Psyllium Husk

Does anyone know if it is safe for us to take?  I have been using it for about a week to kinda clean out the old pipes...going well...but then someone told me they were told to NEVER take it... Thanks,  Trish

Hello, Trish! I take Psyllium Hulls every day and have for over a year. My understanding is that it's the BEST fiber you can take especially since it is all natural. Nature's Sunshine makes a very good capsule form and has information on what it is if you'd like to read up on it. www.naturessunshine.com The only thing that I can think is that because it is such a good fiber it does expand.  I also have the powder form.  I once forgot to drink it after I mixed it, came back 20 minutes later and was stunned at the very thick substance that was now in the glass!!!!  I chalked that up to -- wow -- it really is good stuff!  I just drink a lot of water with it because if you don't, it could expand too much and cause you discomfort but that is the case for ANY fiber that is digested. So, I'm confused. Please let me know if you learn something I should know!  I hope this helps!

The only thing which cured my chronic post op constipation was eating a cup of Kashi Go Lean cereal every day.  I add a couple Tbsp of raisins and a couple Tbsp of nuts. (peanuts or almonds) and I eat it all as a meal replacement.  Every day.   I tried everything else and even used enemas and had to go in for a bowel study.  It was a two year challenge before hitting on my own recipe.

Just don't take your vitamins near the times you take any fiber...Fiber can block the absorption of many vit's especially B-12, D, calcium and iron...But it also soaks up fat and toxins too! (YAY!) Plenty of water washes these things out of your body...unfortunately if you take your vitamins near the time you take fiber (or coffee and tea too)...it can absorb them too and then you end up with deficiencies over time. But the great thing is that your intestines and colon can get build up from foods and bacteria (like any sink pipe) and vitamins can't be absorbed into the mucous lining anyway, not with all the build up and gunk ...so it's all about the timing! Otherwise this is supposedly a REALLY great fiber to clean yourself out really nicely...(not for people with irritated bowels though) That would be like rubbing sand on a sunburn...not pleasant, I'd imagine!!  I'm a little vitamin deficient so I look at all aspects of trying to absorb my vitamins...and this was one of the things I recently read about...Hope that helps! I too added a fiber supp and what a difference!!! I'll have to look for the psyllium fiber too.

Hi Trish,  I think it is fairly safe for us, but I find it a little harsh. I use an different kind, I find it's a bit more gentle. It's called Miracle Fiber. I buy it at Vitamin Shoppe. It's tasteless, flavorless and mixes well into a protein shake. It's made of Inulin, a natural vegetable fiber. It's like Benefiber, that you can get at any drug store. Works for me!  Hope this helps!  

I use ground flax seed and it works great, also smooth move tea, and sometimes kashi cereal. I make muffins with the flax seed, add raisens and nuts and they are really good. Sometimes I add the flax seed to my yogurt or hot cereal. If you go to ground flax seed .com it tells you all about it, it has alot of fiber and omega 3 which is good for the heart, good luck, Debra

There are better forms of fiber, Psylum husks are very harsh and long term use (from what i've heard...hear say but it seems to make sense) can cause damage.  Inulin (like in some forms of benefiber) works better, it's also a prebiotic (meaning it helps feed the good bacteria in your intestines) and long term may  help with calcium absorbtion. Scott