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I know I've hit 50 when I'm taking notes on fiber supplements.
Apparently, it's good to use two types of fiber together - soluble and insoluble- i.e. the kind that gets clumpy, and the kind that dissolves.
My thought is that the dissolving kind may help soften and relieve the kind that clumps up, and it's probably good to use both, and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
I've recently begun taking Konsyl (1 teaspoon, 2x daily) with Optifiber (2 teaspoons, 2x daily) . Most of what I eat is already reasonably soft food, so I thought I should consider a fiber supplement.
Two questions I have are whether taking fiber with a meal could push out the food before it's been digested and absorbed, and whether fiber interferes with intermittent fasting - i.e. triggers insulin.
What I found suggests that it should be taken with food, but the emphasis is on using it to prevent hunger, and using it often - which doesn't exactly answer my question.
I also found that fiber doesn't trigger insulin provided it doesn't contain maltodextrin (Konsyl actually does).
Konsyl also makes a 1500mg capsule, which would require four caps to keep up with one serving of the powder, and it also explains why the powder is so expensive. Not sure about the cost comparison.
At this point, I'm somewhat inconclusive about exactly whether I can have my fiber with my morning tea, but if I want to be an absolute intermittent fasting purist and maintain my 8-hour feeding window, I suppose I should avoid it early and have with lunch and dinner only, and hope it doesn't cause me to blow out my meal before it has time to get into my system. On the contrary, soluble fiber apparently slows digestion, so it may be a moot point.
Here's a breakdown of fiber types:
Soluble fiber (Psyllium husk, e.g. Konsyl, metamucil): Builds bulk to push food through, forms a gel to slow digestion, improves blood sugar.
Insoluble fiber (wheat dextrin, e.g. Benefiber, Optifiber): Stool softener - pulls water from the intestine to form softer, bulkier stools.
Laxative: Miralax is not fiber, but it may be used in conjunction with the other products to clear the lower colon.
Conclusion:
I take both fibers daily in the morning with my vitamins, no food. 2 teaspoons Optifiber, 1 teaspoon Konsyl - into a shaker cup - add half a bottle of water, shake, gulp, add the other half bottle, swirl and have my vitamins. Yay!
