I have been tracking my dietary consumption for a while and I noticed I barely eat any fiber these days. My 1200 calories don't seem to allow me to get in the recommended 25 - 35 grams of a fiber a day. In fact, I have days where my fiber consumption is only four or five grams. I also have irritable bowel syndrome and was told to be sure to get plenty of fiber to help offset the unpleasantness that can come and go with IBS.

Because I want to be healthy and I want to keep my colon from ever having to undergo another panic-inducing colonoscopy, I decided to get a fiber supplement to take daily.

When I went to the drugstore, I was besieged with many different brands and types. There were powders blended into liquids, tablets, caplets, chewables, wafers. I had no idea what to do!

I left empty-handed and did some research on the net. There are different forms of fiber and each does different things within your body. You need soluble fiber to help your colon stay healthy. I decided to get a psyllium husk fiber supplement because it has the potential to reduce cholesterol levels and high cholesterol runs in my family.

Armed with my new info, I went back to the drugstore.

I read all the labels, compared prices, checked dosages, looked at how many calories each contained and, finally, settled on Konsyl. This fiber supplement is a powder that is mixed into liquid. You only need one teaspoon as compared to the usual tablespoon of others because it is sugar free. It is made from 100% natural psyllium fiber and one teaspoon contains over 6 grams of fiber, twice what the others were offering per dose.

The price was a bit higher than the others but the 550g (15.9 oz) jar contained 75 doses which came out to be about the same cost as the others.

So far so good! With just three calories per serving, no sugar, no carbs, no fat, even a little iron (10%), and a recommendation of one teaspoon twice a day mixed with liquid, this stuff seemed to be the answer to my fiberless existence.

This is information about Konsyl:

How does it work?

Psyllium husk is a bulk-forming laxative. It is used to treat constipation. This medicine swells when in contact with fluid and works by increasing the volume of the gut contents. This causes the muscle in the gut to push the contents of the gut along more quickly.

Psyllium husk is a type of fibre. It should only be used if the dietary intake of fibre cannot be increased.

Psyllium husk should be taken with plenty of fluid.
The full effect may take some days to be seen.

Psyllium husk is also useful for patients with colostomy, ileostomy, haemorrhoids, anal fissure (a break in the skin lining the anal canal), chronic diarrhoea associated diverticular disease, irritable bowel disease and as an adjunct in ulcerative colitis.

Psyllium is particularly useful in those who cannot tolerate bran.

Psyllium husk can also be used in treating moderately raised cholesterol levels.

It is not known exactly how psyllium reduces blood levels of cholesterol, but it is thought that it reduces the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed from the gut into the blood. It may do this by lowering the level of bile acids that are necessary for the absorption of cholesterol.

It is best not to take Konsyl within 1 to 2 hours of taking other medicines. The following medicines in particular may be affected:
* digoxin
* salicylates (like aspirin, choline salicylate, or magnesium salicylate)

The active ingredient in Konsyl is 6g of natural Psyllium Hyophilic Mucloid equal to 4 g of soluble fiber.

The inactive ingredients are -- get this -- none.

All natural with no crazy flavors or preservatives. Nothing funky in this but pure fiber to keep me healthy. I left the store feeling smug, like I knew a secret many are still searching to find the answer to.

But how does it taste?

One thing I overlooked until I tried it, though, was taste.

Konsyl is designed to be taken daily as an added source of fiber and can be used as a bulk forming laxative.

If I am going to take something every day, I need it to be tolerable. I am really pretty easy about taking things that aren't yummy but when I opened the jar and saw the sawdust-like texture, I was a bit worried. The smell did nothing to offset my fears. I used 8 oz of water and stirred in the fiber. It didn't dissolve. It clumped. It floated. It did everything but what I wanted it to do.

Undaunted, I decided to just down it the way it was.

Ugh. It tasted exactly like what I am sure sawdust tastes like. I nearly couldn't get the entire glass of water down.

I am all for natural things and this certainly is, but it's the worst tasting fiber supplement I ever tried, bar none.

I tried again with orange juice. I rarely drink OJ because it is so high in sugar and calories so, in essence, I was taking a 120-calorie additive just so I could swallow the stuff.

There was a film of the product covering the inside of the cup leaving me to wonder just how much of the fiber I had actually ingested and how much was left on the inside of the cup.

And I have 73 more doses to go.

Because it cost $18.99, I am not about to throw this away. I will find a way to ingest the remainder one way or the other. But when this is gone, I surely won't ever get it again.

There are far too many good fiber supplements on the market to have to nearly gag every time I take a dose.

Does it work? For what I wanted it for -- fiber supplementation -- obviously it does. As long as I am sure that I get the residue in the cup into my system, I am getting healthy fiber. But I can do that without gagging with other brands of fiber supplements.

The Pros:
A full 6g of fiber (4g soluble fiber) per teaspoon
All natural, nothing added
Safe for diabetics
Gluten free
Doctor Recommended for over 35 years
Has a role in reducing serum cholesterol
Price is comparable to other supplements when you figure it out per dose

The Cons:
It doesn't mix at all with liquid.
It smells like sawdust.
It looks like sawdust.
It tastes like sawdust.
I think it IS sawdust.

My Conclusion: While this is a totally natural product which delivers a good amount of useful fiber per dose, the taste, the smell, and the inability to get it to mix well just aren't worth the hassle. There are many fiber supplements out there that are easier to take and contain almost as much soluble fiber. It's just not worth nearly gagging every day to get the fiber you need. Unless you are a diabetic who absolutely cannot have anything with sugar or even sugar substitute or have an allergy to gluten which is present in most other fiber supplements, there is no reason to put yourself through an unpleasant experience every day to be healthy.


Recommended: No