Your mineral water may be the cure to constipation!

Constipation advice usually starts with the same tired line: “just eat more fiber.” Yet millions of people follow that guidance and still feel bloated, uncomfortable, and stuck. New research from King’s College London suggests it is time to rethink the standard script—and look instead at some surprisingly specific foods and supplements that actually move the needle on chronic constipation.

Before reaching for laxatives, take a closer look at your mineral water.

Kiwi, rye, and mineral water to the rescue

For the first time, scientists have pulled together rigorous, evidence‑based dietary guidelines focused solely on adults with long‑term constipation. After analyzing more than 75 clinical trials, the team found that three everyday options consistently stood out: kiwifruit, rye bread, and mineral‑rich water. People who added 2–3 kiwis a day, swapped white bread for rye, or drank high‑mineral waters—especially those rich in magnesium and sulfates—often reported more frequent, softer, and easier-to-pass stools.​

The guidelines also highlight helpful supplements. Psyllium fiber performed strongly, along with certain probiotic strains and magnesium oxide, all of which showed measurable improvements in constipation symptoms in randomized trials. These targeted approaches beat vague advice like “eat more roughage” by giving patients concrete, testable changes they can make at home. ​

Why old fiber advice falls short

Constipation is more than an occasional inconvenience; for many, it is a chronic condition that drags down energy, mood, and quality of life while driving up healthcare costs. Yet most older guidelines have leaned heavily on generic high‑fiber diets and more fluids, despite surprisingly weak evidence that this alone helps people with entrenched, long‑standing symptoms.​

Using the GRADE system to rate study quality, an expert panel of dietitians, clinicians, and gut specialists found that broad “high‑fiber” recommendations and popular herbal laxatives like senna did not meet the bar for strong, evidence‑backed support in chronic constipation. That does not mean fiber is bad—high‑fiber eating still benefits heart health, blood sugar, and weight—but it does mean patients deserve more precise strategies when simple fiber loading has already failed.​

A new roadmap for patients and clinicians

The British Dietetic Association has endorsed the new guidelines, which include 59 specific recommendations and a practical tool clinicians can use worldwide. Rather than guessing, healthcare providers can now tailor plans around outcomes that actually matter to patients: stool frequency, consistency, straining, pain, and day‑to‑day quality of life.​

That might look like suggesting a daily “constipation plate” built around kiwi slices, a couple of rye‑bread servings, and glasses of magnesium‑rich mineral water, with psyllium or magnesium oxide layered in if needed. Patients can then track how their bodies respond over a few weeks and adjust with professional guidance, instead of endlessly cycling through random remedies.​

The future of constipation nutrition

Despite these advances, the researchers are clear that many studies were small or short, and much more work is needed to map full dietary patterns—not just single foods—to long‑term gut health. Still, this is an important shift: constipation care is moving away from one‑size‑fits‑all fiber advice toward precise, evidence‑driven nutrition.​

For anyone living with chronic constipation, that is quietly revolutionary. Rather than suffering in silence or relying only on laxatives, people now have science‑backed options they can try in their own kitchens—starting with something as simple as a couple of kiwis, a slice of rye, and the right kind of water.