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What to Take to Soften Stool

There are many over-the-counter medications that you can take to soften stool or produce a bowel movement, but there are also dietary measures you can take that are much healthier and will actually restore balance to your digestive system without causing side effects or undesired results. While OTC medications may work in some instances, other times they can give you the opposite problem. Incorporating certain foods into your meals will help ensure that your diet plays an active role in keeping you regular.

  1. Food and Diet

    • To keep the bowels moving freely and to prevent constipation, include oats, bran and whole grains in your daily diet. It is also extremely important to stay well hydrated as drinking plenty of water and fruit juice is essential to healthy bowel movements. Eat many fruits that are high in vitamin C, such as oranges, and drink orange juice. Dried fruits such as prunes and dates can loosen stool and produce a bowel movement rather quickly. Leafy greens have a high iron content and high fiber content and can help to relieve constipation as well as provide the body with much-needed iron. Flax seed oil can provide great relief, working to soften stools and free the bowels. Since dandelion is effective in loosening the bowels, you could make a salad with dandelion leaves and/or dark leafy greens such as spinach and make a dressing using flax seed oil. Drinking a few cups of coffee has been known to relieve constipation in many people due to the caffeine content.

    Herbs and Dietary Supplements

    • To get things moving again without concerns over side effects or undesired results, you can use herbal teas, vitamins, juices and foods to help relieve constipation and soften the stool. For example, taking vitamin C several times per day can loosen your stools overnight and help boost your immune system in the process. Apple juice, prune juice and aloe vera juice are excellent for relieving constipation and can help loosen stools within a few hours. Avoid iron supplements such as ferrous sulfate, which can often cause hardened stools. Ginger tea and dandelion are excellent herbs to drink warm in order to encourage evacuation of the bowels.

    OTC Remedies

    • Over-the-counter (OTC) stool softeners may work quickly to relieve the symptoms but are not the healthiest options for softening stool. OTC medications such as Ex-Lax, Dulcolax and Colace often fail to address the underlying problem of constipation. Most of them work by drawing water back into the stool. But if too much water is added to the stool without additional fiber intake, you can end up suddenly having diarrhea and subsequently needing to resolve that problem. Diarrhea is a common side effect of OTC stool softeners, as is abdominal cramping.

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