Hi AllLooking for some advice on Inulin...dietary fibre. Wondering wether to give it a go reading about it, seems to benefit just about everything!! Is it good for us 'Thyroids' though?
Has anyone tried it? And does it cause bloatedness/flatulance/diarrhoea?
If it helps constipation, cholesterol, belly fat, ability to get good night's sleep, then I'd definetely try it, but then if donkey shit did same, I'd be out in the fields with a spade....
I use inulin. I have it every evening with montmorency cherry jice in hot water. It used to help me sleep (but atm having problems, unrelated) and definitely helped my digestion issues. Don't buy the single serve packets - get a sack full or at least 500grams to try it. Hope you find it useful.😘
Oh that made me laugh..and be right there with you with a spade 🤣
I recently started taking Inulin and find that it really works well, both for sleep (don't understand why that is but heyho) and digestion - it really makes you 'empty out'. I would recommend it based on my experience but of course that may not be the same for everyone. Still, maybe you will be able to put away that spade.........
I've used inulin before (for constipation) many years ago and it was helpful. I'm not sure it did all the other things you mentioned, but almost anything which contains soluble fibre which keeps you "clear" will reduce cholesterol, I think.
I'd agree with Rapunzel - buy a small sack of the stuff rather than individual capsules or other small servings, then experiment with your own dose. Note that you must drink a lot of water with it otherwise you might block your gut up, and that wouldn't be fun. (I might be getting inulin confused with another fibre product, so please check if that is a real side effect.)
I wouldn't use anything for constipation which contains insoluble fibre because it acts like a brillo pad on my intestines and colon and causes pain. But soluble fibre like inulin is not a problem.
I just had a very quick look at the wikipedia article on inulin.
What surprised me was this :
Inulin is uniquely treated by nephrons in that it is completely filtered at the glomerulus but neither secreted nor reabsorbed by the tubules. This property of inulin allows the clearance of inulin to be used clinically as a highly accurate measure of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) — the rate of plasma from the afferent arteriole that is filtered into Bowman's capsule measured in ml/min.
I'd never read that before, and have no idea if taking inulin could be a problem with poorly functioning kidneys. Also note that info I just quoted had no citation. So if I were you I'd do more research before giving it a try.
Thank you Humanscale for your very informative contributions. Would love to know if insulin or anything like it may be contrary for our thyroid medications?
I would keep dosing of thyroid hormones four hours away from taking inulin, just like people do with some other supplements, e.g. calcium, HRT, magnesium and some others.
I used the interactions checker on drugs.com and the only thing it suggested inulin might interact with is lactulose, another supplement used to reduce problems with constipation.
You might find this of interest :
healthline.com/health/food-...
It did mention on that link that inulin could slow down digestion. As someone who already has slow digestion because I take a PPI, I don't think I would want to try inulin myself.
Inulin was one of the excipients in WP Thyroid. Perhaps that is why I felt so good on it. No constipation, slept well and generally felt good. Then it went off the market.
Buy some, hun! I get mine off eBay about £13 for a 1kg pack which lasts a good while xx
Will look into it Rapunzel . Good to see you around now and again.
I used inulin and at first it improved my sleep. After that, the effects tapered off a bit. If you can afford it and have time, I would recommend the Zoe Personal Nutrition Programme. It did all the things you mention as well as make me feel a lot more energetic. It has led to me adjusting my diet a lot, although I thought it wasn't that bad to start with.
both inulin and psyllium husk are effective for constipation but as Humanbean says water essential. I use psyllium husk in cakes and pastry. Getting very good results. Once I have a decent number of recipes refined I’ll be posting 😉
it’s great stuff, been using it for years. I buy 1 kilo at a time and have 1 heaped teaspoon in warm water before bed. I started with half that amount for a week or so.
My husband now wants to take after reading about it in the paper earlier this week.
I'd never heard of this before but definitely be buying some if helps with constipation. I'm drinking linseed and hot water at present but off to but this now 🏃♀️➡️🏃♀️➡️ thanks for sharing
If it helps constipation, cholesterol, belly fat, ability to get good night's sleep, then I'd definetely try it
I would say it depends on what is causing these problems.
Constipation isn't just about lack of fibre. It's also about lowered metabolism and low stomach acid, both caused by being hypo.
I cannot for the life of me see how dietary fibre can lower cholesterol. Cholesterol is made in the liver and goes directly into the blood. It doesn't have much to do with diet. The liver keeps the level stable by making more the less you consume, and vice versa. But, if your T3 is low, the body cannot process cholesterol correctly and it tends to build up in the blood. So, once again, we come back to poorly managed hypo. Besides, high cholesterol is not the problem they make it out to be. It's a symptom, not a disease, and won't kill you.
Is your belly fat really fat? Or is it hypo-related water-retention.
As for poor sleep, so many thing can cause that.
So, whilst added fibre may give you temporary relief, it won't resolve the root cause: hypo.
Agree with that Greygoose - there is always a reasons for dis-ease within the body !
Absolutely.
I didn't realise the liver was responsible for cholesterol. So am I right in thinking that working on my fatty liver by getting my ALT'S down in normal range (hopefully reversed but without a scan not know for sure). That will have helped bring my cholesterols in ranges? Also been able to reduce my t3 dose and still able to function? Not many people mention fatty liver on here but I know there is a connection with thyroid and feel that's how mine came about as diet wise it shouldn't have happened unless a restricted low fat, low carb, low calorie diet can cause it?
So am I right in thinking that working on my fatty liver by getting my ALT'S down in normal range (hopefully reversed but without a scan not know for sure). That will have helped bring my cholesterols in ranges?
I don't see why it would, because it's not the liver making too much, it's a low T3 problem. And high cholesterol isn't a problem, anyway. It doesn't cause strokes or heart attacks.
Bile is made from cholesterol. These fibres and resistant starches bind the bile and it is eliminated.
But how does that reduce cholesterol in the blood?
Bile is recycled. If it is bound up and thus eliminated in the faeces, then the body has to use more cholesterol to make bile. If bile is not reabsorbed in the small intestine, it continues into the large intestine and results in watery diarrhoea. (Malabsorption of bile).
Influence of dietary fiber on bile acid metabolism
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/108....
Some types of fiber and some components of fiber have been shown to bind bile acids and bile salts in appreciable quantities. The capacity for various types of fiber to bind bile acids or bile salts is quite variable, and a high capacity seems to correspond with a hypocholesteremic effect. A great deal of research is still needed for elucidation of these interactions of fiber and bile acid metabolism and the resultant beneficial effects on cholesterol metabolism and the disease-related abnormalities in cholesterol metabolism.
Inulin works similar to resistant starch. The colon microbiome digest it to produce short chain fatty acids. In the case of resistant starch this is propionate, acetate, and butyrate.
Definitely inulin results in the production of butyrate.
Butyrate feeds the cells that line the colon so they are healthier. Acetate goes to the brain to help you sleep bettter. Propionate goes to the liver. No problems.
Another good sleep hack is using potato starch. Mix it into yoghurt. If you mix it with water, it settles quickly so don't let it sit around. Or just remix it. It has no flavour. It is a resistant starch and only digested by the bacteria in the colon.
You can achieve the same results by consuming a cup of bean salad or lentil soup. Both increase insulin sensitivity as well.
Years ago my friends and I did lots of work with various types of resistant starch including studying the effect on blood glucose.
Just be careful if you are using potato starch. It makes people h*rny in the middle of the night. You may enjoy this or not. It can cause s*x dreams or you might wake up your partner because, well, you want something.....
Inulin, for me, means explosive diarrhoea and just feeling rubbish. Which is weird, as I'm fine with bananas
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