question on "bulking"

I've heard some of the regulars use the expression "use fibre to bulk" up your stools quite a lot in the posts. I was wondering what exactly "to bulk" up means. Does it mean to remove and absorb excess water, give a more solid texture and shape to your stools? Does it mean that small pebble-like stools are combined together to give a larger and better quality stool.

Does fibre help to bind mucus? If you use a fibre supplement does it speed up or slow down delivery of stool to the rectum.

Sorry if this is a basic question, I've just never completed understood the term.

Thanks in advance

 

lol...quincy....ive heard pb4 is the fibre expert so i'll hold off until she hopefully makes a comment! I do think I need some kinda bulking or "clean up" agent though. Does soluble or insoluble fibre or both do this job

Soluble fibre becomes sticky when it combines with water and forms a gel-like substance (found in fruits and veggies, seeds, brown rice, barley, oats and oatbran.

Insoluble fibre acts as a sponge as it pases through the digestive tract and absorbs moisture many times it's weight in water, by doing so it increases the bulk of stools AND softens it...these characteristics facilitate the transit of foods through the intestines thereby preventing constipation (found mainly in whole grains, legumes (benas, peas and lentils) the skins of fruits and veggies.


Both are a good balance, taking a fibre supplement works well for those who cannot tolerate eating fruits and veggies, however I find that since I take my fibre supplements daily and indefinitely as my GI suggested I can now tolerated also eating fibreous foods without getting all gassy and bloated...you just don't want to over-do fibre in general.


:)

And drinking plentyof water daily is also essential for more then just risks of dehydration but it helps move the fibre through better then without it, without enough water and eating enough or too much fibre isn't a good combination.


:)