It enhances the expulsion of food residues from the body. Strong laxatives are called purgative or cathartic.
Laxatives work in the large bowel, expelling whatever is in the bowel along with water. Food is digested and absorbed in the stomach and small intestine, far before the laxative takes action.
There are five different types of laxatives:
*Bulk forming laxatives
*Osmotic laxatives
*Lubricant laxatives
*Stimulant laxatives
*Emollients laxatives
One of the major component do food which has conclusively been shown to be laxative is dietary fiber.
Fiber is a laxative in bulk forming laxatives. Bulk forming laxatives work by absorbing liquid in the intestines to help form a bulky stool that is soft enough to pass without effort.
Prunes are famously laxative, possibly due to their content of a complexed magnesium salt, and rhubarb contain rheins which are anthraquinones like senna and cascara.
Berries are also wonderful laxative foods. Cherries are very high in iron, but they are laxative to the body. Apricots also are a wonderful laxative foods.
What is laxative?
