What is Psyllium Husk Fiber?

5 Health Benefits Of Psyllium Husk

 Psyllium husk is a type of soluble fiber, meaning that as it passes through your small intestines, it absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance. It is a gentle laxative agent that helps with constipation and diarrhea.

 With our hectic lives, adding proper portions of soluble and insoluble fibers to our diets is important. Even then, with a balanced diet of greens and fruits, you’re still not consuming enough fiber. As an adult female, an individual needs about 25 grams of fiber, while a healthy adult male requires 38 grams of fiber for their digestion to function smoothly and maintain a healthy gut. 

 That’s when fiber supplements like Gut Glow and others come into play. They provide you with a combination of soluble and insoluble fibers and help meet your daily fiber requirements.

 The Top 5 Benefits of Psyllium Husk Are:

1. Psyllium Husk Promotes Constipation Relief. Psyllium husk is a bulking fiber that binds to digested food, giving it a moist, viscous texture that allows it to pass through your body smoothly. However, you know you can get constipated?
   Constipation is not only caused by less water-absorbing fiber but also due dehydration. The mechanism of how dehydration can cause constipation is twofold:

a)    When your body is dehydrated your body doesn’t have enough water available to absorb in the stool

b)    Without sufficient water, even a potent fiber like psyllium husk cannot do its job effectively as it should and create a gel-like form to pass the stool smoothly through your body.

Based on a study conducted in 2016 on how to recognize fiber supplements and provide an effective fiber therapy, it was mentioned that only 5% of average Americans eat the required amount of fiber and that while fiber supplements can be beneficial, they should be carefully selected. 

Some of the factors that can affect Psyllium Husk’s ability to help you with your needs are as follows:

1. Particle size. The particle size of the fiber plays a very important role in its ability to form the gel-like sticky substance in your intestines that gives your stool the moist and bulking effect to help it pass through your system smoothly. It has been noticed that the coarser the particle size the better absorption of water. However, the particles do not have to be too big as they will take time to absorb water and might not work as effectively.

2. Resistance to fermentation:

To relieve constipation, fiber should not ferment in your gut. If it does, it loses its water-absorbing properties. Some fibers, while non-fermentable, do not have the necessary bulking effects. 

3. Broad Suitability:
   
   When consuming fiber-rich dietary supplements, it is necessary to note that people of varying ages and health criteria can consume these supplements. Psyllium husk, in particular, has not shown any side effects in the majority of people. However, it is always recommended that you ask your healthcare practitioner for a quick review of the product before consuming it.

 In the Gut Glow formula, we meticulously added psyllium husk of a particle size of 150-450 microns. Any particle size below 150 microns is too small to be able to absorb water and form the required gel-like substance and any particle size that is over 450 microns is too big to absorb water quickly during the digestion process.

2. Psyllium Husk Promotes Diarrhea Relief

The main reason why you have diarrhea is because your body is processing too quickly leading to loose, watery stool. While psyllium husk is widely known for its constipation relief properties, it also works a great deal as an anti-diarrheic ingredient, where its water-absorbing elements help you absorb water from the loose stools and bulking it. This also slows the passage of stools through the intestine thus allowing your body more time to absorb the nutrients and fluids. 

Another reason why we used Psyllium Husk in Gut Glow specifically is due to the safe nature of this fiber. It has a very adaptable nature and works effortlessly with your body to fill the gap of the necessary fiber consumed through food without causing sudden shifts in your digestive process which makes it safer to consume even for individuals suffering through long-term diarrhea or IBS symptoms. Clinical studies back this fiber up with several results indicating that Psyllium Husk can provide both constipation and diarrhea relief. 

3. Prebiotic Effect

Another benefit of using Psyllium Husk-based supplement is it also acts as a prebiotic. Prebiotic is anything that feeds the good bacteria in your gut microbiome. Your gut bacteria play a vital role in producing enzymes that break down complex carbohydrates that your body cannot absorb on its own. They also produce essential vitamins like vitamin K, regulate the immune system fight against pathogenic bacteria, and keep your gut healthy. 

Additional Benefits - We All Love Extra Benefits, Don’t We?

Psyllium husk doesn’t only help your gut. It can help you with your heart health, manage weight, potentially help with diabetes, and more. Here’s how:

4. Psyllium Husk Promotes Satiety:

When you consume a fiber like psyllium husk, it bulks your food in the digestive tract and slows down digestion. This not only helps you in better absorption of nutrients and fluids but also makes you feel full for a longer time. By curbing hunger, it reduces the urge to snack every hour - something we’ve all been guilty of (and it’s completely okay to snack from time to time)! This allows you to do portion control and promotes healthy eating habits - a key factor for weight management. 

5. Psyllium Husk Promotes Blood Sugar Level Management

In addition to helping with satiety, it also helps in managing the blood sugar levels. When psyllium husk forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract, it slows down the digestion of carbohydrates which allows for a gradual release of glucose in the bloodstream. This helps in preventing the blood sugar spike and the eventual sugar crash. This makes psyllium husk particularly beneficial for people suffering from diabetes or those at risk of developing it. 

Final Thoughts?

Fiber can help you to achieve smooth digestion and avoid chronic constipation, diarrhea, or bloating and also help in maintaining your overall health. However, about 95% of individuals do not meet the required fiber amount in their daily diet. In situations as such one can turn to fiber supplements. However, finding the right supplement is the key, as based on several factors like the size of psyllium husk fiber, the ability to resist fermentation, etc, can determine how effective the fiber supplement is. In Gut Glow, we have done our due diligence, so you don’t have to. All the selected fiber sources, for example, psyllium husk, have been selected keeping these factors in mind. That’s why it is important to ensure you’re picking the right fiber supplement to aid you in meeting your daily fiber requirements.