Kiwi fruit effectively relieves symptoms in chronic constipation
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Patients with chronic constipation who received kiwi fruit, prunes and psyllium reported relief in symptoms, according to a study published in American Journal of Gastroenterology.
“Patients are increasingly seeking evidence-based natural treatments for many medical conditions, including [chronic constipation (CC)],” Samuel W. Chey, MPH, from the University of Michigan and colleagues wrote. “Many patients believe that natural products are safer and less costly than prescription medications. Along these lines, so called ‘functional foods’ are growing in popularity. This study confirms the benefits of prunes and psyllium and offer the first U.S. data for green kiwifruit as a safe, effective and well-tolerated treatment for a subset of patients with CC.”
Chey and colleagues randomly assigned 79 adults with chronic constipation at a U.S medical center to one of three natural treatments; complete data were available for 75 patients. For a 4-week period, 29 patients consumed two green kiwi fruit per day, 24 consumed 100 g of prunes per day and 22 consumed 12 g of psyllium per day. All eligible patients had three or less complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBM). The proportion of patients in each group reporting an increase of one or more CSBM compared with baseline for at least 2 of 4 treatment weeks served as the primary endpoint. Other outcomes included stool frequency, stool consistency and straining evaluated daily. Investigators also measured treatment satisfaction and adverse events.
Proportions of complete spontaneous bowel movements were similar for the three treatments, according to the researchers.
“For secondary outcomes comparing treatment weeks 3 and 4 to baseline, there was a significant increase in weekly CSBM rate with all three treatments (P = .003); stool consistency significantly improved with kiwi fruit (P = .01) and prunes (P = .049); and straining significantly improved with kiwi fruit(P = .003), prunes (P < .001), and psyllium (P = .04),” the investigators wrote.
Bloating scores improved among patients assigned to kiwi fruit (P = .02). According to researchers, adverse events were most common with psyllium and least common kiwi fruit. When treatment ended, investigators noted fewer patients were dissatisfied with kiwi fruit vs. prunes or psyllium (P = .02).
Perspective
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Christine Lee, MD
Bowel irregularities are extremely common, affecting almost everyone at some point in their lifetime. Numerous treatment options are available, and most health care providers use psyllium husk fiber, stool softeners or polyethylene glycol as their first line of armamentarium. However, as Chey and colleagues points out, “consumer shift in chronic medication, safety and preferences have drawn the public toward more natural solutions for chronic constipation.”
This highlights the use of kiwi fruit as a treatment option for chronic constipation. The researchers randomly assigned patients with chronic constipation to receive one of three natural constipation treatments – prunes (100 g), psyllium (12 g) or green kiwi fruit (two peeled) daily for 4 weeks. All three treatments improved complete spontaneous bowel movements 67%, 64% and 45%, respectively. However, there were fewer adverse events with kiwi. Kiwi fruit had the lowest rate of pain, discomfort and bloating and gas. Chey and colleagues said, “only 7% of participants who received kiwi as a constipation treatment expressed dissatisfaction,” vs. 17% with prune and 38% with psyllium.
Kiwi contains an enzyme called actinidin. In the culinary world, kiwi is used as a meat tenderizer and accordingly may serve as a digestive aid in the GI tract. Another added benefit might be that kiwi fruit is lower on the FODMAP scale. The calorie content of 12 prunes is about 275 calories, 64 g of carbohydrates and 38 g of sugar. In comparison, two kiwi have 80 calories, 20 g of carbohydrates and only 12 g of sugar. Calories and sugar intake considerations are becoming increasingly more important to everyone, especially in those who have diabetes and weight management.
This study, albeit small, suggests demonstrative effectiveness of kiwi in treating chronic constipation with lower incidence of the unwanted side effects of abdominal pain, bloating and gas. As a result, kiwi may be the go-to fruit for those who are seeking natural dietary solutions for their chronic constipation.
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