365 Ways #190–Three natural ways to get 1 MILLION dollars worth of laxatives out of the American Diet

#190--Fiber from fruits and vegetables increase fecal weight and moisture. The larger stool volume stimulates enteric nerves and accelerates intestinal transit time. Fruit juice doesn’t qualify and french fries are not vegetables.
Probiotics from fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut as well as quality supplements helps bulk the stool, reduce stool hardness, and increase stool frequency.
Exercise decreases transit time by stimulating peristalsis (ask any runner) through rhythmic movements and compression of the intestines by working muscles. Movements like leg extensions or leg curls will not help movements in the bathroom as their impact is limited to one working joint. But if you do these “exercises” long enough to completely turn off your core through sensory motor amnesia, the pelvic floor dysfunction which results will help your dependency on laxatives; they just won’t help with your dependency on Depends.