Grapes have been cultivated for thousands of years now. These little fruits are rich in antioxidants and nutrients. It has vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber, Sorbitol, potassium, and magnesium, effective in digestive issues such as constipation. Apart from its delicious sweet taste, grapes also hold mild laxative properties.
Grape juice contains various nutrients, which makes it effective in improved bowel movements. Lack of fluid intake or fiber consumption is one of the common reasons for constipation. As being rich in fiber and water content, Grape juice helps ease your gut and thus makes you poop.
This article will discuss the effect of grape juice on our digestive system and if they make you poop.
Related Article: Does Cranberry Juice Help You Poop?
Why do grapes make you poop?
Grape or grape juice contains a lot of nutritional value. It has vitamin C and fiber, which makes it healthy for your bowel movement. Constipation is a condition when you have difficulties passing stool. When you are not consuming enough water, your body tries to absorb water from the stool, making it dry and hard. Lack of fluid in your body is the most common cause of constipation.
Grapes contain a lot of water and fiber. Drinking grape juice could help restore water balance in the body. More fluid in the body is directly associated with softer stool and more frequent bowel movements. Apart from the water content, grape juice also contains fiber. The type of fiber in grapes is insoluble fiber. These fibers help regulate bowel movement. Since grapes have much higher fructose levels than other fruits, grapes as a fruit or juice are good for people suffering from irritable bowel movements.
Are grapes a laxative?
Grapes contain a good amount of Sorbitol, which is a sugar alcohol. Sorbitol is known for its laxative effects. This water-soluble compound is found naturally in grapes, apples, apricots, dates, berries, peaches, plums, and figs. Due to the presence of Sorbitol, grapes show a mild laxative behavior too.
Sorbitol is not digestible in our digestive tract. It moves from the small intestine to the large intestine without being digested by enzymes. In the large intestine, it starts getting fermented by bacteria. This fermentation process releases gas, which can make you gassy sometimes.
Sorbitol in grapes has a hyperosmotic nature, meaning it draws water into the colon from the surrounding tissues. An increase in water concentration makes the stool softer and increases bowel movement.
Ensure you are not consuming too much grape or grape juice as excess Sorbitol could cause digestion-related side effects, especially diarrhea. Sorbitol and fiber are two components in grapes that could make the situation worse if your body is not used to it.
Do grapes cause diarrhea?
Grapes are filled with nutrients and vitamins. However, this sweet fruit also comes with some downsides. One of the common side effects of eating grapes or particularly packed grape juice is diarrhea. Let’s discover why grapes cause diarrhea.
Sorbitol
Grapes contain a special type of carbohydrate called Sorbitol. These compounds are not fully digestible by our body. Sorbitol is classified as a sugar alcohol, which is responsible for the natural sweetness of grapes. Sorbitol shows a laxative effect. When you consume grapes in a larger quantity, you are eventually taking too much Sorbitol.
Sorbitol draws water into the colon, and so your stool becomes softer. However, when you are consuming too much grape or grape juice, you are filling your colon with too much water, and so it will cause loose stool or diarrhea in the worst case.
Processed grape juice
Packed or processed grape juice is more common nowadays. These are easily available in all supermarkets and are ready to serve. However, consuming these grape juices is not healthy and can cause various digestion issues, including diarrhea.
Most processed grape juice is not pure and contains preservatives, added flavors, and sugar to the last longer while enhancing taste. These additional ingredients may cause your juice to taste better but it in no way helps your gut. Added sugar with natural Sorbitol in grape juice makes it more laxative and could cause diarrhea or other digestive problems.
White grape juice and constipation
It is a misconception that eating white grape or white grape juice is more effective in constipation than other grapes such as purple, black, or red grapes. This is completely false and has no scientific evidence.
Apart from the color, all grapes have almost the same amount of Sorbitol, fiber, and water content, which is why grapes are helpful in constipation. Different colors in grapes are usually because of the production of the chemical anthocyanin. Green or white grapes do not produce anthocyanin; this causes less antioxidant value than red grapes.
Conclusion
Grapes are a good choice for making your constipation go away. It has water which makes bowel movement easier. Grapes have insoluble fiber, which adds benefits in passing stool easily. Apart from water and fiber content, grapes also contain Sorbitol. Our body does not have enzymes to digest it properly, and so it goes undigested in the large intestine.
Due to its hyperosmotic nature, Sorbitol draws water into the colon and results in softer stool. Although eating grapes or drinking grape juice does make your poop, too much consumption could also lead to digestive issues and diarrhea.
Try to consume grapes in smaller quantities and increase consumption slowly over time. In this way, you are helping your gut microbiota in adjusting themselves with the increased sorbitol and fiber content.
