What are Psyllium Husks?
Psyllium Husks are as the name implies the husks of psyllium seeds. Psyllium seeds are most often harvested from the Plantago afra plant but they can also be harvested from other plants from the genus and they are most often from India.
What do Psyllium Husks do?
When they are eaten, either mixed in water or juice, or stirred into something like a yogurt they absorb a lot of water and swell up to a multitude of their original volume (like 10 to 40 times). This binding of water produces a light laxative effect and makes everything go a bit smoother through the gastrointestinal tract, making it helpful for constipation.
It coats other foods and the intestinal walls with it’s gooey texture thereby making everything better to digest. This is especially important because when you have Crohn’s disease your intestinal walls are very likely to be inflamed and irritated. So the psyllium husks first coat the intestinal wall and then make the food go past easier by enclosing it.
Also psyllium husks have a lot of water soluble fibre that feeds the positive bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. A healthy microbiome is important for everyone not just Crohn’s patients but for Crohn’s patients the microbiome is often out of balance and psyllium husks can help to restore this balance.
How much Psyllium Husks to take?
Regular people should start with no more than a tea spoon per day dissolved in big glass of water. The dosage can then be increased up to 3-4 tea spoons over the course of a few months.
Do not start with a too high dosage, especially if you can not drink a lot of water at once. If you do not drink enough water the psyllium husks can be too dry and can create a blockage in your intestines or create constipation!
Dosage recommendation:
- 1-2 weeks: 1 teaspoon psyllium husks with one big glass of water (300ml+)
- 3-6 weeks: 2 teaspoon psyllium husks with one and a half big glasses of water (450ml+)
- 6+ weeks: 3 teaspoon psyllium husks with two big glasses of water (600ml+)
Where can I buy Psyllium Husks?
You can buy psyllium husks online from the big e-commerce shops like Otto (EU), Amazon, Walmart (US). Or you can also buy in the a online pharmacy like DocMorris (EU) or Walgreens (US). Otherwise it is also often available in drug stores like DM (EU) or Rossmann (EU).
The brand is not important, it is best to buy organic psyllium husks, just find one that fits your taste, as there are finer and more coarse ones, some with a aroma and without.
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