A randomized clinical trial of prunes vs. Metamucil was recently published. I present the results in my 4-min video Prunes vs. Metamucil vs. Vegan Diet. Each dot on the graph represents a complete spontaneous bowel movement. You’ll notice when you watch the video how many had zero a week. Study participants went from an average of 1.7 a week up to 3.5 on prunes (at least one every other day), then back to baseline when prunes were removed. On Metamucil they got up to 2.8 a week. Not as good as the prunes, and a significantly better stool consistency was also noted when using the prunes, as measured by the famous Bristol Stool Scale.
The researchers concluded that treatment with dried plums resulted in a greater improvement in constipation symptoms than the commonly used fiber supplement. Given their palatability, tolerability, and availability, dried plums should be “considered as a first line therapy for chronic constipation.”
If that’s what adding one plant can do, though, what if all you ate was plants? Vegans are off the charts, averaging 10.9!
For more on optimizing bowel function, see:
- Stool Size Matters
- Food Mass Transit
- Bowels of the Earth
- Diverticulosis & Nuts
- Bulking Up on Antioxidants
- Greasy Orange Rectal Leakage
- Kiwifruit for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Relieving Yourself of Excess Estrogen
