I thought it might be useful to have a conversation about fibre (fiber) since i seem to have discovered a couple of things which may affect others

since beginning bsd, i am eating more fibre – however i seem to have MORE trouble with being ‘blocked up’
indeed that has never been an issue in the past

and when i eat the new things i have discovered like coconut or chickpea flower – well it has been a real PAIN !!
(don’t want to be too graphic here)

everyone always says drink more and eat more fibre if you cant go or its painful
well unfortunately that is not necessarily true

for me, at least, i seem to react rather negatively to ‘soluble’ fibre – this is the sort that ABSORBS water
and in theory creates a ‘gel’ that helps keep things moving
(or in my case seems to create something very far from gel-like!!!!)
and the more i drink the more it seems to absorb

on the other hand – ‘insoluble’ fibre, provides bulk, but cannot absorb liquids, so it just passes on through 🙂

psyllium husk – is often recommended to help get things moving, for example – but it is a ‘soluble’ fibre and in me just blocks things up

you can google where to find each – although plants contain both they usually have more of one or the other

of course you may already know all this, or not be having any adverse effects
i think it is worse for me as i am no longer eating wheat – and that is a good source of insoluble fibre (probably why it causes so many of the opposite issues for me)

anyway
that is probably enough from my gut issues
hope it might help someone
or someone might help me
🙂

I hate doing this but I am bumping this up as I really would like to know other people’s thoughts/experiences about this

Hi keeptrying,
Awkward subject, but hey, we’re all friends here on the forums.
Fibre is weird (profound statement). It seems to affect different people in different ways. eg. if I take 1 and a half teaspoons metamucil (mainly psyllium husks) late afternoon, all is well the following morning – no ill effects. If I take more than that I get stomach cramps all night and feel very uncomfortable and have a sleepless night.
I have to watch quantities of cauliflower and cabbage – a serving is fine, but my body can’t cope with both on the same day.
Coconut flour – the amount in 1 zucchini and pumpkin seed muffin = good amount of fibre.
An interesting effect of the BSD for me has been overall quite settling in the gut department.

I’m on my fourth week and went along ok for the first two weeks and then things started to grind to a halt!! I do suffer with a touch of IBS and it doesn’t take much to throw me out of my routine. I’ve had a far superior diet these last 4 week but got really constipated last week, I’ve started taking a Fibrogel every evening and that is helping. I have Flaxseed plus nuts and loads of veggies but I can’t tolerate chick peas and lentils as they’re too much for me and have me doubled over in pain. I can manage some humous but that’s about it.

thank you both for your replies
Switzerland – I have also found some gut ‘settling’ some of the time with this way of eating
and I agree that sometimes its just about getting just the right amount of something
I found 1 small coconut flatbread ok – but coconut or chickpea muffins – oh goodness they act like corks!!

JCH187 – funny how fybogel seems to do the opposite to me
but I agree about the chickpeas – in fact I have never been great with bean (baked bean variety) and so why should I be surprised that the chickpea is any different – albeit in flour form
I need to proceed with caution I think!!

My digestive system is still adjusting (just ended week 4) – thanks for the warning about the gram flour, I’d been thinking about trying the pancakes everyone keeps mentioning, but maybe I’ll give it a miss for a while.
I cant bear psyllium husks – the texture of it makes me gag.
Using senna tablets occasionally – and trying to drink more and more and more……

Hello, I find that I’m having problems being blocked up this week. Certainly not through lack of water as I’ve been drinking even more.
Patterns are strange aren’t they! Oh well will probably be normal soon