acacia fiber
Main ingredient: acacia fiber.
Acacia fiber described
Acacia fiber is a natural soluble fiber. The most famous soluble fiber product is sold by Heather Van Vorous, author of Eating for IBS and The First Year - IBS and IBS sufferer herself. Acacia fiber is, by itself, tasteless and comes as a fine white powder that will dissolve completely in liquid. Other generic acacia fiber products are available.
What do the manufacturers say?
Heather Van Vorous says this about her own acacia fiber product:
'The 'soluble' in soluble fiber means that it dissolves in water (though it is not digested). This allows it to absorb excess liquid in the colon, preventing diarrhea by forming a thick gel and adding a great deal of bulk as it passes intact through the gut. This gel (as opposed to a watery liquid) also keeps the GI muscles stretched gently around a full colon, giving those muscles something to easily 'grip' during peristaltic contractions, thus preventing the rapid transit time and explosive bowel movements of diarrhea as well.
By the same token, the full gel-filled colon (as opposed to a colon tightly clenched around dry, hard, impacted stools) provides the same 'grip' during the muscle waves of constipation sufferers, allowing for an easier and faster transit time, and the passage of the thick wet gel also effectively relieves constipation by softening and pushing through impacted fecal matter. If you can mentally picture your colon as a tube that is squeezing through matter via regular waves of contractions, it's easy to see how a colon filled with soluble fiber gel is beneficial for both sides of the irritable bowel syndrome coin.'
What version of acacia fiber are available?
- Heather Van Vorous acacia fiber is available in sealed pouches or in cans.
- Other generic acacia fiber powders are available.