I love psyllium as a binder and stool thickener…but I’m allergic to it, gah!
Psyllium works amazing (70 soluble) and I know many j-pouchers use it with great success, myself included. But, after a few years using it, I got a high IgE/IgG allergy response from it, which made sense as it would make me “stuffy.” I pretty much do not take binders anymore but sometimes they are nice to just slow things down. I’ve tried them all: Acacia, SunFiber (partially hydrolyzed guar gum), glucomannans, Bimuno (galactooligosaccharides), benefiber (dextrin), etc… you name it I’ve tried it. Many of them are used as “pre-biotics” and indeed, they all make me super gassy and bloated and do not “BIND” the stool that well. I found that if a fiber isn’t “sticky” when mixing outside of the body, it won’t be "sticky" and bind inside of the body.
I recently came across Oat Beta Glucans in my work life. Oat Beta-D-glucans comprise a class of indigestible polysaccharides widely found in nature in sources such as grains. In oats, they are concentrated in the bran, more precisely in the aleurone and sub-aleurone layer. They are produced using steam so completely “clean” source food type product. There are a few brands, Nutrim (USA) is one and there is a Swedish company that makes them as well.
It’s touted for it’s ability to lower serum cholesterol. They are also used as a bile acid sequestrant and work well as one. In a body with a colon, Oat Beta-D-glucans have the ability to form gel in water solution, absorbing the bile from the small intestine, take it through the colon and out of the body - without allowing the bile to be absorbed in the small intestine, thus lowering cholesterol. For us j-pouchers, slower digestion and water absorbing in the small intestine is a good thing!
I noticed when working with them as an emulsifier in a completely not body related application, they get super THICK and FAST and at a very low dose. So, what do I do? Eat them to see what they do in the body. LOL. They don’t seem to “last” as long as psyllium. If I take psyllium, I get a good, 3 outputs that are thickish…with the glucans, it’s about two and it’s more “concentrated/heavy” output than psyllium.
Anyhow, maybe give them a try if you are struggling and need a all natural stool binder. We all react to differently to each! They are affordable as well. Hope this helps someone. Be well!