Everyone gets stopped up now and then. Here's a few foods you may already have around the house that can help:
- Raisins, prunes or other dried fruit. These are best as a preventative measure, since they take a while to take effect. However, a goodly handful every day will keep you regular as clockwork. If you're a typical American, you probably don't get enough dietary fiber anyway, and man are these delicious. This is, by the way, why the elderly are known for eating prunes.
- Anything with caffeine, especially coffee. Any kind of stimulant will, by definition, speed your metabolism, including the processing speed of your colon. Coffee seems, in my experience, to be especially effective.
- Beer. Anyone who drinks beer regularly has smelled beer farts. I'm not sure why this works either, but my guess would be that it relaxes your muscles and lets things slide much easier. Add this to the large percentage of beer that is water and it's a potent laxative.
- Certain types of bread. Rye bread, pumpernickel and whole wheat bread seem to be most effective; my theory is that this is because they are made from whole grain flour as opposed to the more common refined flour.
- Fruit juice, especially that containing citric acid. Have not tried this myself, but dem_bones says they work.
I hope this helps; it's hard to enjoy life when you're constipated.