Both soluble and insoluble fiber absorb water. Soluble fiber essentially turns into a kind of gel in your intestine. Good food sources include prunes, apples, kidney beans and other legumes, and oats. You can get it from bran, wheat, and vegetables like celery, carrots, and spinach. Fiber is so important to digestion and regularity that experts hold to the recommendation that you should get 25 grams a day.
Fiber works wonders pretty quickly.
Although it s best to get your fiber from food sources, you can also take a supplement when your meals aren t supplying enough. If you think sitting on your bottom all day can give you constipation, you re not far wrong. To get things moving down below, you have to get off your duff, says Pamela Taylor, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in Moline, Illinois. Two layers of muscles around the small intestine work together in a process called peristalsis, the wavelike contraction that moves digested food and waste products through the gastrointestinal system. People who are sedentary, particularly if they re older, often lack muscle tone in the abdominal area.