Yum, It’s Fiber Soup!

Every day, I put a combination of psyllium fiber, inulin fiber, and a probiotic into a glass, add water, stir it up, and drink it down. Then I follow it with another glass of water to make sure the fiber doesn’t have to draw fluids from my gut. That gives me around six grams of fiber in addition to what I get from vegetables and fruit.

My grandson Riley has watched me do that for probably as long as he can remember. Several weeks ago, he decided he wanted a taste. I gave him one. He liked it, maybe because I use a psyllium that’s pink lemonade flavor. Soon he began reaching into the silverware drawer when I mixed it and getting a spoon so he could taste some directly. He’s still working on his spoon skills; he learned he has to keep the spoon bowl-side-up or it lands on his shirt. He began calling it his soup; well, it’s his “zoopa” but we think he means soup.

I decided I would mix up some for him in his own bowl. He gets it after dinner, although he asks for it at every meal; it’s about half of what I take or three grams of fiber with his probiotic added. Because of the psyllium fiber, it begins to turn to a gel, which really helps his spoon skills. He makes sure that bowl is scraped clean, better than anything else he eats. We make sure he also drinks water afterward for the same reason I mentioned earlier. He needs about eight or nine grams of fiber per day, and this adds to the total he gets from food. Without question, he is never constipated.

Next week we’ll add a new Basic Health Info with the recipes for the fiber mix and some details about why and how you should take in fiber as well as the benefits. This week was about building better health habits, and this is one you most likely need. You can call it what you want, but join Riley and start getting your fiber soup every day—because I know you’re not going to let a three-year-old get more fiber than you do.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet