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Optifast and, uh, Regularity January 20, 2012

Posted by Optifast Blogger in Maintenance.
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Now I actually can’t offer any personal insights into this in terms of my Optifast dieting. Maybe I was fortunate. But it is a topic I get asked about a lot via this blog. And the topic did come up at times in our Kaiser Optifast support group, though (prude I guess that I am) I always felt uncomfortable when fellow dieters freely shared information about their colonic health. I don’t personally use the word “constipation” in front of anyone other than my doctor, but that’s just me.

I know in general high protein diets, due to their lack of vegetable and fruit fiber, can cause problems slowing down digestion. Although some Optifast diet programs allow some vegetables during the meal replacement phase, ours didn’t.

Certainly initially our group leader and I think the Kaiser doctor who spoke with us did bring up the topic. In addition to the cure-everything-that-ails-you recommendation to drink ever more water, as I recall they did suggest adding psyllium into the Optifast shakes or sugarfree beverages (like Crystal Light). I think psyllium comes in husks and in powder form, and even in tablets. I don’t know the pros and cons of the different forms. I know there are some (minimal) calories added when consuming psyllium, but don’t think it’s a concern. It’s mostly indigestible.

I believe you can buy psyllium at pharmacies and health food stores, and possibly in bulk at stores like Whole Foods. These days it can probably be found even at regular grocery stores like Safeway.

There are also these (relatively new, I think) gummy fiber sources, that look and taste like kids vitamins, but which have 5 grams of fiber and few calories. I’m seeing them advertised a lot lately in magazines. A victim of marketing, I bought a container of these recently at a Walgreens. I don’t think it hurts (and may help) to pop one or two of these a day, but of course I’m no medical expert so would suggest anyone with this problem consult their doctor or at least a diet program consultant.

Now that I and my group are in maintenance,  we can (and are encouraged to) eat lots of high fiber, from fruits and vegetables to beans and whole grains. For those with carb addictions it’s probably safer to try to get the fiber from vegetables, if possible. Artichokes, broccoli, swiss chard and spinach all seem to be good sources, based on the fiber chart at http://www.wehealny.org/healthinfo/dietaryfiber/fibercontentchart.html.

Our group leader says that we are supposed to get 25-30 grams of fiber a day, but the average person in this country only gets half that. So if you can eat fiber foods, have at it. If you can’t and feel your digestion is being impacted by a high protein diet, there are fiber sources like psyllium that should help.

I know folks in our group blamed weight ups and downs on irregularity. Don’t know about that, but It IS better for your health to have a regular, well-functioning digestive system, so do get help if it’s a problem.