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submitted 1 year ago by tree@lemmy.zip to c/usa@lemmy.ml

A new report details an ongoing shortage of laxatives, purportedly fueled by an aging population and gut health TikTok influencers.


It might be time for Americans to start eating more fiber. The U.S. is experiencing a shortage of laxative products, according to a report this week from the Wall Street Journal. One alleged reason for the short supply is extra demand from younger people—an interest apparently fueled by TikTok influencers touting the supposed benefits of laxatives for good gut health.

The shortage concerns polyethylene glycol 3350, the active ingredient in many laxative brands, such as MiraLAX. According to a report from the analytics company Pattern, cited by the Wall Street Journal, product searches for laxatives have more than tripled over the past year on Amazon, while fiber product companies have reported an significant increase in sales as of late. The outlet also interviewed both gastroenterologists and suppliers about the drug’s declining availability, who offered several long- and short-term explanations for the increased demand.

The average American is getting older, for instance, and older people are more likely to regularly suffer from gastrointestinal conditions like constipation. The pandemic also changed many people’s dietary habits for the worse, leading to an increase in eating unhealthy snacks and other foods more likely to cause constipation. And at least part of the demand might stem from TikTok fans tuning into #GutTok, filled with people offering folk remedies for any number of gastrointestinal health issues.

GutTok has been a trending topic on the social media platform for quite some time, with influencers claiming to know the best way to reduce bloating, improve mood, and even clear acne by improving your gut health. While some of the provided suggestions for a better gut are likely to be harmless at worst, such as drinking more water, other ideas can be actively harmful, and that can include an overreliance on laxatives.

Chronic laxative use can worsen a person’s constipation further, to the point where they need higher and higher doses to pass their stool. They can also cause long-term damage to the intestines and raise the risk of rectal prolapse, a condition where the rectum slips out of the anus. And acute side effects like dehydration or stomach cramps aren’t exactly a picnic.

Though the occasional laxative is fine, people’s gut health would be better served by sustained positive changes in their lifestyle and diet, such as eating more fruits and vegetables as well as getting plenty of exercise. Whether these changes are possible on a widescale level in the U.S. anytime soon is another question.

“It’s crazy to think that our collective bowel dysfunction problems have gotten so bad that we’re literally running out of stool softeners,” George Pavlou, President of the Gastroenterology Associates of New Jersey, told the WSJ.


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[-] OhTheMoose@lemm.ee 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Its really not as easy to acquire fiber-dense foods in the US as one might assume. That shit costs money, and is a low priority for people who don't have money.

Edit: my point of it being a low priority for most people who don't have money stands.

[-] eran_morad@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago

Wtf, no. Bananas, carrots, beans, lentils, oats, celery, lettuce, citrus… fucking so many dirt-cheap fiber-rich foods. Even bodegas sell some of these.

[-] electrogamerman@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

It's crazy how adding these foods into my diet helped me feel with more energy.

I used to not eat vegetables, not because they were expensive (which are not), i was just lazy at cooking them.

Fast forward to 4 weeks ago, I started to add some vegetables here and there, not only my poops slips out of me like butter, I feel with more energy during the day.

[-] who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Those are not yummy in my tummy and require effort though. Remove like all the fruit and vegetables besides potatoes and deep fry it ok.

[-] socsa@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

MOMMMMM WHY ARE MY TENDIES GREEN AND BITTER?

[-] Uncaged_Jay@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

This is exactly the problem

[-] who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Did i not make it sarcastic enough? I forget how many autistic people are on this site.

[-] alp 3 points 1 year ago

There is alot of overlap between really dumb people and sarcastic comments on the internet so it can be hard to tell sometimes

[-] Uncaged_Jay@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

You should add a /s to sarcastic comments. Most people can't tell if you're being sarcastic

[-] electrogamerman@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Forgot to add it to your comment

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 year ago

bananas aren't tasty, and require effort?!?!

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

(pst, try frying the beans)

[-] Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

And then try re-frying the beans

[-] protist@mander.xyz 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A giant bag of carrots costs $2. Maybe try a giant bag of beans for $2, or some fucking potatoes. People who eat shit to a large degree are choosing to eat shit, not forced to due to poverty. People load up on sodas, sugary cereals, juices, chips, processed cheese products, cookies, you name it, and those things are largely more expensive than healthier alternatives

[-] Alto@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Peas sure, but $2 ain't even going to get you a small bag of carrots where I'm at, and I'm in a very LCOL area

[-] protist@mander.xyz 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

2 lbs of carrots are $1.64 here in Austin, TX

A lb of dried red beans is $2.22 or you can get a can of them ready to eat for $1.27

When you say LCOL, are you referring to somewhere rural or a small town? Food and gas almost always costs more those places than in metro areas

[-] Alto@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Suburban-rural area, ~45min from a major city. Carrots are just weirdly expensive here I guess, because pretty much everything else along those lines are stupid cheap.

[-] zettajon@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Look to see if there's an Aldi near you

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Weird. What about potatoes and sweet potatoes? You can make really tasty baked potatoes in ~6 min with a microwave, or roast them in the oven for ~40 min.

Beans should be really cheap pretty much everywhere, just soak overnight and then cook a big batch at a time. I used to eat salads for lunch at work, which was just spinach, cooked beans, dried fruit, and a healthy dressing. I'd usually add some kind of meat as well (e.g. Costco rotisserie chicken, or roasted port tenderloin), but that's not necessary.

I kept the beans in the office fridge and everything else at my desk, and picked up a bag of spinach on the way to work. If you don't have a desk or fridge, you could just pack it to work each day, just don't put the dressing on until you eat it so things don't get soggy.

[-] Alto@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

I eat a frankly unhealthy amount of sweet potatoes. They're basically candy lol

IDK it that's possible, sweet potatoes are really good for you. :)

[-] socsa@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I am in the number one or two HCOL area in the US and a bag of carrots at Aldi is like $0.79. At the local bulk market, it's like $20 for a 40lb box of big dick carrots with greens and shit still attached.

Yeah, I've never been anywhere that carrots and potatoes aren't one of the cheapest cost to calorie foods.

You can eat carrots raw, and potatoes are easy to cook in a microwave. In fact, I used to have "baked" potatoes for lunch at work and just kept some washed potatoes and butter at my desk. Prep is:

  1. Stab with fork
  2. Microwave for 6 minutes
  3. Cut open and add butter, salt, and pepper

You can get fancy with other toppings, but that alone is a good meal. You can do the same with sweet potatoes, and it's fantastic with cinnamon instead of salt+pepper.

[-] socsa@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

This is complete nonsense. Eat vegetables with every meal and you will never have any issues. Vegetables are cheap and abundant year round in the US.

And incredibly easy to grow, even in a planter hanging from a window sill. We planted lettuce a few years ago and we keep getting it without any actual work.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Sounds pretty shitty, I don't understand how people have trouble pooping though: Just drink lots of water and eat stuff with fiber.

[-] superflippy@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

Some medications can make you constipated. Opioids, for instance.

[-] neuropean@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

How many people do you think are on opioids at any given time? Enough to cause a laxative shortage?

[-] Fondots@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Well we do have a whole opioid addiction crisis going on.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

We have an even bigger obesity/terrible diet crisis going on too though.

[-] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Three million US citizens and 16 million individuals worldwide have had or currently suffer from opioid use disorder (OUD).

-StatPearls Publishing via The National Library of Medicine

You know what, this map is a much better source for this (the CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/rxrate-maps/index.html#:~:text=The%20overall%20national%20opioid%20dispensing%20rate%20declined%20from%202012%20to,than%20142%20million%20opioid%20prescriptions).

[-] library_napper@monyet.cc 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Stop eating meat and stick to whole foods. This is a manufactured problem

Yup, lots of greens and whole grains and you should be as regular as a clock.

[-] kmkz_ninja@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Big BM invented meat so they could sell more laxatives.

[-] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 year ago

Have you seen what they eat on tiktok? Cheese covered burgers, deep fried blocks of cheese, Velveeta on everything.

[-] baremetal@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago

Now I understand the MAGA.

[-] Catsrules@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

Not sure what the issue is, when we have a taco bell on everyone street corner.

[-] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 year ago

big bell is making everyone constipated to drive sales

[-] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

It goes deeper than Bell. Yum! hides in the shadows pulling the strings.

[-] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Yes diet plays a huge part. But the opioid epidemic is also driving this.

[-] BeardedBlaze@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

The usage tripled in the past year. Opioid epidemic has been around quite longer.

[-] fubo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Psyllium? I hardly knew 'em!

[-] alp 1 points 1 year ago

Hahaha my thought exactly

[-] CuttingBoard@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 year ago

Eat a couple bowls of raisin bran.

[-] Zardoz@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Shredded wheat or raisin bran for cereal, bit of yogurt, some fruit, plenty of water. I eat like shit aside from this and I rarely have bowel issues.

[-] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

We're good on coffee, though.

[-] vivavideri@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Well, shit.

this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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United States | News & Politics

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