Prune Juice for Constipation

Prune juice is a natural laxative which can used both by adults and children alike. Pregnant women often are prescribed prune juice for constipation. Prune is a dried plum. Since it is dried, it does not contain fiber at all, however, it helps in curing constipation. Prunes are rich in fructose and sorbitol, hence are more effective than the other fruits. Fruits are rich in fiber, and the water content in them is also high.

What is Constipation?

A person suffering from constipation has infrequent bowel movements, irritable bowel syndrome, and the stools are hard. For good health, every person should have bowel movement at least once a day, and maximum of thrice a day. Infrequent bowel movement gives rise to a number of health problems. It has been observed that a lot of people have bowel movement once every couple of days, or once a week, However, this is not a healthy practice. Prolonged bouts of constipation can cause a number of health problems like hemorrhoids, varicose veins, bad breath, body odor, headaches and indigestion. The waste matter contains toxins, and these toxins can cause colon or colorectal cancer. In case you have been constipated for a week, it is advisable to consult your health care professional to confirm that there is no serious underlying problem.

Prune Juice for Constipation

Prune juice supplies simple sugars to the body which helps in drawing fluids to the intestines. The fluid makes the stool soft and helps in bowel movement. If you are wondering, since prune juice provides sugars to the body, does it cause an increase in blood sugar levels? The answer to this question is no. Prune juice does not cause an increase in blood sugar levels. The reason behind this is that it contains natural sugars like fructose and sorbitol. As a matter of fact, too much of sorbitol can cause diarrhea.

Very often, pregnant women suffer from constipation. Enema is prescribed to pregnant women in case of constipation, but experts opine against enema. In such cases, prune juice comes to the rescue as it helps in easy excretion of stools from the body. Babies also suffer from constipation many a times. If your baby is constipated, you can feed prune juice to your baby every alternate day. The other option is to dilute prune juice with water and give it to your baby everyday. Often it is seen that babies do not like the taste of prune juice, hence, it can be mixed with some other juice, preferably apple juice.

Not only does prune juice help in curing constipation, but it also helps lowering cholesterol. A chemical present in prune juice enables flushing out of LDL cholesterol from the body. Along with its cholesterol lowering properties, it helps in preventing estrogen dependent breast cancer in women. Prune juice helps in keeping the estrogen in place and also helps in absorption of estrogen in the bloodstream.

Prune juice is a strong laxative, hence, you should be ready to rush to the washroom immediately after your first glass of prune juice. Instead of using any other laxative to cure yourself, use prune juice for constipation problems. If you do not like the taste of prune juice, you can mix it with apple juice. Prune juice can also be diluted with warm water for better effect.