What Is Psyllium

Inclusion of fiber in your diet has gained great importance in the field of management of gastro-intestinal disorders. It not only cleanses the bowel but has added benefits like reducing total blood cholesterol as well as decreasing risk of coronary heart disease.

Fiber in your daily diet can be of two types, soluble and insoluble. Both these types of fibers, increase the bulk if your intestine and acts as a laxative to cleanse your digestive system of various disease-creating toxins and bacteria.

When you talk about herbal colon cleansing, there is one such name of a fiber which is of critical importance. It is called psyllium. Psyllium is a water-soluble, natural herbal fiber which forms a gel after absorbing water. The husk as well as the seed of psyllium, often used for herbal colon cleansing, belongs to a class, called mucilages. Mucilages, by nature retains water and turns into a thick jelly like substance. Guar gum is another type of mucilage, which you will find in most beans.

Because of its usefulness in treating a variety of digestive disorders, Psyllium is extensively used to treat ailments like constipation, diarrhea and colitis. It is used abundantly in most colon cleansing programs and even in the prevention of colon cancer or spastic colon. Human consumption pattern during a lifetime shows an intake of 90,000 pounds of solid food and 55,000 quarts of liquid. A substantial percentage of an average American diet would consist of hamburgers, sodas, candy, cookies, pastries, potato wafers, pizza and ice cream. It is really no wonder that one out of four Americans suffer from some type of digestive disorder or the other.

A transit time, with regard to bowel cleansing is the time taken from ingestion of food till it is passed through a bowel movement. When you have a regular diet which is rich in meat, fats and sugar, this transit time is lowered significantly - meaning you could have bowel movement every two days to once a week ! Yet if you have a fiber-rich diet, this could come up to once a day bowel movement, which is very healthy.

A lethargic and slow transit time causes harmful bacteria and carcinogenic toxins to accumulate inside your colon. In a study which appeared in The Lancet (September 1982), it was found that rates of death from colon cancer were approximately three times higher for men in the lowest category of dietary fiber intake than for those in the highest category.

Psyllium, because of its bulk-forming and stool-softening properties is an excellent input for colon cleansing. Stool that is larger, softer and bulkier finds it easy to move down the intestine for a smooth exit, where no extra exertion is needed for defecation. Hence colon cleansing happens automatically without damaging the intestinal walls. Not only for heral colon cleansing, psyllium also prevents development of diverticular diseases and incidence of hemorrhoids and varicose veins.