To send a link and summary of this article to a friend, click here . Though most people average a bowel movement somewhere between once a day and three times a week, doctors say that you are not necessarily constipated if you move your stools less frequently. Constipation is defined as a decrease in your usual number of bowel movements. So, let's say that you normally go once a day, and you suddenly only need to defecate once a week. Doctors blame diets high in processed foods and low in fruits, vegetables, beans, grains and other sources of fiber .
Fiber moves the bowels.
Yet most Americans eat considerably less than the amount needed for a healthy colon. We should get 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day. Instead, we get as little as 5 grams a day. Though opinions differ on whether women get more constipated than men, they definitely make more doctor visits. It is also known that hormonal changes during pregnancy and the pressure on the abdomen caused by childbirth often lead to constipation.