Did you know that 95% of Americans don’t even come close to getting the doctor recommended 30 grams of fiber a day? Considering you’d need to eat 3 pounds of baby spinach, 8 cups of blueberries, or 10 bananas to get that 30g of fiber, it makes sense. Alarmingly, processed foods (often a very poor source of fiber) still make up a significant portion of the modern diet.

Here are eight good reasons why you should be paying just as much attention to your fiber intake as you do your intake of protein, fats and other important nutrients…

8 Benefits Of Soluble Fiber You Should Know

Supplementing with soluble fiber superfood, psyllium is the quickest way to up your fiber intake. Psyllium is an often overlooked superfood with an ability to impact digestion, blood sugar and heart health that, in some instances, nutritionists have found to be nearly as effective as drugs (see the research below).One serving of psyllium in Bellway Super Fiber gets you 18% your daily recommended fiber using just organic psyllium and little else. (Trust us when we say you don’t want to consume much more than that at one time for good digestive results!)

Bellway’s best-selling soluble fiber powder now comes in capsule form — the only organic psyllium cap on the market. For those of us who don’t like to bother with powders in the morning, one quick capsule a day could go a long way for your digestive health and more. Here’s how…

fun FACT: When the gut microbiome becomes imbalanced with too many “bad” types of bacteria (usually from an unbalanced diet), our bodies respond with inflammation. Inflammation can wreak havoc on the body’s overall well-being and aggravate our skin leading to acne breakouts, rosacea, eczema, redness, sensitivity, dry skin, and a breakdown of collagen that can lead to wrinkles.

HELPS CLEAR SKIN ISSUES | By supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes, regulating blood sugar, binding to excess hormones, and increasing bowel movements, fiber can help your skin glow. Your skin is a manifestation of what’s going on deeper in your body, so the best place to start addressing skin health is through diet.

Adequate fiber will ensure your body is regularly eliminating waste products and toxins. It can also help balance your microbiome, which can also be a source of skin issues.

HELPS REGULATE WEIGHT – If you’re trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight, an increase in fiber can help in a few ways; one, by keeping you full longer; two, by helping to regulate blood sugar levels; three by eliminating cravings so that you’re less likely to eat throughout the day.

Women’s health pro, Kristin Dahl tells us, “I’ve worked with countless women who have been trying to lose weight for years and the inclusion of fiber is a key player in their success.”

HELPS BALANCE HORMONES – Psyllium binds to and helps to clear excess hormones in the forms of estrogen and cholesterol and pulls them out through your daily elimination. Again, Dahl tell us that “adequate fiber intake can play a helpful role in the diet when hormone-related issues such as PMS, PCOS, fibroids and menopause are being dealt with(1).”

BALANCED BLOOD SUGAR – Did you know that fiber is an essential ingredient for keeping blood sugar more steady and controlled throughout the day? Psyllium is an incredible addition to the diet of anyone struggling with blood sugar control because it helps slows down the absorption of glucose in the body. This leads to less dramatic spikes in your blood glucose levels.

For Brigid Titgemeier, MS, RDN, LD this can be seen from monitoring client’s continuous glucose monitors as well. In one study, they found that patients who did not even change their diet but started taking psyllium twice per day before meals had significantly lower fasting blood glucoseand hemoglobin A1c, a marker of 3-month blood glucose control.(1) “This is key, not just for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes, but for everyone, since maintaining balanced blood sugar is key to improving energy, reducing cravings, and even supporting longevity.”
To balance your blood sugar with psyllium, Brigid recommends one capsule or one scoop of psyllium powder in 8 oz of water 15-30 minutes before eating. If you’ve never used it before, try starting with 1 tsp and working your way up to one scoop gradually.

IMPROVED HEART HEALTH – Similarly to how oats have been shown to improve heart health due to their soluble fiber content, psyllium shows similar benefits. Unlike oats, it doesn’t have the additional carbohydrates.

In patients with high cholesterol who maintained their same diet, taking psyllium for eight weeks was shown to reduce total cholesterol by almost 15% and LDL cholesterol—the “bad” cholesterol—by over 20%. Even when taken in conjunction with a heart healthy diet, patients saw increased reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and other markers of heart health such as ApoB. It is important to note that participants in both of these studies did not report any negative side effects which can be common in popular cholesterol lowering medications.

Psyllium has also been shown to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension when taken over a six-month period. Participants in this study also saw reduced blood triglyceride levels, a marker that is helpful in determining risk of cardiovascular disease.

HELPS SUPPORT DETOXIFICATION – Psyllium is a wonderful addition to any internal cleansing regimen. Since psyllium fiber works as a bulking and binding agent, it helps to support the liver and kidneys by absorbing waste products and toxins and clearing them out of the body through bowel movements. This is especially important when you’re on a cleanse: if you’re not eliminating waste products and toxins, you might simply reabsorb them back into the body.

HELPS CLEAR GAS + BLOATING – Think of psyllium as a binding and a bulking agent. It binds to partially digested food (along with excess gas), bulks the stool by absorbing water and clears gas and waste through larger, more complete and easier to pass bowel movements.

Shop Bellway Super Fiber Capsules for 20% OFF

Try the only organic psyllium supplements on the market from TCM favorite, Bellway. Perfect for travel and life on-the-go, shop with our exclusive 20% off offer until February 17, 2023.

(1) Effects of dietary fiber and carbohydrate on glucose and lipoprotein metabolism in diabetic patients.
(2) High-fiber diet reduces serum estrogen concentrations in premenopausal women

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This story is brought to you in partnership with Bellway. All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health-related programs.