Psyllium Husk & Probiotics

[Lifepm]

Hello,

This is my first post and day one of Whole30!

I have been doing a similar plan for a few months and "needed" to take psyllium husks twice a day to supplement my fiber count to about 30 grams a day. I see that it's suggested not to take this or probiotics on this plan.

I did have veggies at breakfast this morning...first time ever for that meal and wondering how or if my system will adjust without the psyllium? I know that before I took it, I was constipated eating a diet of protein, veggies and fat. No dairy.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.

Happy Day!

[Johnny M]

I think psyllium husks can interfere with absorption of minerals and nutrients so I'd advise against it. How bad is the constipation? With plenty of vegetables and some fruit you should be getting plenty of fiber plus nutrients that the pysllium lacks and blocks.

[Lifepm]

Thanks for answering. Please understand, I'm surprised I'm sharing such personal issues about me. Before psyllium, I was not going for three days!

I'm eating much more veggies with every meal, starting today. I'm confused about adding fruit on this plan. I thought I read it wasn't good to eat much fruit. I haven't had fruit in months. I miss fruit!

[Johnny M]

The deal with fruit is that they're sugar dense and there is some nutritional benefit but not a ton. But they're real food and they taste good and we deserve to enjoy eating so they're a better option than a cookie or some other treat you might have been eating before so would never say don't eat it. But if you're eating a TON of it, you're going to be feeding a sugar addiction, craving sugar regularly, and missing opportunities to eat other things. Also people often eat them for snacks and if you're snacking a ton, maybe your meals aren't big enough. And don't worry about TMI. We could talk about poop for days.

[Tom Denham]

The Whole9 thought on fruit is that you might enjoy 1-2 fist-size servings per day, unless you are struggling with sugar cravings. If craving sugar, you are better off avoiding all fruit.

[Lifepm]

Thanks again for your help. I didn't know psyllium husks can affect the absorption of minerals and nutrients, but it makes sense.

Is there anywhere on this site I can just list my three meals for one day, to see if I'm working this program correctly? I have the Success Guide and have read some of the blogs and Facebook page, however, for some reason I'm confused and have a little anxiety over this change.

I'm living on a very small food budget and am very happy to make the same simple meals for a week to keep it simple and affordable.

[Johnny M]

Absolutely - create a thread in the logs topic and ask for review and someone will check in and review. And don't get stressed...this is a period of reward and learning for you and your body. Take it easy and enjoy it!

[Roger Bird]

The problem with too much fruit is that pretty much all of the fruit that we can get now is sort of like paleo fruit on steroids. They have been bred for the past 10,000 years to be big, bright, beautiful, and juicy, as in too much fructose. Think crab apples. Tasty sufficient to attract animals and humans to eat, but not so huge as to waste vital energy.