Healio Gastroenterology: Kiwi fruit effective, well tolerated in treating chronic constipation

From a randomized (Virtual) ACG 2020 study from Samuel W. Chey and colleagues (University of Michigan), n=79 adults:

• “All three treatments improved complete spontaneous bowel movement (P .003). Prunes demonstrated the largest magnitude of response at 67% vs. 64% for psyllium vs. 45% for Kiwi fruit”
• “The highest proportion of participants – 68% – reported treatment satisfaction with kiwifruit while similar proportions of those receiving prunes and psyllium – 48% – reported satisfaction”
• “The kiwi group had the lowest proportion of participants reporting treatment dissatisfaction at 7%….Participants receiving prunes and psyllium were more likely to report abdominal pain and bloating than those receiving kiwi”