A hospital medic has shared a science-backed constipation cure in a mega-viral post—claiming clinicians describe the two-ingredient drink as ‘the ultimate poop hack’.
And social media users who have followed her advice and tried the simple-to-prepare concoction confirm it delivers on its promise.
One, who claimed to be 16 weeks pregnant and ‘in need of something to get things moving’ said: ‘I didn’t even finish drinking it and felt the need to go!’
Another who downed the concoction claimed: ‘It’s still working one week later.’
The recipe, for ‘hot buttered prune juice’, was shared by nurse Brooke Saporito, who is based in Utah.
In the Instagram clip, which has been viewed an astonishing 27million times, Ms Saporito is seen in scrubs, mixing 4oz cup of prune juice and four single serving pots of butter.
She places the mixture into a microwave to warm—a step that is ‘critical to prevent the butter from clumping’—before giving it a final stir.
Ms Saporito claims the drink is her go to cure when a patient is so constipated that they have not had a bowel movement for 10 days.
Hot buttered prune juice is the ultimate constipation cure, according to a hospital medic described it as the ‘ultimate poop hack’
In the caption, she writes: ‘ULTIMATE poop hack—Hot Buttered Prune Juice—the best mocktail I have!!!
‘Can’t discharge a patient without a poo?? All the miralax and sennacot in the world can’t do ya like some prune and butter!
‘I also think we all do the poop dance, it’s a skill to make someone poop after 10 days of failed attempts— no one is more excited for your BM than your nurse.’
She adds some key advice: ‘KEEP THE BATHROOM CLOSE. Please heat it up… butter will be clumpy if you don’t lol. Yes I’ve tried it, yes it works.
‘I have never seen someone be able to hold it in after this one—never a failed attempt.’
Commenting on the post, other healthcare professionals say it’s a mixture they too swear by.
One emergency response nurse said: ‘I have former patients thanking me in the grocery store for the remedy.’
Another wrote: ‘We did this in the 90s in the hospital. It works!’
Meanwhile, viewers comically dubbed the concoction: ‘Crappucino’.
Prune juice is high in fibre—a natural material in some plants that help bulk out stools, making them softer and easier to pass.
It’s also rich in a natural fruit sugar called sorbitol which draws water into the gut.
Heating prune juice is believed to make more readily absorbed by the body, making it a more effective constipation aid.
Warm liquid in general has also been shown to help stimulate bowel movements in studies.
How the addition of butter to the drink helps alleviate constipation is less clear.
Some medics theorise that the ingestion of the butter fat prompts the body to produce bile in order to digest it.
This bile acts as trigger to the digestive system to resume its normal movement, culminating in a bowel movement.
Constipation—a significant reduction in the number, or an increased difficulty carrying out, bowel movements—affects one in seven adults.
While the frequency of bowel movements varies per individual, the NHS states not having at least three in a week is a sign of constipation.
Stools may be unusually large or small, as well as dry hard or lumpy.
While constipation is normally a mild ailment, revolved by changes to diet and exercise levels, people should talk to their GP or pharmacist if it continues.
Those who also suffer bloating, notice blood after going to the toilet, have lost weight without trying or have constant fatigue should book an appointment with their doctor as it could be signs of something more serious.
