“Prunes vs. Metamucil vs. Vegan Diet” Though there is an
International Prune Association, keeping us all apprised of the latest
prune news from around the world, in the U.S., the California prune board
successfully pressured the FDA to change the name from
prunes to “dried plums”— which evidently evokes more of a
“positive ‘fresh fruit goodness’ image,” in hopes of attracting their
“target audience, women.” Of course, it might help if they actually
included one or two on their board. The name change is in hopes of
“de-emphasiz[ing] its connections to digestive regularity issues.” But, hey, why sell yourself short? Check this out: “Randomised clinical trial:
prunes vs. [Metamucil, also known as] psyllium.” “Constipation is a common
problem that affects up to [a fifth] of the world’s population. Nearly 60 million Americans suffer
from chronic constipation”— particularly a problem in
women and the elderly. A “pathological condition that is often
severe enough to disrupt daily activities, derange quality of life, respond
poorly to available medical remedies and [may] prompt sophisticated and
potentially harmful surgical procedures.” “Despite all this, it is still frequently
considered a trivial issue, and affected individuals
tend to self-medicate either using OTC laxatives
or ‘natural’ remedies, but none of these [have] been
adequately investigated,” until now.

Fiber supplements can be inconvenient,
taste nasty, cause bloating—even choking. So, we need “a food-based, natural,
convenient…tasty alternative.” But, do prunes actually work? Here’s the study subjects at baseline. Each dot is a complete,
spontaneous bowel movement. Note how many people had zero bowel
movements per week, at baseline. About an average of 1.7 a week,
which went up to 3.5 on prunes; a bowel movement every other day or so. Then, back to baseline, off of the prunes; then, on Metamucil, got up
to 2.8; then, back down. And, remember the Bristol stool scale? Significantly better stool
consistency on the prunes, as well. The researchers conclude that “treatment
with dried plums resulted in a greater improvement in constipation symptoms… [than the] commonly used
fibre supplement, psyllium.” So, “[g]iven their palatability,
tolerability…availability, dried plums should be considered” as a first-line therapy
for chronic constipation. If this is what adding
one plant can do— 3.5 bowel movements a week— what if all you ate was plants? Where do vegans rate? Going, going, gone. Not 2, not 3, but 10.9 a week..

Video Transcript – As found on YouTube