Prune Juice Benefits

Renowned for its laxative effect and for its role in facilitating regular bowel movement, prune juice is often associated with foods suitable just for constipated senior citizens and young infants. Contrary to this popular perception of prune juice for constipation, the juice has a lot more benefits that can be of use to everyone from dieters to people with cardiovascular disease or diabetes. With just 125 calories in a can of prune juice and packed with essential vitamins and minerals like potassium and iron, it is an ideal healthy drink for those who wish to lose weight and ensure that they remain energetic all through the day.

Prunes are basically just dried sugar plums. Prune juice is made by cooking the prunes and making a puree of the cooked prunes after removing the pits.

The water used to boil the prunes is used to dilute the puree into a juice. Many people may not like the taste of plain prune juice, and in order to take advantage of prune juice benefits, it may be mixed with other fruit juices like apple juice or lime juice. Homemade prune juice for babies with constipation may be diluted with water or apple juice, and two or three teaspoonfuls may be fed once a day. Prune juice for weight loss works because it is rich in dietary fiber and keeps hunger pangs at bay for a longer time. Drinking prune juice before a meal reduces appetite. The presence of antioxidants in prune juice helps in the fight against free radicals, which cause damage to the body’s cells. Soluble fiber in prune juice slows down the body’s consumption of glucose and stimulates the production of insulin, protecting the body from diabetes. Soluble fiber is also responsible for encouraging the liver to produce more bile, thus reducing its stock of cholesterol. Insoluble fiber in the juice mops of toxins and waste from the intestines and eliminates them from the body.

A prune juice diet may be suitable if the aim is to get a total colon cleanse, but it must be kept in mind that dehydration because of diarrhea is a serious risk and care should be taken to consume plenty of water during the days of the prune juice diet. It must be pointed out that all juice-only diets pose a serious strain on kidneys and may not be suitable for those with kidney problems.

Submitted on May 31, 2011