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Forget prune juice — a Trader Joe’s sweet treat is the new unexpected laxative shoppers are learning about the hard way.
The beloved grocery store’s new sugar-free Sweet and Sour Gummy Worms contain 14 grams of fiber per eight pieces — a single serving. To put that into perspective, that amount is roughly half of the recommended daily value, so you could imagine the effect it’s having on people.
The worst part is that the gummy worms, which were released earlier this month, are not marketed as a fiber product. Those that are, like MiraFiber gummies, have only 8g of fiber per 4 pieces, and Metamucil has 5g of fiber per serving of 3 gummies.
It’s at the point where cashiers are reportedly warning shoppers at checkout about the product in case they want to put it right back on the shelf where they found it.
“Straight up don’t give these to your kids, but if you’re a PMDD girlie and your tummy is in shambles, maybe this could help,” one shopper warned on Threads.
Another joked that if anything, the grocery store is trying to keep its shoppers’ guts healthy and happy: “Trader Joe’s is like ‘y’all gonna s–t and not have colon cancer and it’s gonna taste good.’”
“Dear redditors, I write to you now a warning while sitting atop this porcelain throne, these are a fantastic little treat, but they will cause you a level of colonic despair which you have not yet experienced if you consume each of those little buggers all at once,” a user overshared.
“I ate the whole bag high not realizing how much fiber was in these. I have been pooping for three days now!” someone else said on Reddit.
“I would not recommend casually bringing these to the movies because it would be very easy to mindlessly eat the whole bag and accidentally consume enough fiber for the next 2.5 business days,” an Instagram review read.
“I’ve been warning customers about this if they buy one. Cos some people might give them to their kids as a snack, eat the whole bag, then shit their pants at school from all that fibre. A few people thanked me for pointing that out and put it back/no longer wanted it,” an apparent Trader Joe’s employee said.
“I love these! Thankfully, the cashier who helped me out was very kind to let me know about the intense fiber content,” another person added.
The question on most people’s minds is, why do these gummies have such a high fiber content?
The sweet treat contains erythritol, which can act as a laxative because “your stomach can’t absorb sugar alcohols, which can cause them to linger in your intestines and ferment,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
And dextrin, also in its ingredient list, can serve as a prebiotic.
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