Product Overview
Genestra Herbal Bulk- 16 oz (454 grams)
• Soluble and insoluble fibre combination in a convenient powdered format • Psyllium hull, Oat bran, Rice bran, Apple pectin and Guar gum. • Effective • Used in Herbal Medicine as a bulk-forming laxative, to promote bowel movements by increasing bulk volume and water content, and to provide gentle relief of constipation and irregularity (1). • Ideal for vegans • Convenient liquid format increase patient compliance • Herbal Bulk provides psyllium husks along with other natural water-soluble fibers and synergistic nutrients required for the gastrointestinal tract health.
References: 1 NHPD Monograph on Psyllium (Plantago ovata). February 2009.
Additional product info: Psyllium (Plantago ovata and related Plantago species) husk is a gel-forming mucilage and a water-soluble fiber that has long been used as a bulk-forming laxative. Psyllium is partially fermented in the colon by colonic bacteria, releasing short-chain fatty acids and gas as metabolic by-products, while the portions of the non-fermented fraction act to increase stool moisture and increase fecal bile acid excretion (2). Psyllium husk is used as a bulk-forming laxative for relief of constipation (3). Irritable bowel syndrome is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of abdominal pain or discomfort associated with an altered bowel habit, not explained by any structural or biochemical changes in the gut. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in the population is in the order of 10%, and approximately a quarter of people with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms seek medical advice. A randomized controlled study was performed to determine the effectiveness of increasing the dietary content of soluble fiber (psyllium) or insoluble fiber (bran) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Patients (n = 275) were randomly allocated to a 12 week treatment regimen with 10 g psyllium (soluble fiber), 10 g bran (insoluble fiber), or placebo (rice flour) in two daily dosages, to be taken with meals by mixing with food, preferably yoghurt. psyllium resulted in a significantly greater proportion of patients reporting adequate relief of symptoms compared with placebo supplementation. Patients receiving psyllium also reported a significant reduction in severity of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. The results of this large scale trial in primary care support the addition of soluble fiber, such as psyllium, but not bran as an effective first treatment approach in the clinical management of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (4). Psyllium husk at 10.2 grams per day has also significant health benefits relating to reducing total blood and LDL-cholesterol (5).
Lifestyle modification is the preferable form of treatment for most types of hyperlipidemia. The American Heart Association guidelines for treating hypercholesterolemia and most studies concerning dietary modification have focused on dietary cholesterol and fat reduction. Including water-soluble fiber in the diet was shown to be an additional, important component of cholesterol reduction efforts. Oat gum, guar gum and pectin, all soluble fibers, have hypocholesterolemic effects in animals. The addition of beans, oat bran, locust bean gum, guar gum, psyllium or pectin to human diets reduces elevated cholesterol levels by 3–20%, depending on study design. Water-insoluble fiber does not affect cholesterol levels. Rice bran contains less total dietary fibre (6–14.4 vs. 15–22 g/100 g), and less soluble fibre (1.8–2.7 vs. 5.3–8.4 g/100 g) than oat bran. Based on its soluble fiber content alone, rice bran should have less hypo-lipidemic effect than other sources of fiber. However, rice bran is 12–23% oil, a relatively high percentage compared to most other bran sources, and the oil has an unusually high unsaponifiable matter concentration (4.2%). In a randomized, double blind, noncross-over study, subjects added 84 g/d of a heat-stabilized, full-fat, medium-grain rice bran product (n = 14), oat bran product (n = 13) or rice starch placebo (n = 17) to their usual low-fat diet. Serum cholesterol decreased significantly in the rice bran and oat bran groups, respectively, but there was no change in the rice starch group. The LDL-C:HDL-C ratio decreased significantly in the rice bran and oat bran groups. Rice bran, as well as oat bran, should be included in the prudent diet of individuals with hyperlipidemia (6). Sedentary normal (cholesterol?200 mg/dL) (n=36) and hypercholesterolemic (cholesterol>220 mg/dL) (n=30) men from the Northern part of Mexico aged 20 to 45 years of age participated in an 8-week study to determine the effects of dietary soluble fiber, either psyllium or oat bran, in lowering plasma LDL cholesterol in this population. Fibre was administered by feeding the subjects an amount of cookies (100 g) equivalent to 1.3 or 2.6 g/day of soluble fiber from psyllium or oat bran, respectively. Subjects were randomly allocated to three groups: a control group consuming cookies with wheat bran, a known source of fiber with no cholesterol lowering effects, psyllium, or oat bran. The results of the study indicate that psyllium and oat bran are efficacious in lowering plasma LDL cholesterol in both normal and hypercholesterolemic individuals from this population (8).
Although dietary fiber both increase fecal bulk and lower serum cholesterol, the types of fiber that achieve these two effects may be different. Twenty-two healthy volunteers took approximately 20 g/day of concentrated dietary fiber from either carrot, cabbage, apple, bran, or guar gum or 31 g from pectin, added for 3-week periods to controlled diets. Total serum cholesterol fell by 13% on both guar and pectin with no significant change in high density lipoprotein cholesterol. Over the 3-week supplementation period, the other fibers were without effect with the exception of carrot, where both control and test high density lipoprotein levels fell. If, however, the 3rd week of the control was compared with the 3rd test week, the values for total cholesterol were 7% lower after apple while after carrot the high density lipoprotein cholesterol level was 10% lower than the control. Comparison of stool weights obtained in this study indicate that the fecal bulking action of dietary fiber is independent of its hypocholesterolaemic effect (9).
References: 2 Marlett JA, Fischer MH. The active fraction of psyllium seed husk. Proc Nutr Soc. 2003 Feb;62(1):207-9. 3 NHPD Monograph on Psyllium-Plantago ovata. 2009. 4 Bijkerk CJ, de Wit NJ, Muris JW, Whorwell PJ, Knottnerus JA, Hoes AW. Soluble or insoluble fibre in irritable bowel syndrome in primary care? Randomised placebo controlled trial. BMJ. 2009 Aug 27;339:b3154. 5 Anderson JW, Davidson MH, Blonde L, Brown WV, Howard WJ, Ginsberg H, Allgood LD, Weingand KW. Long-term cholesterol-lowering effects of psyllium as an adjunct to diet therapy in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jun;71(6):1433-8. 6 Gerhardt AL, Gallo NB. Full-fat rice bran and oat bran similarly reduce hypercholesterolemia in humans. J Nutr. 1998 May;128(5):865-9. 7 Romero AL, Romero JE, Galaviz S, Fernandez ML. Cookies enriched with psyllium or oat bran lower plasma LDL cholesterol in normal and hypercholesterolemic men from Northern Mexico. J Am Coll Nutr. 1998 Dec;17(6):601-8. 8 Jenkins DJ, Reynolds D, Leeds AR, Waller AL, Cummings JH. Hypocholesterolemic action of dietary fiber unrelated to fecal bulking effect. Am J Clin Nutr. 1979 Dec;32(12):2430-5.
