Psyllium

[DustyKat]

As you likely know both of my children use psyllium as a faecal bulking agent and they have had very good results with it.

I came across this old post from David, which was in response to my saying some time back that Sarah had stopped using psyllium, hence the last sentence. The information contained within it is both interesting and very worthwhile.

*** Potentially very important! ***

In doing some research on short-chain fatty acids, I found that psyllium can significantly increase the amount of butyrate produced by colonic bacteria. Butyrate is likely the most important short-chain fatty acid and has been implicated in various aspects of IBD.

My point here is, psyllium may be MUCH more than just a bulking agent. It can help maintain or possibly induce remission, improve blood flow in the colon, increase electrolyte and fluid uptake, reduce chances of colon cancer, and more. Ceasing its use might not be the best idea if you do well with it.

And this in his following post…

In addition, there seems to be a difference between psyllium HUSK and psyllium SEED (Plantago ovata seeds = Psyllium seed). This study found that the SEED is as good as mesalamine for maintaining remission in UC patients.

Dusty.

 

[lbligh]

I'd love a link to that study about psyllium seed.

 

[DustyKat]

@lbligh, the study link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10022641

Dusty.