The Underrated Fruit Juice That Can Help You Poop Fast

Constipation affects everyone from time to time. Your travel schedule, not eating enough fiber, or even your medications could trigger a stoppage in your poop habit. That can leave you feeling bloated and sluggish. While it's normal to miss a routine poop every once in a while, passing hard or painful poop less than three times a week means your digestive system needs some help.

You'll need to boost the fluids in your system because your colon needs water to help move the poop through and make it easier to pass. You'll also need to include some fiber in your diet to add some bulk to your stool. A glass of pear juice can hydrate your digestive system while also adding a little fiber to help you poop.

An 8-ounce serving of 100% pear fruit juice is 87% water to help improve your hydration, and it has almost 2 grams of fiber. Don't be frightened about the 25 grams of sugar in pear juice, however, because pears have 2.45 grams of sorbitol for every 100 grams, according to a 2014 article in the International Journal of Food Properties. That's more sorbitol than all fruits, aside from blackberries. The sorbitol in pear juice works as a laxative to help you poop fast.

How the sorbitol in pear juice relieves constipation

You've most likely heard about sorbitol as a sugar alcohol used to sweeten foods so they have fewer calories. This type of sorbitol is often made from corn syrup, and you can even buy sorbitol in stores to relieve constipation. Sorbitol is also a naturally occurring sugar alcohol found in many fruits such as pears. Sorbitol pulls more water into your colon to both soften your stool and increase muscle contractions in your digestive system.

If you drink pear juice for constipation, you don't want to drink too much, especially all at once. Although each person's digestive system is different, as little as 5 grams of sorbitol can give you gas or abdominal cramps. Having 20 grams of sorbitol a day can give you diarrhea. Remember that some of your processed foods might have sorbitol in them. A stick of chewing gum has 1.25 grams of sorbitol. In a 2019 article in Canadian Family Physician, a woman experienced diarrhea for a year before her doctors realized it resulted from her chewing gum that had sugar alcohol.

Other natural ways to relieve constipation

If you know your travel schedule or disrupted routine is causing your constipation, you might not need additional remedies to wake up your colon. Your constipation will resolve itself once your bowels feel a sense of normalcy in your life. Rather than trying to rush your bathroom time, allow yourself plenty of time to poop once you feel the urge. When you relax, your digestive muscles will relax. It also might help to avoid scrolling through your phone while you're on the toilet because this could bring on some additional stress.

If constipation occurs a little more often, take a look at how much fiber is in your diet. You need between 25 and 30 grams of fiber every day to keep your digestive system humming, so consider adding high-fiber foods such as pears, apples, sweet potatoes, beans, and whole-grain breads. When increasing your fiber intake, be sure to do it slowly and drink an additional glass or two of water.

It also helps to keep track of your food using an app or a diary to see if any foods are causing constipation. Processed meats and refined carbs aren't great for your digestive system, so consider cutting back on these foods and adding foods rich in probiotics such as yogurt. If all that fails, here are other genius ways to get you to poop instantly.