The health benefits of psyllium
Psyllium is a natural plant that has many health benefits for bowel health, heart health and can improve the texture of gluten free baking. Here are some reasons why you should be incorporating psyllium into your daily diet.
What is psyllium?
Also known as isobgol or ispaghula, psyllium is a native Indian plant rich in soluble fibre (plus some insoluble fibre) that when combined with water or fluid forms a gel. It is naturally gluten free so safe for people with coeliac disease to eat and is useful for gluten-free baking.
How does psyllium benefit my health?
There are a number of health benefits of psyllium. Each teaspoon provides 4g of fibre and only 15kcal meaning that a small amount can easily help bump up your fibre intake to help you get towards recommended (minimum) amounts of 24g fibre per day.
As such psyllium can help with keeping bowels regular and is used in some products as a natural, gentle laxative.
2-3 teaspoons of psyllium daily can reduce total and LDL cholesterol by 7%
There is a good level of evidence for 7-10g psyllium to reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by approximately 7% in people with normal and high cholesterol levels with little impact on HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).
There is a dose-dependent response meaning that the more psyllium have the more impact it will have on your cholesterol levels, however consuming more than 10g per day doesn't give any additional benefits.
Psyllium can be used as a health claim in the US for reduced risk of coronary heart disease if one serve of a food contains 7g.
Speaking of cholesterol, this is my (overly simplistic) trick for remembering the good and 'bad' types of cholesterol:
HDL cholesterol is Healthy so you want it to be Higher
LDL cholesterol is 'bad' so you want it Lower.
Where can you buy psyllium?
You can find psyllium capsules and husks in some health food shops, supermarkets, online or multicultural food shops, depending on where you live.
How much psyllium husk should you take?
To achieve the recommended doses of psyllium for health benefits, you need to eat approximately 2 - 3 teaspoons each day
Side effects of psyllium
The US FDA requires any health claims made for psyllium products to contain a warning that consumption of psyllium must be made with adequate fluid as it poses a choking hazard if taken dry on its own.
As it does work as a gentle laxative, some people experience gastrointestinal effects such as bloating or diarrhoea after taking psyllium but this is often due to a sudden increase in fibre intake.
As with any fibre intake it is best to increase the amount taken slowly to allow your gut to become accustomed.
How do you add psyllium to your diet?
Your lifestyle and reasoning for using psyllium will influence how much and how often you include psyllium in your diet. Psyllium can be mixed into water, juice, smoothies, porridge or any other meal throughout the day.
Some people want to use it as a natural laxative and prefer to take it as a pre-made drink such as Metamucil.
I tend to incorporate it into foods that I am normally eating to bump up the fibre intake.
A standard way I have always used psyllium since my undergrad uni days is to put a teaspoon or two on top of natural yoghurt and frozen berries. As the berries defrost and form a berry juice the psyllium soaks it up and makes a berry jelly that mixes in well with the natural yoghurt and tastes great.
Gluten-free baking with psyllium
Because each teaspoon contains 4g of fibre, psyllium is useful for gluten-free baking to increase the fibre content - especially as fibre is known to be low in many gluten-free foods.
Adding psyllium to gluten-free bread dough can improve the texture and help it to rise, acting as a replacement (of sorts) for gluten. Psyllium content of around 5% is reportedly the best.
This equates to approximately:
3 teaspoons psyllium husk to 1 1/4 cups of flour or
2 1/2 teaspoons psyllium husk per 1 cup flour.
Now that you know about it I hope you can search it out and find some psyllium to add into your diet
Gemma
References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19623196
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22848584
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18222665
http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v63/n7/full/ejcn200849a.html
http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm064919.htm
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.81
Psyllium as a substitute for gluten in bread (2009) Journal of the American Dietetic Association http://fs.unb.br/nutricao/laboratorios/tecdie/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Psyllium-as-a-Substitute-for-Gluten-in-Bread.pdf
Gemma Sampson APD
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