Does prune juice make you poop?

Q: Does prune juice make you poop?

Yes. It's the sorbitol. A glass of prune juice carries about twice the sorbitol of a handful of prunes. Juice has little of the fruit's fiber, so the sugar alcohol does the work.

Yes. It's the sorbitol. A glass of prune juice carries about twice the sorbitol of a handful of prunes. Juice has little of the fruit's fiber, so the sugar alcohol does the work.

Strength Strong

Main culprit sorbitol

Per glass ~15 g sorbitol

Did prune juice make you go?

The meter says what should happen. Your bowels get a vote too.

Why it works

Sorbitol pulls water in

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol your gut only partly absorbs. What's left holds water in the bowel and softens stool. An 8 fl oz glass has roughly 15 g.

Little or no fiber

USDA lists about 2.4 g of fiber per glass, but a review of prune research found filtered bottled juice has almost none. Either way, sorbitol does the work.

Lots of sugar too

That glass also carries about 40 g of sugar. A smaller glass may be all you need.

Sources: Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis et al., Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2001; USDA FoodData Central.

People also put on the meter

PrunesYES CoffeeYES Magnesium citrateYES FiberEVENTUALLY Decaf coffeeMAYBE AlcoholMAYBE