Natalie Butler: Today, we're talking about the other end of nutrition. We're talking about pooping today and before we get started, I want to ask you a very important question, how often do you poop? And this question is really important for health practitioners, especially dieticians and nutritionists. We want to know what's going on with your body and so, I want to know too.
So, don't be shy, tell me the truth, how often do you poop? Do you have trouble pooping, are you one of those people that is chronically constipated, you just do not go there often or are you on the other end of the spectrum, do you have diarrhea, do you, you know constantly need to be by the toilet or are you somewhere in between, maybe you have irritable bowel syndrome and you have intermittent constipation, diarrhea, you know just alternates.
Well, I'm going to talk to you about something today that can help you either way, whether you're constipated, whether you have diarrhea, whether you're in the middle, it is psyllium and this is the super food for today. You may not have heard about psyllium before, but psyllium is the seed stalk of the common plant known as the plantain. Now, the plantain is real similar to the banana, it's a little bit bigger and longer and it's a tropical fruit just like the banana and it actually sort of tastes like a banan too, but so psyllium comes from the seed stalks and it absorbs water when you eat it and it goes to your digestive track, absorbs water, and then it becomes almost like a mucous. So, it absorbs water, helps to promote bowel movements but then it also can absorb the water that's leading to diarrhea.
So, either way, so psyllium is known as a bowel regulator because it can help you in either scenario. Basically, I would like to call psyllium a super fiber because it has so many great benefits. Number one, we already talked about, it can help prevent constipation by keeping you regular and it can help prevent diarrhea and help correct diarrhea if you're in the middle of that situation.
So, for example, when you eat psyllium, it goes into your digestive track, it absorbs water and as the psyllium expands, it actually what it does is that scrapes the size of the intestines and so any of the bulk and the material and all the leftovers from what you've been eating that is usually what is around the inside of the colon. So that psyllium works just scrape off all the chunks of leftover food basically that's there and it helps move it through your colon. So that it doesn't just sit there you know pack into your large intestine.
With diarrhea, when it absorbs water because it absorbs water so well, it can absorb the excess water that leads to diarrhea. Psyllium is used a source of dietary fibre and like we said, either way it can help with constipation or diarrhea. And the reason why this happens is because when you consume psyllium, it goes into the digestive track and it gets down to your colon. And that is where it begins to absorb water. So that psyllium starts to expand and expand and once it has absorbed a good amount of water, it becomes almost like a sticky substance kind of like mucous is, if you cop up mucous it sort of sticky and slimy. Well that's actually what it kind of becomes like in your large intestine and that works to scrape off the insides of your large intestine, which helps to promote regular bowel movements because it's adding bulk to your stools.
So, in other words, if you've been chronically constipated chances are you have a lot of packed in material in that large intestine. So when you eat psyllium, it can help clear that out, so you can actually view it as a natural colon cleanse, a natural bowel regulator. Psyllium is actually used as the main ingredient in both dietary fiber supplements and laxative medications whether they're over-the-counter or prescription. So, psyllium is the main ingredient and that is what is providing you with those different benefits and in fact, 60% of the psyllium is actually imported into the United States goes to pharmaceutical companies that are making these types of medications.
So, in my opinion, why would you buy the medication or those prescriptions when you could purchase the whole natural food and not have to worry about what was added to that product, what are some of the other side effects are, you can purchase the natural whole food, get the benefit that you're looking for and it's most likely going to be cheaper than what you're purchasing out there at grocery store through your medications.
Psyllium comes in many different forms, you can get it in capsule form and take it as a supplement, you can get it in powdered form and finally chopped form and there is a lot of different ways you can use it, you can add it to water and drink it like that, you can sprinkle it on your cereal and your yogurt and foods that you're eating, you can add it other liquids, so there are some different ways to include it in your diet, but remember that this is going to be a benefit, both if you have constipation or if you have diarrhea, you don't have worry that, but I already have diarrhea what if it causes more diarrhea. That's not the case because it can work either way.
If you're at your local grocery store, look for psyllium either in the isle that has the oat meal, the baking ingredients because that's a lot of times where the psyllium will be. Sometimes grocery stores will put it in their supplement section. So, look there too. If your grocery store doesn't carry them, this is a really good thing to know, you can always take the UPC label from the food that you wanting and take it to your manager, tell them that you would like them to start carrying this food and then you can fill out a form and a lot times they can start ordering it and have it in that store for you, even if they didn't have it before.
So, if your store doesn't carry psyllium, find out if they can start carrying it and the typical dose for psyllium is one to three teaspoons per a glass of water, so don't over do it, you know don't do it 10 teaspoons in one day but around one to three teaspoons per glass of water.
Recent research is also showing that psyllium contains many of the benefits like other dietary fiber, so it's helping to lower cholesterol, reduce your risk for heart disease, and it can also help control diabetes. So, if you have trouble pooping, give it a try. Coming up on future videos, I'm going to do a video about the benefits of breastfeeding and is there are a link between breastfeeding and obesity in your child. And I'm also going to do a video about the truth about alcohol. Is it really that damaging to your liver, is it really going to reduce your heart disease and I'm going let you know the facts.
Thank you so much for watching these videos. Thank you for leaving your comments and rating, although I can't necessarily answer everyone's comments or questions, I definitely read them and appreciate that you take the time to respond. I will see you next time. Take care.
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