BRAND’S® InnerShine® Prune Essence

The first time I saw this new product by Brands was at the TNP New Face audition. They set up a stand besides the queuing area, and gave all contestants a voucher to buy it.

At that time, it looked really good. I was attracted to the womanly purple packaging, and almost bought it. Luckily I did not.

This second time, I got a bottle free from a copy of Cleo's August issue. My first thought was, if something is really so good, it does not have be given away free this way. LOL. Cos I was linking this giveaway to the booth at TNP New Face, and I reckoned that this must be leftovers from the other time! (This is purely a personal conjecture and impression formed from 2 separate events.)

The instructions says this can be taken at any time of the day you like, and either at room temperature or refrigerated. I left mine to chill, as I recall memories of Brands Chicken Essence.

My bottle of Brands InnerShine Prune Essence (sorry about the darkness).

Okay, I hate Brands Chicken Essence. Not that it is no good. I do not like the taste, which is somewhere between salty and bitter. eeeks. There are people who can take weird tastes like cod liver oil and Brands, and one of them is my younger brother. I salute him for that.

I am so afraid of the prune essence tasting like chicken essence. And only agreed to give it a try after I looked at the ingredients. I forgot to note it down before throwing the box, but I remember there are only about 3-4 ingredients. And the first one states "prune juice".

If the primary ingredient is pure prune juice, then it has got to taste like the Sunsweet Prunes, which I love. So it is alright.

So I tried it. Yes, it tastes alright. Exactly like Sunsweets.

Sunsweet Pitted Prunes, credits to Sunsweet website.

But what set me thinking was, the description says that this is high fibre and to help busy working women etc, etc. Yet seriously, do we really need this thing?

In my opinion, NO. A big, big NO. This is just another gimmick to make people spend money. I mean, if you are leading an okay lifestyle, with fruits (no need vege) everyday, you should be able to visit the toilet once/twice a day. Which is, according to Mind Your Body, the absolutely normal, and healthy frequency for big business. If there is no pain while doing business, your fibre intake is fine.

I even recall reading in the primary school Health Education textbook that we only need a bit of fibre each day. Not a lot. So a slice of watermelon, papaya, during each meal should be enough. In fact, fibre should not be taken in excess.

If you think Brands Prune Essence is going to help your constipation, then I will say, YES, BUT it is a waste of your hard-earned money. Talking about inducing diarrhoea, honestly, it did not even put me on a run. Sunsweet prunes does gives me the runs.

Eating prunes will get you to egest solid waste. Anybody who has eaten dried prunes by Sunsweet or any other brands before, will know that. Especially if you eat prune and drink water immediately. This is a recipe for diarrhoea (as my mother told me). I have tried and proven it. So if you are having constipation, you can try this method.

Instead of Brands, seriously, the normal Sunsweet will do. They have new antioxidant juices as well. (refer to website: here).

This world is becoming stranger to me. All the funny products emerging. The onus is us, consumers, to discern for ourselves.