Fiber questions - Heather?
#19057 - 08/29/03 06:32 PM
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I'm IBS-C and I've been taking Ultra Fibre supplements for the past couple of weeks. They've helped me go, but they don't help the bowel spasms/cramping/pain. The supplements are mainly psyllium and prune and I've read in past posts that psyllium can worsen bowel spasms. I live in Canada, so there aren't many fibre supplements to choose from, especially in terms of capsules (liquid forms make me nauseous). My main questions are: what ingredients should I be looking for in a fibre supplement? How do I know if it's soluble/insoluble? What are good alternatives to psyllium-based fibre? Thanks for the help!
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Hi - It's darn near impossible to find any soluble fiber supplements except psyllium in Canada, and I don't know why. The labels on all products you do find should show a breakdown of soluble/insoluble fiber - but that's in the US, and I don't know if Canada has similar labeling requirements.
See if you can find something called Fiberrific, or ask your pharmacist if she can order Benefiber. You can also check medichest.com.
I'm also about 1-2 months away from adding a soluble fiber supplement to the website because I'm just too annoyed by how difficult it is for people to find this product.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hi,
I'm in Canada as well and using a natural fiber supplement called "Herbal Fiberblend". I assumed it offered the 'good' fiber that we should have. Here are the ingredients.. please let me know (sorry for the long list, but this stuff costs me a lot of money, so if I need to stop using I would like to know):
Psyllium husk, black walnut hulls, hibiscus flowers, alfalfa leaves, licorice root, shavegrass, rose hips, cascara sagrada bark, oatstraw, pumpkin seed, Irish moss, passionflower leaves, marshmallow root, yucca root, violet leaves, mellein leaves, slippery elm bark, witch hazel leaves, cayenner (no sugar/artificial sweetners)
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Hi - my guess is this has some insoluble fiber mixed in, but without the actual fiber breakdown on the label I really don't know. If you've been using it without problem, then by all means continue. Psyllium is a great supplement, it just causes bloating for some people. If you're not one of those people (I'm not) then definitely use it. Same thing for a small amount of insoluble fiber in the supplement. Odds are it's extremely finely ground, which makes it very tolerable, so if you're doing okay with this, keep taking it. 
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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