Fruit-based, multicomponent foods good for people with functional constipation

Individuals with functional constipation (FC) may benefit from eating multicomponent and fruit-based foods, suggests a recent study.

A team of investigators searched the databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception through 20 August 2025 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the efficacy of different dietary interventions on FC.

The investigators used a Bayesian framework for network meta-analysis and surface under the cumulative ranking curve for cumulative ranking. They also performed network regression, sensitivity, and subgroup analyses to explore the sources of between-study heterogeneity.

Nineteen RCTs met the eligibility criteria, with 73.7 percent of the studies have low risk of bias.

Fruit-based foods (category 1) performed better than fibre supplements (moderate certainty), mineral water (low certainty), and placebo (moderate certainty) for defecation frequency. Multicomponent foods (category 1) were also better than fibre supplements (low certainty), medicine (moderate certainty), and placebo (low certainty).

In subgroup analyses, mineral water appeared to be efficacious in studies with longer intervention duration.

For stool consistency improvement, multicomponent foods (category 1) demonstrated superiority over medicine (high certainty), vegetables with whole grains (moderate certainty), fibre supplements (moderate certainty), and placebo (high certainty).

Fruit-based foods (category 1) were also better than vegetables with whole grains (moderate certainty) and placebo (high certainty). Furthermore, fruit-based foods ranked first in managing constipation severity, demonstrating superiority over fibre supplements (moderate certainty) and placebo (moderate certainty).

“Intervention duration may influence observed treatment effects,” the investigators said. “Future studies need to further integrate objective mechanistic biomarkers, in addition to standard clinical outcomes, to explore the potential mechanisms of dietary interventions for FC.”