The importance of fibers in diet

[Quantum]

Here is a well-written and informative article about fibers, and the different types, and how humans evolved to eat much of them:

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/20/18214505/fiber-diet-weight-loss

[Muon]

Food with high fiber content tend to trigger IBS symptoms in me. For example whole grains. My stool will get messy.

[swell]

Muon, be ready to say good bye to your IBS.  I have spent some 30 miserable years until recently, with terrible IBS symptoms.  Pardon my language, farts like nobody, bloating, burps and belches like nobody, constipation was my nic name.  Quantum initially put me to some tips, and then my solution has been a life-changer, one that I gathered from this forum, from somebody that cured his POIS, except that in my case while it eliminated my IBS but did nothing to POIS.  I have to confess this POIS forum can be a magic library for all your weird ailments

1. Enzymes to digest food.  Dirt cheap: Wonder Labs, Proteolytic Enzymes (this has Trypsin and Chromotrypsin - very imp).  One tab after each meal.  Somehow other expensive proteolytic enzymes didn't help me.

2. Feeding your friendly bacteria to slowly but positively change your gut microbiom.  "Inulin" bulk powder.  Cheaply available.  I add it to my tea (twice a day, it tastes nice).

3.  Bile Acids Factors from Jarrow after each meal.  This would kill any remaining bloating IBS crap.  If you ever wonder why vitamins you take do nothing, try this, it will help absorb all fat soluble vitamins.  It will also help your thyroid by helping your Liver (60 % of thyroid hormones get built by liver).

Food with high fiber content tend to trigger IBS symptoms in me. For example whole grains. My stool will get messy.

[demografx]

Thanks for posting, swell

[swell]

Thanks Demografx

[Progecitor]

Muon, be ready to say good bye to your IBS.  I have spent some 30 miserable years until recently, with terrible IBS symptoms.  Pardon my language, farts like nobody, bloating, burps and belches like nobody, constipation was my nic name.  Quantum initially put me to some tips, and then my solution has been a life-changer, one that I gathered from this forum, from somebody that cured his POIS, except that in my case while it eliminated my IBS but did nothing to POIS.  I have to confess this POIS forum can be a magic library for all your weird ailments

1. Enzymes to digest food.  Dirt cheap: Wonder Labs, Proteolytic Enzymes (this has Trypsin and Chromotrypsin - very imp).  One tab after each meal.  Somehow other expensive proteolytic enzymes didn't help me.

2. Feeding your friendly bacteria to slowly but positively change your gut microbiom.  "Inulin" bulk powder.  Cheaply available.  I add it to my tea (twice a day, it tastes nice).

3.  Bile Acids Factors from Jarrow after each meal.  This would kill any remaining bloating IBS crap.  If you ever wonder why vitamins you take do nothing, try this, it will help absorb all fat soluble vitamins.  It will also help your thyroid by helping your Liver (60 % of thyroid hormones get built by liver).

Food with high fiber content tend to trigger IBS symptoms in me. For example whole grains. My stool will get messy.

I fully support the idea to use inulin as part of a stack. It is evidently very useful in my case, so I thought to make a post about it. Recently I have used some caps containing a combination of milk thistle-artichoke-dandelion (also some fenugreek and curcuma). After some research it became rather clear that the benefit must have been due to the combined effect of Silymarin (milk thistle) and Inulin (artichoke and dandelion). Earlier I also found a combination of resveratrol and inulin to be useful.

Inulin has been already discussed on the site as a potentially good prebiotic. However I feel that its sources were not specifically mentioned even though they were also claimed to be useful for POIS treatment. Of course this also means that any improvement from these sources is most likely due to their inulin content. I must note that I also found chicory tea to be useful, however at the same time chicory coffee had an adverse effect on my POIS. Thus I wouldn’t recommend that as an inulin source even if most health support pages mainly promote chicory coffee. Similarly to beta-glucan inulin is also not a single compound, so it may be a good idea to test different sources or even use a combination of them.

Inulin is a term applied to a heterogeneous blend of fructose polymers found widely distributed in nature as plant storage carbohydrates. Oligofructose is a subgroup of inulin, consisting of polymers with a degree of polymerization (DP) =<10. Inulin and oligofructose are not digested in the upper gastrointestinal tract; therefore, they have a reduced caloric value. They stimulate the growth of intestinal bifidobacteria. They do not lead to a rise in serum glucose or stimulate insulin secretion.
Inulin and oligofructose are present as plant storage carbohydrates in a number of vegetables and plants including wheat, onion, bananas, garlic and chicory.
Most of the inulin and oligofructose commercially available on the industrial food ingredient market today is either synthesized from sucrose or extracted from chicory roots. The chicory root is best known for its use as a coffee substitute and also as the root of the Belgian endive plant. The root of the Cichorium intybus plant contains about 15–20% inulin and 5–10% oligofructose.
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/129/7/1402S/4722577?login=true

Inulin, as a soluble dietary fiber, is widely found in beyond 36,000 plant species as reserve polysaccharides. The primary sources of inulin include Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, onion, garlic, barley, and dahlia, among them Jerusalem artichoke tubers and chicory roots are often used as raw materials for inulin production in the food industry. It is universally acknowledged that inulin as a prebiotic has an outstanding effect on regulating intestinal microbiota through stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria. In addition, inulin also reveals superb health benefits in regulating lipid metabolism, weight loss, reducing blood sugar, inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors, reducing the risk of colon cancer, enhancing minerals absorption, improving constipation, and relieving depression.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/fo/d2fo01096h/unauth

Prebiotics such as inulin and inositol are found in foods including leeks, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, and onions. Some of the most common prebiotics are described below.
- Inulin: Belonging to the fructan family of dietary fibres, inulin is non-digestible. It is therefore able to pass through the small intestine intact and reach the colon. Here, inulin is fermented—particularly by Bifidobacterium species and other lactic acid-producing bacteria—boosting the numbers of these health beneficial bacteria. Fermentation products of inulin offer colon cancer-preventing properties, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are also produced during fermentation.
- beta-glucan: This exopolysaccharide is found naturally in cereal grains, bacteria, and fungi. It has been shown to have prebiotic properties on the growth of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus
species. Fermentation of beta-glucan by Bifidobacterium infantis, in particular, was shown to increase the production of SCFAs.
- Fructooligosaccharides (FOSs): Present in wheat, honey, onion, garlic, and banana, FOSs are short-chain carbohydrates which resist digestion in the small intestine. In the colon, they promote
Bifidobacterium and are converted to SCFAs, and also contribute to faecal matter, improving bowel movement. Conversely, they inhibit the pathogen Clostridium perfringens in the colon.
Amongst various dietary interventions for IBS, the most popular include a modified fibre diet or exclusion of FODMAPs, gluten, carbohydrates, fructose, or restriction of caffeine or capsaicin
(component of chili peppers). One of the first and most studied dietary modifications focused on fibre, and several systematic reviews of various RCTs have been published, without coherent conclusion since soluble fibre and insoluble fibre appeared to have different effects. In addition, it must be considered that fibre may act as prebiotics for not only beneficial commensal and transient species, but also opportunistic and pathogenic strains; therefore, an increased prebiotic intake in individuals with dysbiosis may have deleterious effects.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=The+Role+of+Bacteria%2C+Probiotics+and+Diet+in+Irritable&btnG=

Some members also had similar issues as mentioned for dysbiosis. Episodic dysbiosis was also present in my case in the past.
https://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=2775.msg30695#msg30695

Separation and quantification of inulin in selected artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) cultivars and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale WEB. ex WIGG.) roots by high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection
https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bmc.694

I guess this could be a rather good combination as I also had success with guggul. Artichoke appears to be a source of both inulin and chlorogenic acid.
NAFLD and Atherosclerosis Are Prevented by a Natural Dietary Supplement Containing Curcumin, Silymarin, Guggul, Chlorogenic Acid and Inulin in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
The natural dietary supplement (NDS) used in this study contains extracts from Cynara scolymus (chlorogenic acid), Silybum marianum (silymarin), Taraxacum officinale (inulin), Curcuma Longa (curcuma) and Commiphora mukul (guggul), plant extracts that exert protective actions mainly towards the liver.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/5/492

New mechanistic insights into hepatoprotective activity of milk thistle and chicory quantified extract: The role of hepatic Farnesoid-X activated receptors
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8264225/

Inulin, Choline and Silymarin in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/8/2248

As a bit of a curiosity an inulin like compound called triticin can be also found in couch grass rhizome which is also used in the treatment of prostatitis.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roberto-Ponchietti/publication/230712832_Effects_of_the_association_of_potassium_citrate_and_Agropyrum_repens_in_renal_stone_treatment_Results_of_a_prospective_randomized_comparison_with_potassium_citrate/links/5715e4c008ae16479d8ad890/Effects-of-the-association-of-potassium-citrate-and-Agropyrum-repens-in-renal-stone-treatment-Results-of-a-prospective-randomized-comparison-with-potassium-citrate.pdf