Prune Juice, Constipation Remedy
Prune Juice, Constipation Remedy One of the best known home remedies of any sort is prune juice, constipation’s nemesis. Prunes are dried plums. Prune juice is made by pressing prunes. Dried prunes are approximately 6 percent fiber, but prune juice (which is made from dried prunes) contains no fiber at all. Prune juice promotes regularity by providing simple sugars that draw fluid into the intestine. The additional fluid makes stool softer and easier to expel. Prune juice does not cause spikes in blood sugar, because its natural sweetening agents are fructose and sorbitol rather than sucrose, better known as “white sugar.” Too much sorbitol, of course, can cause diarrhea. Among the uses of prune juice, treatment of this condition is best known, but lowering cholesterol is also a possibility. Nutritionists at the University of California at Davis studied men with moderately elevated cholesterol whom they gave the equivalent of 12 prunes (about 3-1/2 ounces) or 1 glass of prune juice. In addition to promoting regularity, the prunes and prune juice concentrated the chemical that becomes LDL cholesterol (lithocholic acid) in the stool, effectively flushing cholesterol away. Prune juice may also help prevent estrogen-dependent breast cancer. About 50% of a woman’s estrogen exists in forms that do not activate breast cancer. The liver removes these chemicals into the bile, which is drained into the intestines. With consumption of prunes or prune juice, the condition stops you holding these estrogens in place so they can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream. In pre-menopausal women, there is less estrogen in circulation to cause the symptoms of PMS. Among the benefits of prune juice, constipation is only the best known. The remedy that makes you regular could even add years to your life. Also read our article about
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