Fiber bars contain ingredients such as dried fruit, bran, granola, rolled wheat, seeds and psyllium fiber. These ingredients provide several health benefits, including improving satiety, keeping blood glucose stable and improving bowel movements.

High-fiber fruits act as natural laxatives when you experience mild irregularity. Safer and less habit-forming than drugstore laxatives, fruit also gives you the essential nutrients you need for a healthy diet.

Constipation occurs when you go an abnormally long period of time without a bowel movement. Constipation can be caused by a lack of fiber in your diet, as a result of dehydration or due to certain medications. One treatment for constipation is magnesium citrate, a laxative that can be purchased without a prescription.

The National Institutes of Health defines constipation as having a bowel movement fewer than three times per week. People with constipation typically report dry, hard, compact stools that are difficult to eliminate.

Metamucil, or psyllium, is a bulk-forming fiber laxative. This medication absorbs water in the intestines to create a softer bulkier stool that is easier to pass, states Drugs.com. Metamucil is recommended for patients with constipation, but may also be used to lower cholesterol levels.

If you have to strain on the toilet to have a bowel movement or if you have a bowel movement fewer than three times a week, you may be one of the 4 million Americans that regularly suffer from constipation.

Dulcolax, known generically as bisacodyl, may be used to stimulate the movement of the bowels and is sold over the counter, meaning no prescription is necessary. Dulcolax also may be used before a colonoscopy, surgery, X-rays and other intestinal type procedures performed at a physician’s recommendation.

When your baby is constipated, you want to do whatever you can to make her feel better. If your infant has trouble passing stools, talk to her pediatrician. Some doctors may suggest giving your infant a small amount of water to help ease the passage of stools.

Every child differs in regularity. If you notice your toddler is having less frequent bowel movements than usual or expresses discomfort when passing stool, she might be constipated. Flaxseed meal and oil are natural treatments for constipation that many toddlers tolerate well.

According to Drs. Michael Camilleri, M.D. and Joseph A. Murray, M.D. in the 2008 edition of “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine,” chronic constipation afflicts nearly 20 percent of American adults.

Much of what’s called “licorice” actually contains little to no licorice. Licorice, produced from the roots of the plant Glycyrrhiza glabra, contains the active ingredient glycyrrhizin, which has properties similar to aldosterone, a hormone released by the adrenal glands to regulate blood pressure.

Although children have different bowel patterns, your child is considered to have constipation if she has difficulty passing stools or hasn’t been able to have three or more bowel movements a week, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Large, dry, hard stools are also indicative of constipation.