California Prunes has a beautiful site.

I just saw that WebMD says:

Contact your physician before making dried plums a regular part of your diet.

And wondered…

• Does anyone take responsibility anymore?
• This assumes that physicians have been schooled in the chemistry of prunes and how that chemistry interacts with human biology. Maybe they have.
• This lessens a person’s sense of agency, that they can make this decision on their own. It has us relying more on “experts”. In doing so, it funnels people into the medical establishment’s $ merry-go-round. Well, what should I expect with a site that has “MD” as part of its name.

For prunes! This is getting out of hand.

The chemical in prunes that gives them a laxative effect is likely sorbitol, a sugar alcohol. Prunes aren’t the only food that contain sorbitol. Stone fruits in general contain it, and drying them concentrates it. So dried apricots, peaches, and cherries are also high in sorbitol.

As are, probably, my stewed apricots (check with your doctor before eating them):