Constipation savior! The fruit that is best at "pooping" can turn you into a jet fighter in a second

The development and evolution of the human species is inextricably linked to fruit :

From three-color vision to complex taste, from fine grape wine in a luminous cup to apple slices on supermarket shelves, from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden to the pomegranate that symbolizes "many children and great blessings".

Rather than saying that humans changed fruits, it is better to say that fruits first changed humans.

For example, it changed the way humans defecate .

Since humans evolved into office workers, "constipation" has become the biggest problem of the century, along with "insomnia". In order to enjoy a smooth and relaxing "personal time", people are willing to work hard even to the point of breaking their ribs.

However, ribs are limited, but human wisdom is unlimited. It is time to make the "unique skills" that have been treasured for many years public.

In fact, the matter of "relieving constipation" can be very simple.

01

Dietary fiber and kiwi fruit

If you want to understand why kiwi fruit comes to mind when people talk about laxatives, it starts with an iconic laxative substance - dietary fiber .

Before dietary fiber was fully discovered, our ancestors actually found some traces of it. Around the time of ancient Greece, people found that eating whole-grain black bread could increase bowel movements , and people realized the subtle difference between "coarse grains" and "fine grains".

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It was not until the 1960s that several British doctors reported that residents of some African countries had a much lower incidence of diseases such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia than residents of European and American countries because they consumed high-fiber foods . Their average daily intake was around 35-40 grams, while the amount of dietary fiber consumed by Europeans and Americans at the time was less than a fraction of theirs, only 4-5 grams. This attracted the attention of scientists, and dietary fiber began to be truly studied.

Will stool volume increase? Will the chances of developing diseases such as diabetes and high blood lipids decrease? Is dietary fiber really that magical?

Dietary fiber is a polysaccharide that can neither be digested and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract nor produce energy. Scientists who just started researching it concluded that it is a "non-nutritious substance."

It was not until further research that a very important piece of information was discovered: if there is a lack of dietary fiber, the intestinal flora will torture you "by any means necessary"!

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Justin Schonberg and his research team at Stanford University's Department of Microbiology and Immunology conducted an experiment in which they gave younger mice human gut microbes to determine the effects of reducing carbohydrates on them.

Experiments on mice have shown that if mice with human intestinal flora lack dietary fiber in their diet, the diversity of microorganisms in their intestinal flora will decrease significantly, which can easily lead to physical discomfort and the incidence of related diseases.

The intestinal microbial diversity of Westerners is far less than that of people living in underdeveloped areas who still maintain traditional agricultural civilization eating habits. This phenomenon may be related to a substance called microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MAC).

MAC plays an important role in shaping the intestinal microbial ecology. MAC is mainly present in fiber-containing diets and is the main energy source for some intestinal microorganisms.

If you are not full, you will be restless, and various mechanisms of the body will have problems, so constipation will occur, right?

Jens Walter, a microbial ecologist at the University of Alberta in Canada, also came to a similar conclusion through research. They found that the speed at which intestinal microorganisms disappeared due to a low-fiber diet was shocking.

They believe that although their research model cannot directly prove that changes in human lifestyle are the cause of changes in intestinal flora, it can prove that a low-fiber diet is detrimental to the diversity of intestinal microorganisms .

If this phenomenon is confirmed in the human body, then the change in eating habits brought about by social progress will undoubtedly further aggravate the imbalance of intestinal flora in modern humans. Therefore, eating habits are also the culprit that makes us suffer from "constipation" .

Recently, some scholars have discovered that this food ingredient is not only a factor in maintaining the diversity of intestinal bacteria, but also has an effect across generations. If several consecutive generations eat food lacking this ingredient, the diversity of intestinal bacteria will become worse and worse. Professor Justin Sonnenburg of the Stanford University School of Medicine found that the health of intestinal microorganisms lies in the previous generations .

The food of our intestinal microorganisms is the carbohydrates present in dietary fiber. If the intake of dietary fiber is increased and the gastrointestinal transit speed increases, these intestinal flora will get a lot of "food" and eat like crazy. The more they eat, the faster they grow, and the more small molecules they produce that are beneficial to the human physiology and immune system.

At this time, the soluble dietary fiber in the dietary fiber is intertwined with carbohydrates such as starch in the gastrointestinal tract and delays the absorption of the latter, which can play a role in lowering postprandial blood sugar.

The insoluble dietary fiber in dietary fiber promotes gastrointestinal motility , speeds up the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract, and reduces absorption. At the same time, they absorb water in the large intestine and play a role in softening the stool.

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Therefore, consuming more dietary fiber can allow you to have an intestinal flora that gets enough nutrition and grows tall and strong, which will naturally keep us away from a series of diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, etc.

The most direct reaction is that bowel movements become smoother, saying goodbye to constipation.

Well, among all the fruits and vegetables that are rich in dietary fiber, kiwi stands out with its extremely high content of vitamin C and dietary fiber.

Kiwi fruit is often considered an "imported product", otherwise why is it called New Zealand kiwi fruit? But in fact, kiwi fruit is a genuine Chinese fruit .

In the late Qing Dynasty, a seemingly insignificant event occurred in the fruit industry: a very inconspicuous fruit seed was brought to New Zealand. However, this event directly affected the world's fruit industry and became the only fruit species successfully domesticated by humans in the past 100 years .

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This fruit, which was inconspicuous at the time, was the "delicious kiwi fruit", which became popular in New Zealand in 1910 and then became popular all over the world. So although kiwi fruit is from our country, it is New Zealand that really made it a fruit industry.

In a recent study published in the June 2021 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, they studied the effectiveness of green kiwifruit as an over-the-counter treatment for chronic constipation.

The study, the first in the U.S. to evaluate green kiwifruit as a potential treatment for constipation, found that eating two green kiwifruits daily could help relieve symptoms of constipation.

The nutritional content of kiwi fruit includes 2.6g of dietary fiber and 62g of vitamin C, which are indeed the best in the fruit world.

When it comes to eating kiwifruit, the most delicious one is not the most popular New Zealand kiwifruit, but the "Chinese kiwifruit" native to China.

The red-heart kiwifruit and yellow-heart kiwifruit seen in supermarkets today are descendants of the Chinese kiwifruit. They are characterized by the absence of fine fuzz on the skin, more delicate flesh, higher sweetness, and look prettier.

Isn’t it wonderful that eating sweet, beautiful and hairless macaque pickles can also solve the problem of “constipation”?

02

Prunes

Kiwi fruit, with its rich dietary fiber, has taken on the important task of helping humans fight constipation. With its title of "king of fruits", it has naturally been very popular until the emergence of prunes, the "newcomer" in the fruit world.

Prunes are also known as Chilean prunes, California prunes, European plums, French black dates, etc. Although it is called plum, it is actually a type of plum, shaped like an apricot plum . The skin of the ripe fruit is dark purple and the flesh is amber.

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In addition to being eaten fresh, prunes are also made into candied fruit, preserves, jams, and fruit wine. There are also many processed products, such as dried prunes, prune juice, prune cakes, etc. Carrying them with you is not only a feast for the taste buds, but also good for your health. Preserved fruit pickled with prunes is a traditional cold fruit in the Chaoshan area.

The nutritional value of prunes is quite high. For example, they are rich in iron , which can effectively help the human body take in enough iron. For example, they are rich in vitamin A , which can protect the skin and hair quality of the human body.

Prunes are also rich in vitamin C , which helps with the absorption of iron. They are also rich in dietary fiber, potassium, and nutrients that are extremely beneficial to bone health, all of which are beneficial to the human body.

The reason why prunes are called "intestinal cleaners" is not just because they are rich in dietary fiber. Sorbitol is the real boss behind the scenes.

Sorbitol is an isomer of mannitol, a non-digestible carbohydrate.

When we ingest sorbitol, most of it will enter the colon, forming a hypertonic environment in the local intestine, absorbing more water into the intestine. At this time, the stool will become more moist and easier to excrete. Such gastrointestinal effects can effectively relieve constipation.

Sorbitol itself has many benefits. For example, it is often extracted and used as a sweetener. Because sorbitol has lower calories than traditional sugar, it is not a burden for diabetics to eat it, has less impact on blood sugar , and can reach 60% sweetness. It is often used in sugar-free beverages and sugar-free foods. More importantly, sorbitol is sweet and delicious, does not cause tooth decay, and is even beneficial to oral health.

Prunes rich in sorbitol have lower sugar and calories than kiwis. They can relieve constipation without the psychological burden of gaining weight.

So how should prunes be eaten to help with bowel movements?

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Generally, 100g of prunes contain 2.6g of sorbitol. Studies have shown that our stomach will react when we ingest 5g of sorbitol, and we will feel the urge to defecate if it exceeds 10g. So 10g of sorbitol is equivalent to eating 500g of prunes. You can increase the amount of prunes you ingest according to your body's reaction, about 10 at a time. Friends who are more sensitive may turn into "Splatoon" and run into the toilet.

So, prunes are sweet, healthy, and won’t damage your teeth. They can also relieve constipation and help you lose weight. They are simply amazing. In Europe and the United States, prunes are the only laxative food that can be included in doctors’ prescriptions.

References:

[1] "A Garden Full of Smiles from Plum Branches: A Brief Discussion on the Nutrition and Health of Plums" by Zhao Guishuang

[2] China Fruit Industry Information, Vol. 38, No. 7, 2021;

[3] Research Progress on Dietary Fiber in Fruit Pomace;

[4]Koleva PT, Valcheva RS, Sun X, et a1. Inulin and fructo-oligo-saccharides have divergent effects on colitis and commensal microbiota in HLA-B27 transgenic rats[J]. Br J Nutr, 2012,108(9):1633-1643．

[5]Ramirez-Farias C, Slezak K, Fuller Z, et al. Effect of inulin on the human gut microbiota: stimulation of Bifidobacterium adolescentisand Faecalibacterium prausnitzii[J]. Br J Nutr, 2009,101(4):541-550.

[6]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6693595/

[7]https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sorbitol

Source: China National Geographic BOOK

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