Prune Juice Diet

The prune juice diet is deficient in essential proteins and fats that our bodies need to prevent disease and absorb nutrients from other. While consuming prunes may temporarily help to relieve constipation and promote healthy bowl movements, a diet consisting entirely of prune juice is not recommended, according to Rachel Harris, R.D., of the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY. Although a liquid diet of any kind may cause a person to quickly lose water weight, the pounds will only return once he or she reintroduces solid foods.

Health Benefits of Prunes

Prunes and prune juices are nutritious foods, abundant in the antioxidant beta carotene, which helps remove harmful free radicals from the body. Prunes have extremely high levels of the mineral potassium, which helps to control blood pressure for some people. Prunes are well known for their generous insoluble fiber content, which helps to regulate the body's digestive tract when eaten consistently.

But you don't need to include large amounts of prunes or prune juice in your diet to reap their health benefits. In fact, just the opposite is recommended for a person with an already healthy digestive tract, since drinking too much prune juice may result in an extremely uncomfortable laxative effect for the person. You need only one serving of prunes daily (about five prunes or one 8-ounce glass of 100 percent prune juice), as recommended by Prevention Magazine's book New Foods For Healing, 1998.

Prunes as a Fat Substitute

What many people may not know is that prunes may be used in place of fats in some recipes. By using prunes to replace butter, margarine or oil in your baked goods, you can reduce the final product's overall fat content by approximately 90 percent. To create your own prune substitute, combine 20 prunes with 6 tablespoons of water and puree this. When baking, if the recipe calls for for 3 tablespoons of oil, just replace this amount with 3 tablespoons of the prune substitute.

When Taking Your Prunes or Juice ...

After reading this, if you still choose to go ahead with an all-prune and or all-prune juice diet, there are several warnings to consider. Prunes contain high amounts of a sugar called sorbitol, which tends to quickly absorb water when ingested. Because of this it is important to drink extra water over the course of your prune juice diet. Prunes' high fiber content may cause you to feel gassy and visit the bathroom often. A diet containing only one kind of food or food group puts you at risk for deficiencies in protein, calcium and other essential nutrients. It is best to check with your doctor before embarking on this diet.