Psyllium Seed Husk

[Little Joe]

I am newly diagnosed with celiac disease (Nov. 21) and, as quickly as possible, moving toward and adjusting to a gluten-free diet.

I certainly have many questions, but one that sticks out right now is if anyone knows a good source of gluten-free psyllium seed husks? I currently use Trader Joe's "Secrets Of The Psyllium" which is inexpensive, and devoid of flavorings, sugars, etc. While the container states "No wheat," it also states that it is processed on shared equipment (listing wheat and a few others). There is no gluten-free label on the container (and I am learning that mileage will vary with the "gluten-free" labels, and to do my research on all prepared foodstuffs that I buy).

Anyway, my guess is that this product is probably not advisable for use but... does anyone with celiac disease use this product successfully? Has anyone used it and experienced adverse effects? Does anyone know of a brand of 100% psyllium that is safe for those with celiac disease?

I am glad to have found this site, thanks,

Joe

[ciamarie]

I've been using Yerba Prima psyllium husks powder, here are details on their site, but I got it in the natural foods section of a grocery store: http://www.yerba.com/storefront/item.asp?id=57

It doesn't specifically say it's gluten-free but I've been fine with it, afaik.

[ButterflyChaser]

Try this: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-2879-organic-india-fiber-harmony-certified-organic-psyllium-whole-husk-12-oz?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=fpl&utm_term=OrganicIndiaFiberHarmonyCertifiedOrganicPsylliumWholeHusk12oz&utm_content=51334&utm_campaign=googlebase&site=google_product_listing_ads&gclid=CJ20kvni8LMCFcqY4AodkVwAdQ&

You can get it at any Vitamin Shoppe.

[GFinDC]

Yerba Prima works fine for me. I haven't tried Trader Joe's brand.

[Little Joe]

Thank you for the replies! There is a Vitamin Shoppe very near to one of our local Trader Joe's and, according to their Web site, they carry both the Yerba Prima and Organic India brands (along with some others). I will give them a visit on this weekend's grocery shopping trip.

[ktylizbth]

I recently took some psyllium husk in capsule form and I am thinking it caused a bad reaction for me. My head feels full and foggy for a couple day now. I am also having crawling feeling in my head and balance issues. I am having similar experiences to anytime that I would eat gluten. Certainly it is possible that I could be reacting to something different, but I had never tried this capsule before. I'm honestly very nervous about the idea of trying it again. Just wanted to give you my experience. Just for the record, I am not just sensitive to gluten, but also to other gluten grains like corn, rice, oatmeal, etc. So if you are sensitive to more than just the gluten in wheat, then I would express caution. Good luck. 

[Andre55432]

I took two "health4all" psyllium husk 550mg and I had a bad reaction. I took them with a lot of water, before food. Didn't eat anything I haven't eaten before so my reaction can't come from the food.

[Ennis-TX]

18 hours ago, Andre55432 said:

I took two "health4all" psyllium husk 550mg and I had a bad reaction. I took them with a lot of water, before food. Didn't eat anything I haven't eaten before so my reaction can't come from the food.

I use Konsyl Powder in my bakery as a binding agent and it is gluten free.....I have worked with psyllum husk for years. I am going to give you a few facts that could have led to your issues.
1 tsp of psyllum husk will absorb and swell to liquid to make up to 1 cup of mass. If you took pills of it...it probably formed a huge clump in your digestive tract, you should use it in a large amount of liquid and heat it to let it form and thicken then blend it back up and break it to get the fiber without the gobbing effect. I use it to make protein sticky dough, breads, and even use it with coconut flour for a porridge.

[moleface]

That's odd. Like the above poster said, the issue could be that you took it in capsule form.

I've been taking powdered psyllium husk on and off for years, and I never have issues when I mix it in a glass of water.

Psyllium husk seems to work even better for me than fiber-heavy foods. I still have daily diarrhea, but psyllium reduces the number of visits to the bathroom and also makes the whole experience less messy. I don't go a day without it anymore.

[Andre55432]

On 4/25/2018 at 7:00 PM, Andre55432 said:

I took two "health4all" psyllium husk 550mg and I had a bad reaction. I took them with a lot of water, before food. Didn't eat anything I haven't eaten before so my reaction can't come from the food.

I ate gluten free bread and had a bad reaction (feeling glutened, which for me is turning into a senile zombie, unable to think etc..). I later look at the list of ingredients (I should have done this *before* eating!), and I find that this bread contains psyllium husk.

I've had no issue with other gluten free breads.

My issue with Psyllium Husk doesn't seem common, so I could be wrong, but I'm not willing to experiment taking more of it because of the severity of the symptoms it – supposedly – gives me.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Andre55432

[Andre55432]

On 4/26/2018 at 1:53 PM, Ennis_TX said:

I use Konsyl Powder in my bakery as a binding agent and it is gluten free.....I have worked with psyllum husk for years. I am going to give you a few facts that could have led to your issues.
1 tsp of psyllum husk will absorb and swell to liquid to make up to 1 cup of mass. If you took pills of it...it probably formed a huge clump in your digestive tract, you should use it in a large amount of liquid and heat it to let it form and thicken then blend it back up and break it to get the fiber without the gobbing effect. I use it to make protein sticky dough, breads, and even use it with coconut flour for a porridge.

That makes sense I guess, but I probably won't ever try to take it again, as the last two times made me feel glutened for at least 48h.

[Ennis-TX]

2 hours ago, Andre55432 said:

That makes sense I guess, but I probably won't ever try to take it again, as the last two times made me feel glutened for at least 48h.

I am not one to question food intolerance issues or sensitivities I have some freaky ones myself, I would not doubt you could have developed a issue with psyllum husk. It is quite abrasive and my old nutritionist told me it was like a loofah sponge for the intestines and scrubbed them, so I should try to pulse and rotate off it to avoid irritation.  So going by this it could be just a irritant to your damage gut like rubbing a sun burn or a carpet burn with with a loofah sponge lol.

Or it could be a intolerance or sensitivity, I have had rotating ones for years, some come back with a irritated gut, others are just odd and stick around feel free to read up on the issue here. Open Original Shared Link