If you have haemorrhoids, then this article is for you! At times haemorrhoids can get very painful and being aware of what you need to avoid eating becomes very important. ‘Eat more fibre and stay hydrated’ is the general propaganda you get to hear! Yes it is true to a large extent, but is it enough? Let us explore that in detail.
Living with haemorrhoids can get very frustrating at times, and it is not unique to any particular age group. It can happen to anybody of any age or gender. Though it is difficult to live with, fortunately it is not dangerous or fatal. There are various ways of handling haemorrhoids like having a proper diet, knowing what to eat and what not to eat, getting a proper treatment on a regular basis etc. can ease the pain over a period of time and one can be free from it eventually! In this article let us explore what foods to avoid if you have haemorrhoids.
Before we discuss about the foods to avoid, let us first examine the general causes for developing haemorrhoids. To simplify, there are two major causes, Physical and Dietary.
Physical causes involve any activity that throws pressure on the anal tissue. Improper bowel movement resulting in constipation may cause lot of strain in the anal area. Haemorrhoids are common during pregnancy too. Carrying heavy loads, travelling for long hours, standing or sitting for long hours are also few of the physical causes for haemorrhoids. Poor dietary habits, ageing, obesity and overweight can also cause haemorrhoids. Let us now look a little deeper into the dietary restrictions one needs to follow.
Top ten foods to avoid for people with Haemorrhoids
Alcohol
Most of you must be wondering how alcohol could possibly affect your haemorrhoids. There is a link between the two. Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which means it dehydrates your system to some extent. Regular consumption of alcohol can lead to excessive dehydration causing constipation. Constipation leads to an increase in pressure over your haemorrhoids leading to sever pain and sometimes even rupture of the swollen blood vessels leading to bleeding and possible contraction of infections. For those who cannot spend a night without a few glasses of alcohol, its time you reduce the intake gradually!
Dairy
Milk and other dairy products may not directly influence the haemorrhoids, but they do have a role to play by causing constipation and gastric issues. Both constipation and gas are observed to cause lot of discomfort and pain during haemorrhoidal breakouts. Therefore it is advised to cut down on your dairy products intake to some extent. It is not advised to completely stop taking dairy products as curd has good gut bacteria, but gradually cutting down a bit would definitely help.
Excessive Fibre
Many suggest including lots of fibre in your diet, but they tend to ignore the other fact associated with it for people associated with haemorrhoids. Fibre in its essence is advised to reduce constipation since it adds bulk to the undigested food and helps in free bowel movement. What most tend to ignore is excessive fibre although add bulk, will also cause irritation while defecating since it forms larger stools, defeating the core idea itself. So it is always advised to have a proper balance of fibre by not indulging too much.
Laxatives
Although for a start laxatives may seem like a convenient solution for your haemorrhoidal issues, it may actually turn out to be harmful if taken too frequently. Laxatives are supposed to loosen you stool to help easy bowel movement, but at the same time it does increase the acid content in the stool. Bothering your haemorrhoids with frequent acidic content will only lead to pain and discomfort.
Apart from this, laxatives over a period of time may actually cause dehydration issues, once again leading to constipation, and you know very well, what kind of effects constipation has on your haemorrhoids. It is always advise to take laxatives on prescription of a certify physician only.
Excessive Salt
Excessive salt is dehydrating. During haemorrhoid flare-ups, excessive salt may turn out to be harmful. Due to its dehydrating nature, salt causes the movement of stools harder, leading to a painful experience. Moreover, excessive salt intake increases the salt content in the blood causing the bloating of the vessels. This may turn out to be very alarming for the haemorrhoids. So keeping a check on your salt intake is always a good idea.
Refined Grains – Most refined grains lack the needed fibre and nutrients that are essential in digestion and defecation. As a result, these refined grains may settle in your stomach and intestines for longer periods of time and cause constipation as well as stomach pains. This will in turn lead to haemorrhoidal flare-ups, pain and irritation. So do have a check on the amount of refined grains you have on a daily basis.
Spicy foods
Spicy foods do not contribute to the development of haemorrhoids or its related issues, but it does cause a lot of problems when your haemorrhoidal vessels are swollen and super sensitive. It can make your bowel movement very painful and cause a lot of irritation in the haemorrhoidal area. In some cases spicy food also leads to diarrhoea which in turn irritates the flare-ups.
Also Read: 10 Important Steps to Living a Healthy Lifestyle
Processed Foods
Similar to refined grains, process foods are also not advise for people suffering from haemorrhoids. Processed foods are low in nutrients, high in salt content, and high in fat as well as unwanted preservatives and synthetic substances. All these may contribute to improper digestion, settlement of undigested food for longer periods in the intestines causing constipation and poor bowel movement. Some processed foods also contain inflammation causing agents, and for people with haemorrhoids, the more the inflammation, the more painful and risky it gets!
Deep Fried and Oily Foods
As tasty as they may seem, fried foods are highly unhealthy with minimal nutritional value, high fat and unhealthy ingredients. These foods should always be avoid to the maximum irrespective of haemorrhoids. Not only are they unhealthy, they are also inflammatory in nature.
These foods not only are difficult to digest. Their low nutritional value makes it all the more important to avoid eating them. Low water content, excessive fat including Tran’s fat and high oil content also are some of the points to be note. All these substances not only cause constipation, but also cause other digestive issues, weakens the gastro-intestinal system leading to weekend immunity in the long run. Hence it is always advise to curb down the amount of intake of deep fry and oily foods.
Unripe Fruits
Unlike ripe fruits, many unripe fruits do have constipation causing compounds which definitely slows down your digestive system. Many other compounds in these fruits also go undigested, causing confusion in the assimilatory system of the intestines. This may lead to irregular bowel movement with obvious irritation and pain in the haemorrhoidal area. Most of the fruits that we get out of super markets are typically unripe or half ripe in nature, therefore choose wisely. It is always advise to have fully ripe fruits and if unripe ones are bought. You can accelerate the ripening process by wrapping it in a paper and keeping in a warm place.
We hope, many of your confusions, concerns and doubts regarding what not to eat for persons suffering from haemorrhoids are clarified. We are dedicate to make your living Healthier by the day. And provide you with insights that you can easily incorporate in your daily life.
