The Sourdough School

BREAD COURSES || NUTRITION TRAINING || DIGESTION ANALYSIS || PERSONALISED BREAD

Learn to bake, eat, and share the healthiest bread in the world. Discover how to bake as Lifestyle Medicine from the walled gardens of Dr Vanessa Kimbell’s beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire in the UK, where we train healthcare professionals, teach bakers, and support individuals to bake personalised bread using nutrigenetics and gut health assessments.

+44(0)7813308301
[email protected]
Follow on Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Student Login

Book a consultation

Navigation
  • courses
    • Book a Call
    • 12 week Bread Delivery Gut Reset Course
    • 1 Day Practitioner BALM Training Day
    • 3 Day Bake for Heath Workshops
    • 6 Day Reset Retreat
    • Annual Tuscan Retreat
    • The Diploma
  • Personalisation
    • Bread & Health Assessments
    • Personalising Bread
    • Personalising Bread Using Nutrigenetics
    • Priority Access: Join the Waiting List
  • About
    • About The Sourdough School
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • General FAQ’s about The School
    • Request a Callback
    • Where to stay & more
    • Reviews
    • The Team
    • A Social Enterprise
    • Contributors & Guest Tutors
    • What Our Students Say
    • Login
  • Our Approach
    • Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM)
    • Prove it – The Case Studies
    • 12 Week Student Support Pack
    • Bread as Preventative Health
    • Training Bakers & Healthcare Professionals
    • Diversity Bread™
    • BALM & Bread in The Blue Zone
    • Proven: Bread Podcast
  • Admissions
    • Request a callback
  • Shop
    • Our Flour and Ingredients
    • Our Books
    • Equipment
    • Flours From Farmers Directory
    • Add Farmer to the Directory

388 - ‘The Effect of Psyllium Husk on Intestinal Microbiota in Constipated Patients and Healthy Controls’. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 20(2): 433

Reference Number: 388

Year: 2019

Authors: Jalanka J. et al

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Constipation | Gut Microbiome - Creating Healthier Bread to Support Optimal Gut Health

Nutrition: Prebiotic | Psyllium

Summary

Psyllium is a widely used treatment for constipation. It traps water in the intestine increasing stool water, easing defaecation and altering the colonic environment. We aimed to assess the impact of psyllium on faecal microbiota, whose key role in gut physiology is being increasingly recognised. We performed two randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trials comparing 7 days of psyllium with a placebo (maltodextrin) in 8 healthy volunteers and 16 constipated patients respectively. We measured the patients’ gastrointestnal (GI) transit, faecal water content, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and the stool microbiota composition. While psyllium supplement had a small but significant effect on the microbial composition of healthy adults (increasing Veillonella and decreasing Subdoligranulum), in constipated subjects there were greater effects on the microbial composition (increased Lachnospira, Faecalibacterium, Phascolarctobacterium, Veillonella and Sutterella and decreased uncultured Coriobacteria and Christensenella) and alterations in the levels of acetate and propionate. We found several taxa to be associated with altered GI transit, SCFAs and faecal water content in these patients. Significant increases in three genera known to produce butyrate, Lachnospira, Roseburia and Faecalibacterium, correlated with increased faecal water. In summary, psyllium supplementation increased stool water and this was associated with significant changes in microbiota, most marked in constipated patients.

 

What does this mean for a Baker?

This study suggests that using Psyllium husk in baking may be beneficial for those who suffer from digestive issues as it helps to increase the growth of positive gut microbes and relieve symptoms of constipation.

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Email Sign Up

BANT Member
Lifecode GX

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 Vanessa Kimbell
Call +44 (0)7813308301 | Email [email protected]
Registered in England & Wales: 08412236
Website by Callia Web