Constipation

FAQ
Foods that are high in fiber can help relieve constipation. This includes things like whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables.
It depends on your size and how active you are, but eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day is a good guideline to keep you well hydrated.
Constipation can be a symptom of other health problems. See a doctor if constipation lasts for more than a few weeks, you’re in a lot of pain, your stools are bloody, or you’re losing weight without trying.
Yes. Stress can change how quickly food moves through your digestive system, which can cause either constipation or diarrhea.
Using laxatives or other medications for constipation is generally safe. But talk to your doctor if you have questions about any medications, especially if your symptoms persist.

Yuying Luo, MD
Medical Reviewer
Yuying Luo, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai West and Morningside in New York City. She aims to deliver evidence-based, patient-centered, and holistic care for her patients.
Her clinical and research focus includes patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction such as irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia; patients with lower gastrointestinal motility (constipation) disorders and defecatory and anorectal disorders (such as dyssynergic defecation); and women’s gastrointestinal health.
She graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology and received her MD from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was also chief resident. She completed her gastroenterology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital and was also chief fellow.

Jennifer Logan, MD, MPH
Medical Reviewer

Akash Goel, MD
Medical Reviewer
Akash Goel, MD, is a board-certified gastroenterologist and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. He practices integrative internal medicine and gastroenterology with a focus on nutrition, metabolic health, mindfulness, evidence-based screenings, and exercise science.
Dr. Goel is published in peer-reviewed journals on gastroenterology and nutrition, and his work has appeared in networks and publications such as CNN, The New York Times, Time magazine, the Financial Times, and the BBC.
Goel has received two Cannes Lions Awards and has been recognized by the United Nations for his work in human rights advocacy. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN
Medical Reviewer
Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.
She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.
Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Divesh Goel, MD
Medical Reviewer
Janell Sherr, MD
Medical Reviewer

Ira Daniel Breite, MD
Medical Reviewer
Ira Daniel Breite, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He is an associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he also sees patients and helps run an ambulatory surgery center.
Dr. Breite divides his time between technical procedures, reading about new topics, and helping patients with some of their most intimate problems. He finds the deepest fulfillment in the long-term relationships he develops and is thrilled when a patient with irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease improves on the regimen he worked with them to create.
Breite went to Albert Einstein College of Medicine for medical school, followed by a residency at NYU and Bellevue Hospital and a gastroenterology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Working in city hospitals helped him become resourceful and taught him how to interact with people from different backgrounds.

Jennifer Payne, MD
Medical Reviewer
Jennifer Payne, MD, is a physician at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
She earned her bachelor's from the University of St. Thomas, majoring in biochemistry and minoring in theology. She was the first service learning assistant for the service learning program and did extensive volunteer work with Open Arms of Minnesota during this time, including building a library on multiple sclerosis information. She obtained her MD from the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she was part of the first class to run the Hoya Clinic for people without housing. She also completed an elective in medical writing and editing, working with American Family Physician magazine. Dr. Payne completed her residency in family medicine at Lancaster General Hospital and a primary care sports medicine fellowship at Wellspan Health in York, Pennsylvania.
She has served on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and assisted in obtaining speakers and clinical case studies for the physician portion of the conference.
She enjoys reading, all sports (particularly Olympic weightlifting), walking her dog, and spending time with her husband, sons, and their extended family.

Sanjai Sinha, MD
Medical Reviewer
Dr. Sinha did his undergraduate training at the University of California in Berkeley, where he graduated magna cum laude. He earned his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1998 and completed his internship and residency training at the New York University School of Medicine in 2001. Subsequently, he worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2001 to 2012 and held faculty appointments at both the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
In 2006, he won the VISN3 Network Director Award for Public Service and a commendation from the secretary of Veterans Affairs for his relief work after Hurricane Katrina. He joined Weill Cornell Medical College in 2012, where he is an assistant professor of clinical medicine and the director of the care management program, as well as a practicing physician.
In addition to his work for Everyday Health, Sinha has written for various publications, including Sharecare and Drugs.com; published numerous papers in peer-reviewed medical journals, such as the Journal of General Internal Medicine; and presented at national conferences on many healthcare delivery topics. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Veronica Johnson, MD, FAAP, FACP, Dipl. of ABOM
Medical Reviewer

Roxana Ehsani, RD
Medical Reviewer
Roxana Ehsani, RD, is a Miami-based licensed dietitian-nutritionist, board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, and media spokesperson, consultant, and content creator for food and nutrition brands. She is an adjunct instructor for sports nutrition at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Ehsani appears as a food and nutrition expert for television stations across the nation and in national publications, including Runner's World, Women's Health, Glamour, and more, and is a contributing writer for EatingWell. She has a strong background in sports nutrition and has worked with professional, Olympic, collegiate, and high school teams and individual athletes, whom she sees through her private practice.

Claudia Thompson, PhD, RD
Medical Reviewer
Beza Tekola, MD
Medical Reviewer

Sylvie Tremblay, MSc
Medical Reviewer

Jill Corleone, RDN, LD
Medical Reviewer
Jill Corleone is a registered dietitian and health coach who has been writing and lecturing on diet and health for more than 15 years. Her work has been featured on the Huffington Post, Diabetes Self-Management and in the book "Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation," edited by John R. Bach, M.D. Corleone holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition.
- Constipation. Cleveland Clinic. July 18, 2023.
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