“The road to health is paved with good intestines!”

                                                — Sherry A. Rogers

Your gut or intestine helps digest the food and absorb the nutrients that keep your body hail and hearty. Hence Sherry A. Rogers’s, an author, and MD who specialises in environmental medicine, quote emphasising gut health completely makes sense.  

Thankfully an Indian kitchen never falls short of amazing spices that boost gut health.  Asafoetida is the best example of it. Asafoetida or hing helps keep many gut issues at bay. 

Constipation is one such problem that triggers other health issues like piles, anal fissures, and rectal bleeding. 

 Asafoetida for constipation is considered one of the best remedies. This amazing spice can help you prevent constipation and other health issues like piles that are directly related to it. 

To know why we consider it the best spice for your intestine, you need to delve deep with us and discover the benefits of asafoetida for constipation. 

What is asafoetida?

Asafoetida or hing is a plant that has a strong smell and bitter taste. Because of its smell, some people also call it ‘devil’s dung’. It is a native plant to central Asia, eastern Iran to Afghanistan. In India, hing is cultivated only in Kashmir and some parts of Punjab. 

Apart from adding flavour to your food, asafoetida has some amazing medicinal value. It is used for digestion-related problems, and throat or breathing problems. 

Due to its laxative properties, it helps immensely in regulating your bowel movements. This helps in staying away from constipation, which is a major cause of piles and several other health issues.

What is constipation?

Technically, when you have fewer than three bowel moments a week, you are constipating. Nevertheless, different people have different bowel movements. Some people have several bowel movements in a day, and some have only once or twice a week.

Irrespective of your bowel movement pattern, one thing is clear the lesser you frequent the toilet the harder your stool will be, and as a result, you will have more difficult bowel movements. 

What are the health issues created by constipation?

If you are constipating and clueless about why it is happening, you are not alone. People of all ages suffer from bouts of constipation now and then. 

But in the case of certain people there are more possibilities of chronic constipation:

• Older people become less active. With a slower metabolism and weaker muscle contraction strength along their digestive tract, they are more likely to have chronic constipation.
• Women during their pregnancy tend to constipate. And with pregnancy, hormonal changes make them more prone to chronic constipation.
• People who are taking certain medications.
• People with neurological and digestive disorders.
• People who don’t eat enough fibre.

Constipation can lead to many health issues. Piles are the most painful one. Other than piles it can lead to 

• Anal fissures
• Rectal bleeding
• Fecal impaction
• Rectal prolapse
• Inflammatory bowel disorder
• Stricture
• Gas and bloating

How does asafoetida help in constipation?

Asafoetida is excellent for constipation. Here’s how it helps:

Asafoetida has laxative properties. Hence, it prevents the stool from hardening.

It is a fibre-rich herb. Fibre increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it.  This again prevents constipation.

Asafoetida is also used topically for infants to give them relief from constipation. You can make a thick paste of hing with water and apply it to your baby’s naval area. This will give instant relief and lessen the pain too.

Constipation triggers piles, a major health issue that makes around 10 million Indian’s lives miserable every year. Piles or hemorrhoids can develop when you put too much pressure on the lower rectum during the bowel movement. 

Asafoetida, as a laxative, prevents the hardening of stool and makes it not only easier to poop but prevents piles, too. 

Irregular bowel movement is the crucial reason for constipation. When consumed, hing acts as a digestive stimulant. This regulates your bowel movement and decreases the chances of constipation. When you have a smooth bowel movement you will not have constipation and also stay away from piles.

In case of severe constipation and piles, apart from making lifestyle changes, you can use GOYNG’s Piles Care. It has asafoetida and other natural ingredients that give relief from constipation, reduce pain, soothe swollen veins, and lessen the irritation. 

A common health issue related to constipation is acidity. Asafoetida is a natural alkaline. Hence, it gives relief from acidity by preventing acid reflux. 

So next time you have acidity, you know what to have. 

As a result of constipation, your digestive tract slows down and causes poor appetite and other digestion problems. 

A study shows that Asafoetida stimulates digestion and consuming it improves your digestion. Besides, health experts highly recommend adding hing to food that is hard to digest. 

Constipation can lead to piles and piles patients have difficulting passing gas. Hence, Gas and flatulence, an obvious outcome of constipation, in piles can be an added inconvenience.

Asafoetida has anti-flatulent and anti-inflammatory properties which reduce the gas from constipation and give you immense relief. 

What are the uses of Asafoetida?

Adding this wonderful spice to your daily cooking means saying bye-bye to gas, constipation, acidity, and all your stomach woes.

Hing with ginger tea is an excellent combo to fight gas.

 This is another excellent combo to keep your stomach healthy.

In some Indian cuisine, asafoetida is not used at all and many people are not fond of its smell and taste. So for them, adding it to their diet becomes a problem. More so, due to its strong flavour and smell.

If you are suffering from piles and are reluctant to add this spice to your diet, get an excellent quality supplement instead. GoYNG Piles Care is one such supplement that will help you get rid of constipation and the intolerable pain and irritation of piles. 

GoYNG has used nagkesar, neem, jimikand, witch hazel, and several other herbs and spices to gift you a supplement that gives immense relief in piles.

Moreover, GoYNG makes sure you get the best quality product by using unadulterated, natural ingredients. Its manufacturing facilities are ISO, FDI, and FSSAI certified.

What are the side effects?

Generally, asafoetida is safe for most people in the amount that is found in food. In some special cases, it might cause swelling of lips, diarrhea, gas, blood disorders, and convulsion. 

There is not enough evidence to say whether it is safe when applied to the skin or whether it has some side effects. 

Pregnant women should avoid consuming asafoetida, as it might cause a miscarriage. The same applies to breastfeeding women. Since the chemicals in it can pass into breast milk and cause blood disorders in the babies. 

Kids should avoid consuming it, as it might cause certain blood disorders.

Conclusion

Hing or asafoetida has an amazing nutritional profile that can give you relief from constipation. Apart from constipation and stomach problems, it has many other benefits. Apart from asafoetida, Nagkesar, Jimikand etc natural herbs and roots are also good for constipation and piles.

Write to us if you know any other tried and tested benefits of asafoetida for constipation. Tell us whether you have found this blog useful in enhancing your knowledge and safeguarding yourself from constipation.  

FAQs

Can asafoetida be taken daily?
Yes, it can be taken daily. 

Who should not eat hing?
Children and pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid hing.

Is asafoetida acidic or alkaline?
Asafoetida is alkaline and that is why it aids digestion.

What is hing called in English?
Hing is called asafoetida in English.

How do you put asafoetida on your stomach?
You can add it to your food, which most Indian cuisines do. You can also add it to water and tea and have it.

Can asafoetida be eaten raw?
It can be eaten raw. But it has a strong smell and flavour.

What happens when we apply asafoetida to the stomach?
Indian grannies apply asafoetida to the infants’ stomachs to give them relief from gas and constipation.

Is hing good for piles?
Yes, Hing is good for piles as it works as a laxative and gives relief from constipation and its resultant pain. 

When your bowel movement occurs less frequently and you have difficulty in passing stool, you are suffering from constipation. It can happen due to many reasons including changes in diet and routine, or if you are taking an inadequate amount of fibre.