Other Causes Of Hemorrhoids Are:
Hemorrhoids can occur from multiple causes, but the most natural solution in reducing inflammation is a higher intake of fiber. Metamucil utilizes fiber from psyllium husk, a soluble type of fiber that soothes issues of constipation, a known aggravator of hemorrhoids.
The symptoms experienced from external and internal hemorrhoids are:
There have been years of research with numerous studies backing the use of psyllium to treat digestive disorders, such as constipation, diarrhea, symptoms of IBS, and hemorrhoids. These plant fibers from which psyllium is derived reduce the frequency of bleeding caused by constipation a factor that upsets inflamed hemorrhoids even further.
For Metamucil to be effective in treating hemorrhoids, you must remember to include it in your diet every day. Keeping regular with your fiber supplement will allow your bowels to keep movements regular, too, and less painful.
Metamucil advises in consuming eight ounces of water alongside your fiber supplement intake. Fiber requires moisture to move it along through the intestines. Staying hydrated can assist in bulking stools with additional moisture for a more comfortable bowel movement.
Warnings Of Benefiber And Metamucil
It is important to take Benefiber and Metamucil products with adequate amounts of fluid. Taking fiber therapy without adequate fluid intake can lead to esophageal blockage and choking. Do not take these products if you have difficulty swallowing. If you experience chest pain, vomiting, or difficulty in swallowing or breathing, seek medical attention immediately.
If you experience constipation for more than seven days or if you experience rectal bleeding while taking Benefiber or Metamucil, contact your healthcare provider immediately.
Benefiber and Metamucil powders are gluten-free, though some other products made by these brands may not be. Patients with celiac disease should read the label and consult a healthcare professional to ensure the fiber product they have chosen is safe.
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Can It Aid Weight Loss
Several studies have focused on the potential weight loss effects of Metamucil and psyllium.
For instance, one study in 51 people with type 2 diabetes found that supplementing with psyllium , blood sugar levels, and body weight, compared with a control group .
Another study observed similar findings, noting that psyllium improved blood sugar control and decreased body mass index in 40 people with type 2 diabetes .
Studies also show that psyllium may help reduce appetite and increase feelings of fullness, which may be especially beneficial for weight loss.
In fact, one review showed that supplementing with soluble fiber and psyllium fiber, in particular may help keep you feeling fuller for longer between meals .
Similarly, another small study found that taking Metamucil before breakfast and lunch for 3 days led to reductions in hunger and the desire to eat, as well as increased fullness between meals .
However, despite these potential benefits, Metamucil or similar fiber supplements shouldnt be used as a weight loss product.
Instead, try to increase your intake of soluble fiber through foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes. These foods can help you increase your fiber intake to support weight loss, and they supply important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to improve your overall health.
Although studies show that Metamucil may be beneficial for weight loss, there are a few side effects to consider.
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Benefits Of Psyllium Fibre
- Laxative Effect: Increasing colonic bulk stimulates propulsion . Psyllium husk provides the bulk that gives your colon something to grip on to and strengthen against like a resistance band. It increases stool weight, while toning the smooth muscle that is the colon and promotes laxation by increasing the moisture content of our poop.
- Anti-Carcinogenic Effect: The structure of psyllium fibre is like a magnet to toxic waste in the digestive system it grabs on for dear life and removes it from our bodies. In short, it helps remove waste efficiently.
- Intestinal Health: The colon of the human gastrointestinal tract contains a large population of resident bacteria. In fact, 55% of the solids in poo is microbial biomass. Psyllium is awesome at maintaining the bacterial balance in our colon, which then strengthens immune function.
- The Great Sponge: Psyllium can absorb a huge mass of water and other stuff. It has the ability to absorb excess bile, cholesterol and hormones like estrogen from the colon. If these arent removed efficiently, they get reabsorbed but this doesnt mean the body stops producing them. The body will still produce cholesterol and so cholesterol levels go up. The body will still produce estrogen and so estrogen levels go up. And do we all know what high estrogen levels mean? Weepy tantrums during PMS and greater breast cancer risk to name two.
Can Metamucil Help Me Lower My Total Cholesterol
Metamucil is a psyllium fiber laxative. Psyllium is a fiber extracted from the husk of the psyllium seed. It absorbs water and swells in the intestines. This makes the stool softer, more voluminous and easier to pass.
For centuries, psyllium has been used as a natural remedy. Metamucil was first introduced in 1934. According to the Metamucil website, it contains 100% natural psyllium fiber. In addition to lowering cholesterol and promoting regularity, Metamucil is designed to help you feel fuller between meals and to maintain blood sugar levels.
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What Is The Most Important Information I Should Know About Psyllium
You should not take psyllium if you have ever had an allergic reaction to it.
Ask a doctor or pharmacist if this medicine is safe to use if you have ever had:
- stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting
- trouble swallowing or
- a sudden change in bowel habits lasting longer than 2 weeks.
This medicine may contain sugar, sodium, or phenylalanine. Check the medication label if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, phenylketonuria , or if you are on a low-salt diet.
Ask a doctor before using this medicine if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Your dose needs may be different during pregnancy or while you are nursing.
Do not give psyllium to a child younger than 6 years old without medical advice.
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Dietary And Lifestyle Changes
Dietary and lifestyle adjustments are key to making lasting changes in cholesterol levels.
Although they might not produce results as quickly as medications do, a person may notice their cholesterol levels drop in just a few weeks or months if they stick to a healthy diet and lifestyle plan.
Increase intake of plant foods
Plant foods are rich in vitamins and nutrients, and they do not contain cholesterol. Most plant foods also do not contain saturated fats, which may increase cholesterol in the body.
A 2017 study found that the people who ate vegetarian diets had significantly lower cholesterol levels than the participants following omnivorous diets.
The authors also note that some targeted diets using plant foods might cause stronger effects. For example, a diet rich in soluble fiber, plant sterols, and vegetable protein sources, such as soy and nuts, reduced LDL cholesterol by an average of 28.6% in just 4 weeks.
These effects continue over the long term. A 2018 study estimates that this type of diet reduces the 10-year risk of coronary heart disease by about 13%.
People who need to reduce their cholesterol quickly can work with a dietitian to create a targeted diet plan.
Increase fiber intake
While adding plant foods to the diet increases fiber intake naturally, it may also be helpful to take a fiber supplement or over-the-counter fiber drink to support the body.
Fiber keeps the digestive system healthy and may help prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol.
Exercise
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When Should I Take Metamucil
To get the cholesterol-lowering benefit, take 1 teaspoon of Sugar-Free Metamucil with a full glass of water no more than 15 to 30 minutes before a meal.
The psyllium needs to be in your GI tract the same time as your meal. Once it reaches your stomach, it starts dissolving into a gel-like substance. It binds with the bile acids that form cholesterol, and in doing so, mops up cholesterol. More cholesterol ends up in your bowel movements, and less ends up being reabsorbed in the blood.
A diet full of whole, naturally-fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes , and whole grains is far more effective than supplements like Metamucil for lowering LDL cholesterol.
Effects Of Psyllium On The Colon
You might be wondering how can I have a healthy colon? well, one of the ways to keep your colon healthy is by consuming a good amount of fiber daily. An average of 25 to 35 grams of fiber is recommended for consumption daily as part of the ways to keep your colon healthy. A daily dose of Metamucil can help make up part of recommended daily average of fiber as it can offer up to 9 grams depending on the variant taken.
The human colon contains a legion of bacteria, these bacteria sometimes when unchecked can affect the health of the colon. By taking Psyllium Husk, youll be inhibiting the possibility of the damage caused by bacteria as it helps maintains the bacterial balance in the colon and also boost the colons immune function.
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Should You Use Metamucil To Lower Ldl Cholesterol
Metamucil is a rich source of psyllium husk. Psyllium husk is a soluble fiber which works to lower LDL cholesterol levels.
Currently the American Heart Association recommends everyone consume 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber daily. The average American only consumes 15 grams of fiber daily.
Why do most people fall short? Top sources of dietary fiber include legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. How many servings do you eat of these foods daily? If you are like most Americans your intake of processed foods tends to be greater than high fiber food sources.
For a recap of the different types of fiber soluble and insoluble refer to the previous post Dietary Fiber: 4 Tips to Lower Cholesterol with Fiber.
How much soluble fiber?
If you are going to incorporate fiber in your treatment plan to lower LDL cholesterol, youll want to aim for 10-25 grams of soluble fiber daily. Keep in mind, your total dietary fiber intake will be higher, right here we are just talking about the soluble fiber portion. If you eat a standard American diet your total soluble fiber intake is probably only 3-4 grams per day. Youll want to add legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to your daily diet as you work to increase your soluble fiber intake. You may want to use the psyllium husk of Metamucil to supplement your dietary intake. Using the capsules you could add an extra 2-5 grams of soluble fiber to your daily intake.
Will this psyllium husk really help?
What Dosage Should I Take
In general, each 2 grams of soluble fiber added to a diet will lower LDL cholesterol by about 1%, or maybe a bit more.
In the above meta-analysis, the dosage used to achieve the 7% drop in LDL was 10.2 grams of psyllium daily, which is the equivalent of about 3 teaspoons daily of Sugar-Free Metamucil.
The dosage in the Veterans Affairs study was the same 10.2 grams daily.
If youre purchasing fiber supplement brands other than Metamucil, make sure theyre psyllium-based, not cellulose-based.
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What Does Benefiber Do
Benefiber is marketed to fight irregular bowels or constipation and claims to support digestive health.
Wheat dextrin can do this in two ways. Its a soluble fiber that dissolves in water in the intestine adding bulk to the stool, pushing digestion along.
It is also a fermentable fiber, which means it works as a prebiotic to feed the friendly bacteria in our gut biome, improving digestive health.
Doses For Other Conditions
The University of Michigan Health System reports that research and doctors use the following daily doses: constipation, 5 g one to two times a day diverticular disease, 7 g irritable bowel syndrome, 3.25 g three times a day diabetes, 5.1 g three times a day with meals diarrhea, 9 g to 30 g hemorrhoids, 7 g three times a day high triglycerides, 15 g.
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Is Benefiber Or Metamucil More Effective
A clinical review published in 2015 sought to evaluate the health outcomes of regular fiber therapy by comparing commercially available fiber products. Researchers describe that a key difference between dextrin and psyllium is that dextrin is readily fermented in the intestinal tract. Once fermented, dextrin loses its water-holding capability and therefore is not an effective laxative. Psyllium is not fermented, and thus becomes a viscous, gel-like consistency and can hold water in the stool throughout the large bowel. This provides a hydrated, bulky stool that can be excreted more easily. Furthermore, the American College of Gastroenterology Chronic Constipation Task Force that psyllium was the only fiber supplement that showed enough clinical evidence to support an indication for chronic constipation.
The American Diabetes Association published a meta-analysis in 2019 evaluating fiber supplements effects on glycemic control. Their findings suggested that viscous fibers, like psyllium, showed the greatest effect on glycemic control. Psylliums viscous gel formation slows digestion, likely slowing sugar absorption. This effect of slowing digestion also leaves you feeling fuller for a longer period of time, seeming to aid in weight loss.
Your healthcare provider will provide recommendations on which type of fiber is best for your gut health.
Here Is What I Say About Their Bars
This is actually a candy bar. Likely a bad tasting one.
It is broken down as:
Dietary Fiber: 4 grams
Metamucil Math: Part 2
When we add up the dietary fiber, soluble fiber and sugar, we get 19 grams.
Where is the extra 11 grams that make up the total carbs? Well nutrition labels typically wont list the grams of starch. Those 11 grams are starch, which breaks down in the body into simple sugars. What we end up having is in fact 7 grams of fiber and 23 grams of sugar.
Extra fun: Go back up and look at the ingredient list for this bar. How many forms of sugar can you count?
Given that psyllium is largely soluble fiber, and that it is really the only active ingredient in these bars, you might be interested to know:
- 3 Tbsp of flaxseeds contains approximately 3 grams of soluble fiber
- 1/2 cup beans or chickpeas contains 2 grams of soluble fiber
- 2/3 cup of cooked oatmeal contains 3 grams of soluble fiber
- An orange has 2 grams of soluble fiber
- 1 cup of cooked asparagus has 3.4 grams of soluble fiber
- 1 medium avocado has 3.4 grams of soluble fiber
What Does This Mean? If you eat a well rounded plant-rich diet , you are going to be getting way more fiber than whats in this bar.
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Can Metamucil Lower Your Blood Pressure
3.9/5Metamucilain your blood pressureMetamuciltheain blood sugarlower blood pressure
Adding water-soluble fibers like psyllium to your diet might reduce blood triglycerides, blood pressure and the risk of heart disease . Furthermore, a diet with an additional 12 grams of fiber from psyllium supplementation reduced systolic blood pressure by 5.9 mmHg in 36 people with high blood pressure .
One may also ask, does Metamucil lower your blood sugar? Metamucil contains powdered psyllium husks, a rich source of soluble fiber. Psyllium may also help regulate blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Studies have shown that psyllium can lower both total and LDL cholesterol levels, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Regarding this, can Fiber lower your blood pressure?
Studies have shown that eating sufficient amounts of fiber daily can help reduce and prevent high blood pressure. People who consume the recommended amount of daily fiber also experience lower cholesterol, normal bowel movements, overall bowel health, and lower blood sugar.
Is it OK to take Metamucil every day?
As a dietary fibre supplement:Metamucil can be taken every day up to three times per day as a dietary fibre supplement. If you are considering use of Metamucil as part of a cholesterol-lowering program* please follow labelâs instructions for correct directions and always consult a doctor before using.
In The Small Intestine
When the gel moves down the small intestine, trapped sugars are slowly released and absorbed into the body, helping maintain healthy blood sugar levels.* The gelled psyllium traps some bile acids in the small intestine, preventing reabsorption. These trapped bile acids are passed into the large intestine with waste. The liver draws cholesterol from the blood to make new bile acids, resulting in lower blood cholesterol levels.â
The soluble viscous gelling fiber from psyllium husk maintains its gelled nature through the digestive tract. In the large intestine this results in its stool normalizing benefit. By absorbing and retaining water the psyllium softens the stool to relieve constipation.
*THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE, OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
â Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 7 grams of soluble fiber per day from psyllium husk, as in Metamucil, may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol. One serving of Metamucil has 2.4 grams of this soluble fiber. One serving of Metamucil capsules has at least 1.8 grams of this soluble fiber.
**Survey of 291 adults who self-reported that they felt lighter and more energetic after completing the Metamucil Two Week Challenge.
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