psyllium?

I take psyllium on a daily basis and it does help with constipation. I find that it adds bulk to my stools. I take one heaping teaspoon of metamucil mixed in water every morning.
I started taking it in 2005 after I developed diverticulitis (infection in the large intestine) and it was recommended to take it daily. I have taken it every morning since then, except in the fall of 2007 I stopped taking it, lo and behold, I developed another infection (I am sure from straining... as my stools were not as soft and bulky) So now I ALWAYS take it as I am terrified that I could develop another infection and could end up in surgery.
So, what I have found is that I need to take a bulking agent to prevent straining which helps with my colon and rectocele. Psyllium works for me. It is not tasty, but it is tolerable considering the alternative (for me anyway).

~karrymae

I too have been taking psyllium daily for a long time. It is not only useful against constipation, it is claimed to lower cholesterol as effectively as statins. As with all bulking substances, it is vital to take extra fluid with it, or it can CAUSE constipation.

I add it to my porridge (oatmeal) every morning. I make this in a heat proof glass bowl in the microwave and put in so much water that even after cooking the mixture is very sloppy indeed - not thick like porridge at all. I then add lots of fruit, freshly ground flax seed, powdered ginger and cinnamon. I scatter 2 heaped dessert spoons of psyllium husk on last and stir as fast as I can. It is amazing how the mixture then thickens up. I don't think the husk has a taste, so that isn't a problem. When I'm away from home I mix the husk into the dry ingredients of muesli, add fluid and stir like mad.

The difficulty with psylliium, the moment it gets wet it turns into lumps of jelly. This is also its virtue. I recently had to supply 3 separate stool samples and in the process realised that due to the psyllium my stools are now bulky, soft, but also jellied (sorry!). I feel this must help them slip out of me more gently.

I did try adding psyllium to liquid to drink, but just ended up with a lump of jelly quite separate from the liquid, which wasn't appetising.

I don't know how you are buying this, but I have noticed that buying it from a firm selling supplements is much dearer than buying a packet from a wholefood shop alongside the brown rice.

I have found a wonderful cereal at Kroger which is made from psyllium and oat bran. It is called Smart Bran. It really helps with constipation.

Blessings, meribelle

pearlnecklace one heaping, teaspoon of psyllium every night before bed, with twelve or 16 onces of water or juice before bed. noting else in my stomach, maybe just a litle water, the flavored metamucil orange is nice. Its just slides out in the morning. also, I stand up like a man to urinate, in a large pitcher between my legs. also use sponges, use with salted water, use turkey baster to make sure its very wet, so it can expand right away, salted water again, this turkey baster is great. also when bowel movement, put finger up vagina to hold in bladder, or any thing else that is hanging. I have more answers,and will find out everything there to know in time. All answers are out there, all problems can be solved.

That's part of my breakfast Meribelle,

"Nature's Path Organic Smart Bran with Psyllium": ingredients: organic wheat bran, organic oat hull fibre, granulated organic sugar cane juice, organic psyllium seed husk, organic barley malt extract, organic oat bran, organic whole oat flour, sea salt. Note: it's produced in a facility that contains peanuts, tree nuts & soy.

As I do not drink milk, yes, I do pour water over it and add some fresh fruit.

Crunchy, yummi and yes indeed it works!

Oceanblue

I take Chia seeds instead of psyllium because there is protien and omegas in Chia and it is mostly insoluble fiber which is what really helps with BMs. Psyllium is mostly soluble fiber which can cause bloating and gas and does not have any nutritional properties...and yes it is the Chia pet Chia seeds haha! I get them pre-ground but you can digest the seed un-ground. I take 2 tablespoons in the morning and two at night with 8oz of orange juice. It really really helps me! :)

so filling. if you ever want an easy way to cut calories and feel very full go for chia. and the best part is it is full of nutrients

Thank you for the tips BSMrunner!

Always good to have some variety :)

Cheers!

Oceanblue

Got my Chia seeds in the bulk food section today, have a small bag to try. Ya!

Do you truly need 2 tablespoons in the am and two in the pm? For example, would 1 tsp in the am and one tsp in the pm work just as well?

Wish that it was not imported from so faraway.

Thank you,

Oceanblue

If you got whole chia seeds you only need 1-2 tablespoons a day. I take the preground chia seeds with liquid and drink it. Sometimes I take 1 tablespoon in the morning and one at night and sometimes I take up to 4 tablespoons (2 morning and 2 night). I think you just start and work with it until you find what is right for you. Just make sure you are staying super hydrated! Hope you find it goes well. My friend takes the whole seeds which you can put on/in food or just chew a mouthful (haha it may be a gew-chew haha)I don't know if you could drink whole seeds. You will have to post when you try it out! :)

Well all,

I did get whole chia seeds, but then I put them into a clean coffee grinder .... hahaha so now they are very much grounded :)

I know, I have to figure it out by myself, so far have consumed 2 tbsp stirred into juice. Jajajaja everyone should know to be well hydrated... drink lots of H20.

Have to wait until I get my next batch of chia seeds before I am able to report how chewable they are for me. Methinks I can do it!

Once again, wish that they were not imported from such a great distance. boooh!

Cheers!

Oceanblue

I think they must be better whole- I give them to my kids too- I put them in yogurt for them- or oatmeal- sometimes in a smoothie- which makes the smoothie creamy. I like them plain and dry- and I just chew them-
but hey - they are the best with a handful of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cranberry- some ginger and warm it up just a bit with a little water- delicious!

Are they like flax seeds? Do they get mucilage on the outside when they get wet?

If you don't chew them up do they come out whole like flax seeds in the stool?

Is it best to grind them fresh like flax, ie do the goodies oxidise quickly?

Louise

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/chia.html
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA365093/Chia-for-Health.html

Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don't deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.

Hi Kiki,

I was using phsyllium for some time and I took a lot!! I used double the dose because I could swallow a granade coated with fiber ad would be lucky to poop!! Yes you will go back to your regular bowel habits once you stop taking it but I did not have any effects from taking what for others may be too much. I never had diarreha from it..just nice soft stool with good regularity. I have started taking it again, and a stool softener when I think of it.

peace....sadie

Glad it worked out for you Kiki!!!!!

peace....sadie

You can buy the husks at the health food store, apple pectin capsules from the HFS worked much better for me. My medical intuitive says to alternate them but still the pectin capsules work great for me. Lots of water, ground flax, slippery elm, fruit and you know the rest I am sure.Good luck!! We are all in this venture together. Nothing happens when you stop taking any of these items from the health food store. They are all natural. They are not medical prescriptions

I wonder why Mr Kellogg never came up with a lentil based breakfast cereal? Lentil Loops perhaps?

L

Lentils are as old as old can be, but are highly nutritious, and we can always make our own.

Hmm, lentils with fruits and a touch of organic honey? oh yea!

I used to eat canned lentil soup all the time and loved it. Then I started eating for my blood type (O) and lentils were avoids, so I stopped. Now I guess I am just eating to avoid constipation, so I am going to try lentils again. How does one cook them? Mine always turn out bland.

I just want to thank whoever wrote about chia seeds. I have recently found out that I am intolerant to potatoes and sugar cane. My nutritionist always thought I was sensitive to dairy and wheat but now we know it was the potato derivative in most dairy and wheat. I have been changing my diet all around and one of the things the naturopath said was I should have a bowel movement at least two times a day. I have tried everything under the sun but with the rectocele it seems that only in the morning I can go and then as the day goes on I feel sluggish and can't go again until morning. I tried having two TBSP of chia seeds in plain goat yogurt for the last three days and I have had a bowel movement in the AM and PM all three days. I am so excited and had to share in case it helps someone else. I have tried many things before this and nothing worked. THANK YOU!!!!

Am happy for you mommynow, that the combination of 2 tbsp of chia seeds in plain goat yogurt is helping you. I love goat's yogurt, and yes, I have a daily intake of the famous chia seeds. Always good when you find something that works!

p.s. goat's milk is closest to mother's milk and is much easier to digest.

I guess we call women who help bring up other women's babies 'nannies' for a reason! ;-)

Good one Louise, have you tried goats milk yogurt?
Hmmmmmm Hmmmmmm Good!

My daughter drank goats milk as she was growing up, until she partially converted to cows milk, as that is all that her friends had to offer, plus fudge and such.

Nannie goats rule! Bleet!

I have tried goats' milk yoghurt, but it was a bit kinda goaty for me. I guess it is an acquired taste. We are so cow-oriented with our dairy foods.

Why?

Dear Louise,
Good question, as cow's milk is truly meant for baby cows, and perhaps the reason that so many consume dairy products, is due to the size of the cow and the availability of their milk, via factory farming.
Lactose intolerance may be one reason that I as well as others are not a part of the 'we' in our 'cow-oriented' culture.
As far as choosing goat's milk yogurt, (one may also choose sheep's milk) I select the plain and add my own fruits and honey of course, and that is what makes it so yummi!
I still believe, from what I have read, that goat's milk yogurt rules! Bleat! Bleat!

It could also be that it is more labour efficient to milk a cow than five sheep. It is not every society that is cow obsessed. Think horses, camels, yaks, goats, sheep, etc.

We have made an art form of breeding placidity into cattle, so they are pretty tractible once they are finally in the milking herd. The dairy is no place for cow hissy fits. Also, our dairy herds in the past have grazed unattended, and cows are less predator prone than smaller dairy animals when birthing. Also, cows are browsers. They can only graze long pastures and browse trees and bushes. They cannot eat close to the ground by nibbling, and they cannot bite off small shoots, because they wrap their tongue around their food, clamp down with their lower teeth on the upper pad, and pull. Sheep and goats eat much the same way, but with less tongue and they can get down low when feed is scarce. Even horses eat more with their teeth and lips. So dairycows need intensive feeding, whether from rich pastures or conserved fodder and grain.

These days cows are udders on legs, having bred for hundreds of years for high milk production. They are really milk machines, suitable for no other task, nothing like cows of past centuries.

You have made some good and interesting points Louise, thank you.

Can only add to what you have written by encouraging people to seek out milk, yogurt, cheeses and so on from pasture fed and happy animals.

I think our own Liv might have a good perspective on this. Jersey cows give a milk that is unsurpassed when turned into raw butter and yogurt. Goats do not have that same level of milk fat - can't speak about sheep, yaks, and camels, although I love goat and sheep cheese.

The human diet is an endlessly fascinating subject. Our dairy animals have been part of so many cultures for a very long time. The animal form of vitamin A (retinol) is tremendously important for eyes and ovaries and only found in raw dairy and raw organ meats like eyeballs, testicles, and liver. It is extremely sensitive to heat and easily destroyed by pasteurization.

I so envy you, Oceanblue, as we no longer have a source for raw milk. Next spring I may be able to find good goat milk, but it doesn't look promising for cow milk. People are buying "shares" in illegal raw milk here, but most of that is raised on hay. I want raw, pasture-fed milk. :(

A raw food, dairy-less diet seems so much cleaner at first glance, but there is a "human" quality to a diet that includes bread and beans and meat and dairy. It has been this way for a very long time.

But we are evolutionary beings and can make choices based on our own desires and judgments. How wonderful is free-will! And it can never be perfect. You can sweep the insects out of your path as you walk along, but bacteria are living and dying by the jillions inside us every moment. I cannot fathom eating meat - have been a vegetarian for 25 years - but I love my leather shoes and have draped sheepskins over my office chairs for winter.

I loved Louise's thoughts on too-much food. This is a real issue for many of us and it's the greatest of disciplinary practices to control how much we eat.

:) Christine

We also have a source for raw milk (goat and cow), cheese and butter. Organic, grass-fed and raw- it is just delicious. You would not believe the flavor....

and to plant a little seed....The world average for weaning is age 5. Many children in the world nurse for 8 years. In the western culture we encourage breastfeeding for a year- most women stop at a year. Breastmilk is antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial it is also anti-parasitic. It contains vital immune factors and nutrition for all humans - not just children. There are research studies now looking at breastmilk as a complimentary therapy in cancer cases.
Also, children fed a diet of only breastmilk for as long as possible have not only proven to have higher IQ but also have healthier blood results and less sicknesses.

So ya, goat, cow sheep- it's good- but the real good stuff is human breast milk.