The approach of using a single source of fiber such as psyllium or bran is no longer considered as ideal for optimal gut health.
Although there’s nothing wrong with the good old bran or psyllium the problem is that there’s many different varieties of bacteria in our large intestine. They all ferment fiber in our bowel to survive and eating only one type of fiber means certain strains of bacteria thrive while others may not do so well, this creates an imbalance which is not good, microbial diversity is the key! It is now agreed upon by health professionals that our microbiome is linked to many modern diseases, both diabetes and obesity among them, the best way to encourage diversity - eat a wide range of fiber - fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables and other sources of fiber will all help you regain a better balance of gut bacteria.
Unfortunately many of us are less than particular when it comes to this program, and who can blame the average consumer when sugars, fats and refined carbs are all just jumping of the supermarket shelf screaming EAT ME. One apple a week or a bit of lettuce on your burger won’t cut it!
So by consuming the sugars and refined foods all we are doing is helping the undesirable bugs to multiply and starving out the good guys in our bowel. The good bugs need the prebiotic fiber to ferment which in turn is converted to short chain fatty acids which are an anti inflammatory and also a key part of helping to maintain the integrity of the gut lining….very important.
Inflamation is at the root of most modern disease so it make sense to avoid it at all costs by preventing it in the first place and feeding our microbes on the fiber they need to help us out.
So given the above, if you don’t already eat plenty of fiber do a trial, gradually introduce more, preferably raw plant material into your diet, cut back on the refined foods and see what happens, it could really improve things by making a few simple changes.
By the way, if you’re looking for a really diverse range of unprocessed and unsweetened fiber then Blend 11 is just the thing!