Constipation is defined as:
3 or fewer bowel movements per week
Having bowel movements that are hard, dry, pebble-like, and/or difficult to pass, or
The feeling that you’re unable to completely empty your bowels.
Women ARE more likely than men to suffer from constipation
Well, why?
The female large intestine is 10cm longer than a male’s. Probably so women can absorb more water from the large intestine during pregnancy to maintain amniotic fluid levels (the fluid that surrounds the baby).
The job of the large intestine is to reabsorb salt and water back into the bloodstream, and condense any remaining undigested food into stool.
Women have 10cm longer to reabsorb water from the stool. This can make stool harder and more difficult to pass.
This extra length additionally creates redundancy, or extra twists and turns in the colon, making women more vulnerable to gas, bloating and constipation compared with men.
The large intestine empties slower in women compared with men. It takes almost 14 hours longer for food to get through the female colon compared with the male colon. That’s 14 hours longer that stool has to sit in a woman’s colon where water can be reabsorbed, stool can become harder and drier, and constipation, gas, and bloating can result.
Changes in progesterone and estrogen levels related to the menstrual cycle and menopause can affect how fast food moves through your GI tract. Higher levels of estrogen and progesterone may slow down the GI tract and cause constipation. Because estrogen and progesterone levels vary throughout the menstrual cycle, women may notice cyclical worsening of their symptoms related to the menstrual cycle.
Constipation can be associated with other endocrine disorders that are often more common in women AND with age like hypothyroidism. Constipation tends to become more common with age and menopause.