Millions of Americans suffer from hemorrhoids and the pain, burning, and itching they cause. Medical treatment is the best way to eliminate hemorrhoid symptoms, but changes in lifestyle — including your eating habits — can help, too.
At his practice in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Michael H. Tarlowe, MD, helps patients manage hemorrhoids and their symptoms with nonsurgical and minimally invasive options focused on each patient’s specific needs. Here, learn how watching what you eat could help relieve hemorrhoid pain and irritation while promoting better bowel health overall.
Considering the impact different foods have on digestion, it’s probably no surprise that many of the same foods and eating habits that support your gastrointestinal health can also reduce your risk of painful hemorrhoids.
One of the most familiar ways to improve digestive health is to eat more fiber, and as it turns out, increasing fiber intake can help with hemorrhoids, too. Fiber helps soften your stools, making them easier and more comfortable to pass. That means less straining — and less chance you’ll irritate your hemorrhoids.
To increase your fiber intake, incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet, especially high-fiber options such as apples, carrots, leafy greens, bananas, broccoli, and prunes. Eat them whole or blend them into soups, sauces, and smoothies. Whole grains, seeds, beans, and legumes also contain high amounts of fiber.
Roughly 75% of stool is water, and staying hydrated helps ensure your stools remain soft and regular. Even mild dehydration can make stool drier, denser, and harder to pass, leading to straining, constipation, and hemorrhoid pain.
Drinking water, herbal teas, and unsweetened fruit juice is a great way to stay hydrated, but what you eat matters, too. Cucumbers, melons, celery, oranges, and grapes all contain plenty of fluid that can help you meet your hydration needs.
Good bowel health and regular bowel habits depend a lot on the good bacteria that make your gut their home. Eating foods that are fermented or cultured helps support these bacteria for softer stool that’s easier to pass. These foods can help reduce inflammation, too.
Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and kombucha contain plenty of probiotics ready to nourish your good gut bacteria. Yogurt with live cultures is another great choice.
Just as some foods help you manage hemorrhoids and their symptoms, other foods can make symptoms worse.
Ultraprocessed foods like white bread, chips, pastries, fast food, and frozen dinners are both low in fiber and high in refined carbohydrates — a combination that can significantly slow digestion and lead to hard stools, constipation, and straining. When you strain or push to move your bowels, you put more pressure on the veins in your anus, causing hemorrhoid symptoms to flare up.
Spicy foods won’t necessarily cause hemorrhoid symptoms, but they can definitely increase irritation, burning, and itching symptoms. These foods irritate the sensitive tissue that lines your rectum and anus, making bowel movements a lot more uncomfortable.
You definitely want to hydrate, but caffeinated and alcoholic beverages aren’t your best bet. Both caffeine and alcohol can dehydrate your body, causing harder stools and increasing the risk of constipation and painful bowel movements. Alcohol can also dilate blood vessels, increasing swelling in and around hemorrhoids.
Like spicy foods, dairy foods won’t cause hemorrhoids, but high-fat dairy can make hemorrhoid symptoms worse. That’s because fatty dairy foods like ice cream and cheese lead to constipation for many people, along with increased straining that can cause hemorrhoids to swell.
Hemorrhoids don’t go away on their own. While dietary changes can help reduce your symptoms, the only way to eliminate them completely is to have them removed.
Dr. Tarlowe specializes in hemorrhoid management, including minimally invasive treatments that remove hemorrhoids for permanent relief. To learn more about managing your hemorrhoids, please call 954-210-7127 or schedule an appointment online with Dr. Tarlowe in Deerfield Beach, Florida, today.
