Fiber is all about colon health and digestion, two incredibly important but often overlooked elements to good health and wellness. The colon is where digested food collects as waste matter after all the nutrients have been extracted. Fiber plays the important role of house cleaner, helping you maintain a healthy colon free of excess waste that can sit for days.
Today there are numerous fiber supplements available, and fiber is being added to a growing number of processed foods. Fiber-rich foods also work to absorb the harmful toxins that can build up in the digestive tract and lead to poor health. Not only that, but they help eliminate those toxins with each bowel movement. This prevents waste and contaminants from reentering the bloodstream and settling in the body’s cells and tissues.
When Psyllium absorbs water it becomes like a sponge, this sponge now has the ability to absorb toxic substances off the wall of your colon. This Psyllium sponge is now passed out of your body and it takes the toxic material with it. Therefore the bulking effect of Psyllium makes Psyllium an excellent cleanser for your colon.
Psyllium - This fiber is cultivated from the psyllium husk and psyllium seed of the Plantago ovata, a shrub found mainly in India. It provides bulk to your stools and is often used to treat constipation. You can find psyllium sold as a powder, liquid, wafers or pills. It's used in Metamucil as well as other brand names. Psyllium's soluble fiber, housed in the husks, may also reduce your cholesterol, keep blood sugar levels steady and has also been used to ease symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and hemorrhoids. Some studies have shown that psyllium reduces hunger.
Psyllium fiber is recognized by the FDA to treat occasional constipation and help lower cholesterol. Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 7 grams of soluble fiber per day from psyllium husk may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol. One adult dose of Metamucil has at least 2.1 grams of this soluble fiber. Use as directed.
Typically, psyllium comes in either powder form or whole husk form, though it can also be ingested as processed tablets or wafers. The powder and the whole husk are both meant as mix-ins for water or juice. Because psyllium husk is not very palatable, juice may mask the unpleasant taste. Some stores sell flavoured psyllium husk powders, too.