Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

I would definitely start taking the Acacia fiber found at www.helpforibs.com. This is probably your safest and most effective bet. The fennel tea also helps tremendously with gas and bloating. If you decide to breastfeed and your baby suffers from gas, you can also drink the tea and it will help your baby! I would also be careful of what type of calcium supplement you are taking. Calcium magnesium (calcium citrate) helps constipation but calcium carbondate worsens constipation and gas. I would go to this link to read more on vitamins. http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/faq.asp#vitamin.

Heather has chosen acacia as the soluble fiber of choice for a number of reasons that suit our IBS folks. It is very gentle, not allergenic, and the breakdown products of the acacia produce more of the beneficial short chain fatty acids that are supportive of the intestinal cells. It is also prebiotic meaning it will help to support the balance of good bacteria in your gut because soluble fiber is their preferred food source. Acacia is better tolerated than other fiber sources and really does work the best for IBS based on the feedback from thousands of our customers. We also have a lot of customers who use acacia as a fiber supplement and they don't have IBS at all. If folks with IBS can tolerate acacia because it is so gentle, then it's a safe bet everyone else will have luck with it too.

Acacia works very well for both diarrhea and constipation. Acacia is pure soluble fiber, which means it absorbs water and this is the basis of the physical actions that help to address diarrhea and constipation. It helps people with diarrhea to have formed bowel movements by creating a gel and people with constipation to have softer and easier to pass stool by increasing the moisture content of their bowel movements. People often experience significant improvement within a couple weeks when they make the dietary and fiber changes at the same time; although, constipation does take longer to resolve than diarrhea because they have to work up to a higher maintenance dose.

Constipation usually requires a dose at the higher end of the range to get it to resolve. Taking too much acacia too fast can cause increased gas and bloating. We recommend starting with � teaspoon twice a day and gradually increasing the dose slow enough to not cause gas and bloating, some people are more sensitive to this than others. Stay at each dose for about 3 or 4 days and then increase the dose by � to 1 teaspoon per day. If you get increased gas and bloating, go back to the previous dose, let it calm down, and then increase in smaller increments. Keep doing this until you find a dose that will resolve the constipation and/or diarrhea. The high end of the range is 5 tbsp/day. Folks with severe constipation will be at the higher end of the range, diarrhea will usually be resolved with a dose somewhere in the middle. The maintenance dose is different for each person depending on their specific symptoms. Dietary changes like Heather talks about in her books are often necessary to keep IBS stabilized. In the beginning until you stabilize, it works best to take the acacia before each meal to minimize the effect of trigger foods in the meal and to calm the intestines before the food arrives.

I hope this helps,
Erin

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Erin Dudley, MS, CN
Certified Nutritionist
Heather's Tummy Care / Heather & Company for IBS, LLC
IBS Education, Support, & Products
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER - This email is not intended to replace the services of a physician, nor does it constitute a doctor-patient relationship. Any application of the recommendations in this email is at the reader's discretion. Heather Van Vorous and Heather & Company for IBS, LLC are not liable for any direct or indirect claim, loss or damage resulting from use of this email and/or any web site(s) linked to/from it. Readers should consult their own physicians concerning the recommendations in this email

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