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Hi Tracy - so glad you like the tea! I confess, I sniff the peppermint too.

Acacia, metamucil (psyllium) and inulin are all very different fibers. In a nutshell, psyllium is about 1/3 insoluble, which can cause problems. Inulin ferments very rapidly in the gut, which can cause tremendous bloating and gas. Inulin is getting increasingly common as a fiber supplement because it is so readily available as a by-product from other manufacturing uses, and it's dirt cheap.

Acacia is 100% soluble (no insoluble fiber at all) and it ferments very slowly in the gut. This creates the prebiotic effect, but it also makes it very unlikely to cause bloating and gas. It's not the by-product of other processing, it is literally a whole food that is nothing but the natural gum of the acacia senegal tree.

So, bad experiences with psyllium and inulin wouldn't mean you'd have the same reaction to acacia at all.

But, with any fiber, including acacia, you need to start at a low dose (try just 1/2 tsp twice daily) and gradually increase. Too much too fast can overwhelm your gut, as fiber is literally indigestible. That's why you start low and go slow, to give your gut time to learn to deal with extra fiber.
Best,
H

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