Long-term Outlook For The Natural Constipation Treatments Market

To treat constipation, many people seek out natural laxatives. Natural laxatives are agents derived from natural sources used for treating the condition of constipation. There are a number of such agents, some of which are supposed to be taken like an herb and others like foodstuff. Broadly they can be categorized into two types: the herbal agents and the fiber supplement agents. One question for both consumers and entrepreneurs is the nature of the laxative market.

For starters, statistics indicate that approximately 5-15% of all people suffer from constipation at one time or another. Given that the population fo the U.S. is around 300 million, that means anywhere from 15 million to 45 million people suffer from constipation. Most people don’t seek treatment, but a substantial number will spend close to $700 million on OTC laxatives. Therefore, one might estimate that the potential market is approximately half a billion dollars or more.

The first category of natural laxatives is the nutrient type which act by containing lots of insoluble or soluble dietary fiber. Flax seed is an example of a natural food that is made into flax seed laxative. Fiber is a sugar-like polymer molecule that’s differentiated by its ability to pass through the gut chemically unchanged. The human stomach and intestine doesn’t break down fiber nor does it extract nutrients from it. Many people have heard of bran muffins and bran cereals. Bran is the hard covering of grains that’s often discarded but can be kept as ingredients for its high fiber content.

To some degree patients can eat high fiber foods such as prunes and oranges, but it’s typical for a physician to prescribe an initial dose of 25-30 grams of fiber which is difficult to satisfy with regular foods but easy with such supplements.

The second class of natural laxatives encompasses all the herbal supplements. At present it’s dominated by three specific natural products: senna, aloe and cascara. Each comes from a plant that has been used by people living near or in the plant’s geographic habitat. In more recent years, federal regulations have put a stop to medications that specifically advertise aloe and cascara as stimulant laxatives due to safety fears.

Senna alone is sold specifically as a laxative at various outlets. It can be purchased in a number of different forms depending on the consumers’ preferences. The tea form is popular as it just needs to be brewed. After brewing the liquid will contain enough of the active sennoside compound to have an effect on bowel movements.

The big picture is that the market for natural laxatives remains big with potential for growth. The reason is that many people don’t respond to the first agent they try, and might switch once or twice to something else until they find a working product. In the future, diagnostics will eliminate trial-and-error but until then there will be opportunity for entrepreneurs to bring new products to market.

Find out more about laxative natural by directly consulting our site. Still have questions ? It might be worth it to check out our resources about the flax seed constipation industry.

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