Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

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Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby ukguy » 11 Feb 2016, 04:25

Hi - I've been suffering with AFs for quite a few years now. I have been able to make them manageable through taking Movicol, but periodically I seem to get an inexplicable flare-up, i.e tear which returns me back to square 1. I hate having to take Movicol long-term and I do worry about the long-term effects - common sense says that pouring polyethylene glycol down your throat every day cannot be good for you, however it's better than suffering with AF.

Nevertheless, as I said, I do keep getting relapses, despite me doing everything the doctors and wise-people tell me and it really does get me down. I just can't face an operation, that's a last resort and I am determined to try and crack this naturally if I can.

One piece of consistent advice I have read over many years is that fibre is good for us AF sufferers. We need fibre to avoid constipation, to keep us regular, etc. I even took Psyllium Husks at one point to "bulk out my stools" even though bulking out felt very counter-intuitive. Still no improvement, in fact it seemed to be worse although I never followed a consistent enough diet to really identify what was causing it.

And then ... on January 1st I began a whole food, plant based diet (reasons are many and varied). I only ate wholesome, unrefined, naturally occurring, plant based food, and for a couple of weeks I felt great. And then I had a relapse, one of the worst relapses I have had in fact and I felt thoroughly depressed. But in my despair, I looked back on what I had eaten (I was using myfitnesspal to record everything I ate) and I noticed I was consuming 50g-70g of fibre a day.

I also came across this website https://www.gutsense.org/index.html which was highlighting insoluble fibre as the culprit for AF sufferers (and many other disorders). Guess what? Not only was my fibre high, but most of it was insoluble. In trying to eat well I was consuming large amounts of nuts, wholegrain, legumes. On the day I had my bad tear I had eaten a large amount of popcorn at the cinema. Guess what? Popcorn has huge amounts of insoluble fibre!

I read gutsense and it seemed to make sense. Whilst insoluble fibre may be OK for normal people, for AF sufferers with damaged linings, this was a potential apocalyptic, arse-tearing disaster.

It's difficult to avoid soluble fibre, and in fact I feel I need that to stay regular, but I have tried to eliminate as much insoluble fibre as possible and I feel so much better. It's too early to say I am healed, I'm not sure I will ever say that but I feel like I am making headway. I am also trying to replace Movicol with Magnesium Citrate and Vitamin C, my goal being to transition to low/no IF diet, with Mag C and Vit C for stool softening - that would be happy days indeed.

Anyway, I just thought it might be interesting to share. I'd love to hear if any of this makes sense to anyone else? I'll post periodic updates too if that's of interest.

Cheers, UKGuy
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby Savaici » 11 Feb 2016, 04:58

50-70g of fibre=too much. Glad you figured it out. Men should not eat more than 30g a day and that's what we recommend to all members who ask :bouncer:

Good luck with your diet!
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby ukguy » 11 Feb 2016, 05:04

My point is the term 'fibre' isn't specific enough - soluble fibre isn't the culprit, insoluble fibre is. Or at least that's my hypothesis.

Eating 30g soluble fibre might be OK, but eating 30g insoluble fibre would tear me apart.
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby Savaici » 11 Feb 2016, 07:45

Ah, I did not really read what you had written, just skimmed through to 50-70g, so did not realise that you were almost totally on an insoluble fibre diet! Good that you saw the light, so to speak. I am a vegetarian and vary both forms of fibre, but have stopped thinking too much about it all now. I eat to a fairly strict regimen, and that is what has worked for me.

Anyway, if someone searches in the future for info about fibre, will also add this link that is on the group about the two types! And a link to the posts on here that mention gutsense :sunny:

post104770.html#p104770

search.php?keywords=Gutsense
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby Hafzaal » 11 Feb 2016, 16:57

That is spot on. Insoluble fiber always gave me that ripping feeling during a BM. I switched to a organic 100% soluble fiber (Acacia Senegal) and voila BMs were pain free. Im still not healed though however. Still get the occasional flare up and what not. Meeting my CRS again in May and I will 100% be getting a surgery if I do not heal by then. I just cant live with this even though my pain is minimal if and when I feel it.
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby hurtinend » 11 Feb 2016, 17:23

gutsense bashes fiber so they can they can sell you their supplements.
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby Savaici » 11 Feb 2016, 20:42

Read bits and pieces on their site; never bought a thing. And as long as they are not coming here and advertising, they can say what they like. Basically, would always advise to read what you can and tailor to your own body. I am more a believer in evidence in the form of published actual results than anyone flogging supplements on the net.
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Re: Insoluble fibre - get thee behind me

Postby ukguy » 12 Feb 2016, 03:06

I've read everything, learned a lot, never bought anything either. Some parts I didn't agree with but if I come away slightly wiser, with a slightly better chance of conquering my AF, it's worth it.
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