable percentage of undigestible material, the presence of this undigestible material in the intestines leads to strong peristaltic movements, causing the passage of this material along the intestinal tract to the rectum, which will be periodically evacuated. In such cereal foods as the coarser meals (like oatmeal, various wheat preparations and corn meal), the proportion of bran substance serves as a local stimulation to the intestinal activity. The little bran scales being sharp-cornered and rough, serve as a local irritant or mechanical stimulation.
What has just been said regarding the advisability of eating some coarser cereals must not be taken to mean that white bread is not wholesome. On the other hand, white bread made from the roller process flour is in a high degree nutritious and wholesome, and may well make an important part of any dietary.
It is not hygienic to eat white bread or biscuits hot out of the oven. These hot breads tend to form doughy masses which are almost completely impervious to the digestive juices, and while they are eventually digested, it takes a very much longer time to do so than would be the case with stale bread, which is so readily masticated into a creamy consistency. If one is subjected to conditions where he must either eat hot biscuits or perhaps embarrass a most hospitable hostess, there is only one thing for him to do, i.e., to eat the biscuits.
It is possible, though difficult, to masticate hot bread so perfectly that it is reduced to a smooth, creamy consistency, and no one should ever swallow any bread which has not been so masticated.