From the ancient Egyptians to modern hippies doing the "Master-Cleanse" diet, salt water has been used as a laxative for thousands of years. But I can't seem to find any scientific information as to *why* it works.
The Master-Cleanse diet asserts (along with all sorts of other dubious ramblings about "toxins") that sea salt water is a much more effective laxative than iodized salt water. But I can't imagine why this would be the case...
2006-12-27 08:54:24 · 2 answers · asked by jsss 1 in Health ➔ Diet & Fitness
Osmosis. You put salt within the bowel lumen and it "calls" water, which freely passes through the bowel cell membranes. That creates osmotic watery diarrhea. It's how Fleet Phospho soda and magnesia milk work. Plus, it's also why some sweeteners (polyalcholic such as maltitol) can give one the runs.
2006-12-27 09:05:01 · answer #1 · answered by Ro' 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can't either. The salt should remove water from your system, which would cause the opposite effect as a laxative.
2006-12-27 09:03:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋