As a glorious bonus, normalizing the contractions of the colon triggered by your gastrocolic reflex (from too fast or too slow speeds), prevents the violent and irregular spasms that result in the lower abdominal cramping pain that cripples so many Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients.
Best of all, Heather's Tummy Fiber™ Supplement can be taken daily forever with no harmful side effects or risk of addiction. In fact, soluble fiber has health benefits far beyond managing IBS, as it's been shown to lower LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, and minimize colon cancer risks. Soluble fiber also slows the absorption of fats and carbohydrates into the bloodstream, which improves glycemic control and helps prevent the formation of free radicals. In addition, it lowers insulin requirements, and is thus helpful for diabetics.
Clinical studies have also shown that Heather's Tummy Fiber™ Supplement has some special benefits, and advantages over other types of soluble fiber supplements. In the large intestine, Acacia fiber stimulates the development of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria, leading to the production of large amounts of short chain fatty acids which play numerous beneficial roles in the physiology of the human body. In addition, consumption of Acacia fiber at dose levels lower than 15 grams/day caused none of the gastro-intestinal symptoms seen with other soluble fiber supplements (gas, bloating, cramps).
How do I switch to Acacia fiber from another fiber supplement?
If you've been taking another dietary soluble fiber supplement (Benefiber, Fibercon, Citrucel, etc.) and you're simply switching to Acacia fiber, calculate your current daily fiber supplement dosage in grams (your bottle label will have this information) and begin with the equivalent amount of grams of Acacia fiber. One level teaspoon of Acacia has about 2 grams of fiber; one level tablespoon of Acacia has about 6 grams of fiber.
How much should I take? How often? When?
If you're not currently taking a soluble fiber supplement, begin with a low dose of Acacia fiber (try 1/2 level teaspoon twice daily) and gradually increase. This means a level measuring/baking teaspoon - not a teaspoon that you'd use to stir a drink or eat soup. A utensil teaspoon is much larger than a measuring teaspoon. And a level teaspoon is about half of a fully rounded teaspoon. So you can inadvertently start at a much higher dose than intended if you're not using a level measuring teaspoon. As you gradually increase your dose, you can get to a maximum level of about three tablespoons a day total (divided doses are preferable). This means a measuring/baking tablespoon. You do not HAVE to get to the maximum dose, and if you stabilize at a lower dose please feel free to stay there. Take your time as you increase your dose - slow and steady is much, much better than racing to a higher dose before your gut is used to the increase in fiber.
Raise your Acacia fiber dosage level by 1/2 - 1 teaspoon at a time, every few days or every week, until your bowel function has stabilized. Diarrhea and spasms should resolve in just a few days, especially as you increase your fiber dose; constipation, particularly if it has been chronic and severe, may take several weeks. Try to gradually increase your Heather's Tummy Fiber™ until you're taking 15-25 grams daily (this is about 2-4 level tablespoons); if you stabilize at a lower dose, simply stay there. It's always best to divide your daily dosage of Acacia into two or three doses (or even four), as the whole point of taking a soluble fiber supplement is to keep your gut filled with soluble fiber at all times. This will help to prevent bowel dysfunction and abdominal pain in the first place, and with IBS it's always better to keep yourself stable and head off problems, instead of trying to resolve attacks once they've begun.
I find it most helpful to take Acacia on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning and again before meals. It provides a great soluble fiber supplement "buffer" for meals that follow, and it's a terrific way to get and keep myself stable as soon as I roll out of bed. It also gives a good safety margin when I've gone too long without eating, or when I know I'll be eating a meal that is too high in fat or insoluble fiber for digestive safety. This is most often a factor with restaurant meals, so I make a habit of taking Acacia right before I leave the house to go out to eat. If mornings are your worst time of day as they are mine, taking a fiber supplement dose just before you go to bed at night can help head off problems when you arise.
Though Heather's Tummy Fiber™ has the benefits of all soluble fiber supplements in terms of helping to normalize bowel function and motility, clinical studies have shown that it also increases good gut flora. This is why Acacia will actively help reduce bloating and gas, whereas other types of fiber supplements (particularly psyllium, inulin, and for some folks guar gum as well) can worsen these symptoms. The prebiotic effect of Acacia (this simply means that it supports the growth of probiotics - beneficial bacteria - in your gut) can show very quickly or can take several weeks of daily use. In essence, the Acacia supplement is building up the beneficial flora in your GI tract to a healthy level, and how quickly you see results from this can depend on the state of your gut flora in the first place.
The active benefits from Heather's Tummy Fiber™ supplement in terms of a reduction in gas and bloating are separate from the fact that this fiber supplement is less likely to cause gas and bloating in the first place. This aspect of Acacia is termed its "gastrointestinal tolerance" - Acacia fiber actually slows down colonic fermentation, which decreases gas and bloating. This means that on top of the fact that you should see a reduction in gas and bloating once the prebiotic effect is in full swing, you also should not see any increase in gas or bloating when you start the fiber supplement in the first place.
Does Acacia work as well for constipation as for diarrhea?
Yes, it does - but Acacia is not a laxative or drug. Acacia can work wonders for constipation, but it not an overnight solution. It makes a great deal of difference how you take Acacia, and it's well worth the time and effort to do it right.
First of all, these are the best ways NOT to get the results you want:
- Try Acacia at a low dose for just a few days, then give up because there's no change.
- Go from zero to the maximum dose in one week flat, then give up because it's not working and now you're all bloated and gassy as well.
- Start taking Acacia at the same time you suddenly stop taking laxatives, enemas, or colon cleanses you've been using regularly, then give up because your constipation is suddenly worse, not better.
The cardinal rule with Acacia is to start at a low dose (for Acacia, just 1/2 a level measuring teaspoon, twice daily), and increase gradually. Constipation seems to require a much higher daily dose than diarrhea, and it can take several weeks, or even a few months, to slowly work your way up to the maximum daily dose. Acacia is not a laxative, and it will not give "overnight relief", so taking a low dose for a few days will not alleviate your symptoms. What it will do is begin to acclimate your gut to a higher daily dose of fiber, and this is the goal. Don't give up as soon as you start - just realize that using Acacia is a slow, steady process. You will see improvements along the way.
It's tempting to think that if you need to reach the maximum dose to see the best results, you can just force your body to adjust to a high dose as fast as possible. After all, if your constipation will resolve on an Acacia dose of, say, 25 grams a day, and it might typically take someone, say, 8 weeks to reach that dose, you'll be way ahead of the game if you race your way up to that dose in your very first week - right? Nope - wrong.
By definition, if you have IBS, you do not have a normally functioning gut. No matter how your IBS symptoms manifest (constipation or diarrhea, bloating or pain) your GI tract - and specifically, your gastrocolic reflex - is hyper-reactive to normal stimuli. Your goal should always be to keep your gastrocolic reflex stable so you can soothe and regulate your gut function.
Suddenly overloading your bowel with a fiber dose that is possibly ten times what you were taking before you started Acacia will do nothing but give you bloating and gas, as your GI tract struggles to deal with all of this unexpected fiber. Fiber is, after all, an undigestible carbohydrate, and your body needs to work to process it through your digestive tract.
Asking your gut to go from no soluble fiber supplement to a maximum daily dose too quickly is like trying to become a marathon runner by sprinting as hard and as fast as you can without rest. It won't work, you'll be frustrated, and you'll give up. Instead, go slowly, increase your dose gradually, and give your body the time and gentle approach it needs to adjust to the Acacia increase. You can't beat your colon into submission with IBS, you need to kindly, patiently, and consistently coax it into normal motility. Acacia can help do this for you if you give it a fair chance.
If you've been regularly using laxatives, or artificially increasing colon motility through other means (enemas, colon cleanses, harsh stimulant herbs such as senna, cascara, aloe) the odds are pretty good that your bowel is dependent on them. If you suddenly stop using them, bowel motility might shut down and your constipation will seriously worsen. This would be the case even if you didn't add Acacia at the same time.
It is definitely possible to transition from a laxative or other unnatural methods of alleviating constipation to Acacia. But, you can't simply switch from one to the other in a single day and expect equivalent results. What you can do is keep taking your usual dose of laxatives while you begin your Acacia and start to gradually increase your Acacia dose. When you've been able to reach a fairly high daily dose (say, 2-3 tablespoons) you can start to gradually decrease your laxative.
Keep increasing the Acacia and continue decreasing your laxative, taking each step slowly and carefully. This is not likely to be a fast process, but the slower and steadier you go the more likely it is to have a highly successful result. I've heard from numerous people who transitioned off of laxatives, senna, enemas, and even prescription constipation drugs and onto a soluble fiber supplement, with terrific results. But it took anywhere from one to six months, depending on how long their bowels had been dependent on the laxatives. Good things can be well worth the wait, and this is one of those situations where patience is truly a virtue. IBS is a lifelong problem for most people, so giving yourself a few months to make a tremendous improvement is not really taking too much time in the grand scheme of things.
Should I take Acacia in hot or cold liquids? In foods?
Heather's Tummy Fiber™, like all soluble fiber supplements, needs plenty of water in order to work properly. Take each dose of Acacia fiber with an 8 ounce glass of water (more if you like), and make sure that you're drinking a bare minimum of 64 ounces of water daily. Helpful herbal teas like fennel, peppermint, and chamomile will count towards your water intake. You can also add Acacia directly to your herbal teas, or sprinkle on any moist foods, such as cereals, pastas, puddings, etc. You can add a few tablespoons of Acacia to many recipes as you cook to get extra soluble fiber in your meals. This works very well with soups, rice dishes, casseroles, hot cereals, and more.
Acacia dissolves best in cold or warm - not hot - liquids. It's very helpful to add Acacia to your empty glass first, and then add the liquid, stirring with a fork as the liquid fills the glass. If the Acacia does not dissolve completely right away, simply let the glass sit for about 30 seconds, and then stir again.
Acacia dissolves well in both cold and hot moist foods. Very hot or boiling hot liquids are problematic, as Acacia is a cold-water soluble gum. If you wish to have Heather's Tummy Fiber™ in a very hot beverage, you can dissolve it first in cool water and then heat the liquid to make your hot drink, or you can let a hot beverage cool to drinking temperature first before adding the fiber supplement. If the liquid is still quite hot when you add the Acacia, it works well to blend it in with a fork instead of a spoon.
Is Acacia high carb? Will it make me gain weight? Can I take it if I'm diabetic?
For folks who are worried about weight gain, glycemic control, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), or their carbohydrate intake, Heather's Tummy Fiber™ is a great way to get the benefits of soluble fiber without any carbohydrates or calories. The FDA has declared water-soluble gums such as Acacia to be a good source of soluble dietary fiber, which by definition means that they are not digested in the human gut. However, the FDA has also mandated that the caloric value of gums be declared as a carbohydrate with 4 calories per gram. The FDA is currently being petitioned by scientists on the Calorie Control Council to change this mandate, as it has been established that gums do not contribute calories as carbohydrates do, since gums are not completely metabolized in the body. In plain English, this simply means that though FDA labeling requires all dietary soluble fiber supplements, including Acacia, to list a calorie content, in reality there are virtually no calories in Heather's Tummy Fiber™ at all.
The net result of this is that with the Acacia fiber supplement you are getting all of the benefits of soluble fiber without any carbohydrates or calories. For diabetes and other diseases, there are terrific advantages to a diet high in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber slows the rate of carbohydrate absorption (this gives an advantage to taking Heather's Tummy Fiber™ right before a meal), improves regulation of blood sugar, and lowers insulin requirements. Soluble fiber also decreases LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol levels, and therefore reduces the risk of heart disease, which is a serious risk for diabetics. PCOS patients are often found to have insulin resistance, and soluble fiber can help to stabilize their blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption of food sugars into the bloodstream, and therefore decreasing the insulin secretion of the pancreas.
What does it mean that Heather's Tummy Fiber™ is certified organic?
Heather's Tummy Fiber™ Acacia Supplement is certified organic and therefore uses:
- no pesticides
- no fertilizer
- no herbicides
- no GMO (genetically modified organisms)
- no preservatives
- no additives
- no irradiation
- no animal testing
Organic certification guarantees that Acacia is harvested with:
- good ecology - enriched soil, less soil erosion
- harvested through farming which respects the environment
- traceability of each batch demonstrated from the orchard to the customer
- organic certified farming/harvesting by ECOCERT
- organic certified manufacturing and packaging by Quality Assurance International
- USDA organic certified
"Certified organic" refers to agricultural products that have been grown and processed according to strict uniform standards, verified annually by independent state or private organizations. These organizations' certifying seals are your guarantee that Heather's Tummy Care products have been third-party certified organic.
Heather's Tummy Fiber™ is certified organic right from the origin by our supplier's certifying agency, Ecocert International. One of their agents personally goes into the Acacia orchards (which are located in the Dourbali region of Chad, in Africa) to certify each harvesting area. After harvest, the incoming bags of raw Acacia are assigned their "organic" identification, which follows the Acacia through the entire packing and shipping process. This organic traceability is carried directly from the plant to our customers by our certifying agency, Quality Assurance International. Heather's Tummy Fiber™ is also USDA organic certified.
Is Heather's Tummy Fiber™ Acacia kosher?
Yes, Heather's Tummy Fiber™ is certified kosher. The certifying authority is the Va'ad Harabanim of Greater Seattle. Heather's Tummy Fiber™ is not kosher for Passover.
Please realize that Acacia will be much more effective if you're eating properly for IBS as well. If you're not sure how to adjust your diet to manage IBS symptoms, the IBS Diet Kit #2 will give you all the information you need, plus Heather's Tummy Fiber™.
Brand: Heather's Tummy Care
Heather's Tummy Fiber - Organic Acacia Powder, Heather's Tummy Care, 1 lb
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