Psyllium seed vs psyllium husk: finally a good answer

Eph said...
XtraOrd - did you switch from husk to seed? Or, did you start with seed?

I started with seed.

Hi... I have been trying the psyllium seed powder for my husband for about a week now. He has been in a constant flare for years too and hasn't noticed any difference yet. I'm not sure if we're mixing the powder correctly... he's downing it with water. We tried mixing it with apple sauce and it thickens right away. Any thought or suggestions on how to mix it to avoid it thickening before he can take it?

Thanks so much.

bHealthy said...
Hi... I have been trying the psyllium seed powder for my husband for about a week now. He has been in a constant flare for years too and hasn't noticed any difference yet. I'm not sure if we're mixing the powder correctly... he's downing it with water. We tried mixing it with apple sauce and it thickens right away. Any thought or suggestions on how to mix it to avoid it thickening before he can take it?

Thanks so much.

The thickening is kind of inevitable; that's what psyllium seed does. Soluble fibers absorb water, thicken, expand and turn gelatinous. You could always just add more water, but the thickening is actually what you want. It thickens the stool in your colon and gives you something resembling a normal movement.

How much is your husband taking a day? Two tablespoons a day seems to be where most start finding real impact (both for me and the HW member who originally turned me onto this idea). Anything under 2 tbsp didn't seem to make a difference.

Thank you so much for the replies.  Hubby had stopped taking this for a few days because he got sick of trying to down the powder with water.  We started it again with applesauce, so let's see...  I'm really hopeful. 

We were doing 2 teaspoons and haven't seen any improvement, so we'll increase that to 2 tablespoons starting tomorrow.  Hopefully that does the trick.  I'm guessing that's 2 heaping tablespoons, right?

Right now we only have VSL#3 in capsules, so we're breaking open 4 and mixing it into the applesauce too.  Hubby has an appointment with the GI tomorrow (who is going to probably try to convince him to get his next remicade infusion - he started that about 5 months ago and it hasn't helped a bit... so we're trying to get him off of it now.)  He's going to ask the GI for a prescription for VSL#3 DS, so we can mix it with the psyllium seed powder and applesauce.

Thanks!

It seems like the main barrier to using psllium seed is the taste. I realize it is not as economical but it seems like psyllium seed in capsule form would be a lot easier to deal with. I am a longtime psyllium advocate, but I am anxious to try the psllium seed form.

Just thought I would add myself to this thread, finally got the PS powder started 1/2 teaspoon on friday, will up dose to two tablespoons if and when I can survive any gas as I up the dose.  Funny I knew about this years and years ago, but could not find PS powder locally, I think this was before Amazon even existed, but I digress. Anyhow been in the same flare since 1986.  If I see any kind of dramatic improvement I will start a new thread.

Old Mike

It would seem that the ground seed would be more prone to spoilage than the ground husk. Does anyone know or does anyone grind their own whole seeds?

I have second electric coffee grinder for spices that I could use.

Mine has lasted nearly a month without a single visible change. I have a feeling it could go for much longer. Don't even see and expiration date on the package.

Somebody said...


Aims: To isolate pathogenic bacteria from inflamed mucosa of patients with UC, to examine whether the bacteria have a toxin to Vero cells, and to determine whether the toxin induces UC-like lesions in animals.

Mice were given enemas containing organic acid at the mean concentration in the supernatants of cytotoxic strains to ascertain whether colonic lesions appear in UC.


Conclusions: Butyric acid in culture supernatants from cultures of F varium caused UC-like lesions in mice. This study indicates that F varium may be one of the elusive pathogenic factors in UC.

CGK,

I think the problem is Butyric acid in culture supernatants of F, Varium not butyric acid is causing the ulcers. Your sited passage might be a misprint as it doesn't jib with the rest of the abstract. The second paragraph I posted seems to support that. The purpose of the experiment was to induce UC with bacteria which they did.

AZYooper,

That's possible, but is does say "either, or" pretty clearly.

It appears that butyric acid is necessary for then normal functioning of the colon, yet it seems that excessive amounts can be detrimental. Fusobacterium Varium apparently produces excessive amounts of the stinky stuff.

There abstract is confusing. Maybe it was translated from Japanese?

I'm too lazy to sign up and read the complete article. It is free if you do.

Hi everyone, after following this post I have also started pysilium seed powder. I have been using it for two weeks now and it definitely helps to bulk up the stool. I take it with my homemade yogurt.

With that said, I'm also on 20mg prednisone again because I have exhausted absolutely all the traditional medications out there. In addition, I just started helminith therapy (worm therapy) so I am hoping something kicks in!!!

Like many others have posted, I also have severe crohn's colitis and have been in a constant flare for 6 years straight, nonstop urgent D.

Thinking of introducing vsl3 but in the past it went right through me.

Thanks for the psysillim seed suggestion as it certainly has helped me a bit.

BabeintheWoods said...
This research study indicates that plantago (psyllium seed) is effective for UC. You can find a study to prove anything you want. That is why I go by how I feel and pseed seems more effective for me than the husks. It also seems more effective to mix it with VSL3DS and apple sauce.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10022641
CONCLUSIONS: Plantago ovata seeds (dietary fiber) might be as effective as mesalamine to maintain remission in ulcerative colitis.

This is interesting. I never considered a possibility of psyllium husk getting fermented by the colonic bacteria. Also, IMO, 10gm BID is pretty big dose. I do wonder why there hasn't been any study using flaxseed (as a whole) or freshly ground flaxseed meal. The reason behind my thought is, if its butyrate that is helping then polysaccharides in flaxseed should also be fermentable, plus its a rich source of Omega-3. As the review, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10479232, points out, our diet is pretty much skewed towards Omega-6 which are NOT beneficial in UC. Any thoughts?