Laxatives: Plums Or Apricots?

[Chemical]

I don't like to use laxative pills, so my husband suggested that I eat either apricots or plums and that they might  help. The problem is that I don't like either but I would force myself to eat one of them if they actually work.

Can anyone suggest which one I should eat? And do they work?

[Turtle]

I've never noticed a laxative effect with apricots and I've never been much of a plum eater so can't say. I have however taken prunes -which are dried plums- on camping trips for their laxative effects and can say from personal experience they work well and fast. :omg:

 

The below is also an anecdotal answer, though the writer claims to be a doctor. You can also do a web search for "laxative foods".

 

What foods act as a natural laxative? @ Yahoo Answers

...Prune juice is one of the better known natural laxatives. Prunes are not only high in potassium, Vitamin A, and iron, but they are also extremely high in both insoluble and soluble fiber. Prunes work efficiently and quickly as natural laxatives. Therefore, just a small amount of prunes is generally all it takes to relieve constipation. ...

[ErlyRisa]

I thought prunes were apricots!

 

anything vegy/fruity in large quantities can do it really. Eat more soup.

Those breky cereals tailored for it seem to do a good job too.

 

I'd be careful over doing it...Ever been truly constipated and then taken a fibre supplement ...trying to get a brick out of your tushie is excruciating...and be careful of the risk of aneurism.

Edited July 21, 2014 by ErlyRisa

[Noire]

I've never heard of an aneurysm from being constipated and pushing.  Hemmorhoids can be a nasty by-product of constipation and pushing to try to eliminate the waste.  I've had those before and they make going to the bathroom painful.

 

I find oatmeal seems to do the trick or high fibre cereal on a daily basis.  Make sure you drink a lot of water, it helps loosen stool as well.

[labelwench]

I have an elderly relative for whom I do research and often use the findings for myself as well because I work graveyard shift three nights a week and then a normal day schedule for the rest of it. Flipping your sleep and eating schedule twice a week can also have deleterious effect on the digestion and until I got a few things worked out, I suffered a few bouts of 'irregularity'.

 

Three things that I find to be effective are:

 

1) Be sure to drink enough water or other liquids and include fresh fruit and veggies in your daily diet.

2) Stewed prunes (made by simmering 7-10 prunes in enough water to cover for 30 minutes) add liquid and fiber to your diet. More effective than prune juice or just eating dried fruit, in my experience.

3) Real oatmeal, the kind that takes 25 minutes to cook, not that 'instant' stuff, also adds moisture and fiber.

 

(If you have a very busy schedule, there are some meal replacement shakes that are also a quick way to get more liquid and fiber intake.)

 

Walking is an excellent daily exercise, which is another requirement for optimum digestive health.

[Racoon]

Your Best laxative is Pysllium Husk.

 

You can find that at any Health Food Store.. Take a few tablespoons in some water and you will **** solid better than anything else.

[CraigD]

Welcome to hypography, Noire! :) Please feel free to start a topic in the introductions forum to tell us something about yourself.

I've never heard of an aneurysm from being constipated and pushing.

I too have never heard or read of aneurisms – balloon-like defects in blood vessels – being caused from straining to defecate.

 

Straining to defecate, especially sitting on a toilet, as is the norm in cultures such as my American one, can, however, be deadly, and is a significant immediate cause of death. The abdominal and other muscular straining can cause the major veins to constrict, starving the heart of oxygen, which can trigger a heart failure.

 

This risk can be much reduced by squatting rather than sitting when defecating. It’s usually impractical to replace chair-like toilets with more trench-like ones that promote squatting, but there are several specialized, ladder-like toileting devices that give the same effect.

 

This webpage is one of many on the subject.

 

Back on the less scatological subject of apricots and plums...

I don't like to use laxative pills, so my husband suggested that I eat either apricots or plums and that they might help. The problem is that I don't like either but I would force myself to eat one of them if they actually work.

By the numbers, Apricots are the best, with 0.04167 grams of fiber/KCalorie, though plums aren’t far behind, with 0.03026.

 

If you really dislike these fruits, grapes are far behind, at 0.01290, but still a good source of fiber.

 

Dried forms of these fruits - dried apricots, prunes, and raisins - have slightly less fiber/Calorie than the undried forms, but are cheaper and easier to store.

[Chemical]

Thank you everyone for the tips and ideas. And the winner is: oatmeal. I checked on some websites and it happens to help as a laxative. Thankfully I don't have to eat either plums or apricots but I happen to love oats. So I'll give it a try, thanks.

[CraigD]

Thank you everyone for the tips and ideas. And the winner is: oatmeal.

Good choice!

 

Looking at the nutritional information for oats the way I did above for fruit, their grams fiber/Kcal is 0.02671, more than twice that of raisins, but only about half that of plums or apricots.