Fiber Supplements

Side Effects of Fiber Supplements:

They say the key to healthy living is moderation. If a dietitian were to ask you to never touch chocolates again in your entire life, you would never go back to that dietitian. However, if you were meet a dietitian, who chalked out a meal plan for you full of healthy foods and drinks, while allowing you the occasional treat of a chocolate bar, you'll gladly follow (or at least make an attempt to follow) that diet plan. Similarly, when people hear about the health benefits of a certain type of herbal tea or a vitamin supplement, they go gung-ho over it and end up, in their enthusiasm, overdoing it. Same is the case with fiber supplements. When people got to know that this wonder supplement aids in weight loss, they go out and practically replace their meal with it! However, you need to understand that there are quite a few fiber supplement side effects. There is no doubt that the digestive can greatly be improved with the help of fiber supplements. Side effects of these are mild but they do exist, irrespective of what many positive fiber supplements reviews say. These side effects are given below.

Fiber Supplements: Side Effects

Abdominal Discomfort
One of the main side effects of fiber supplements is the fact that, at least initially, it may lead to a lot of abdominal discomfort and bloating. Initially, the person may have gas, cramping and even a mild form of diarrhea. Although the person won't feel any outright pain in the abdomen, the feeling of discomfort may be constantly felt.

Loss of Nutrients
Even if you happen to be taking the best fiber supplement there is in the market, you may still land up with one major fallout of using these fiber supplements. Side effects that have a chain reaction of other side effects include the excess of loss of nutrients from the body when using fiber supplements. This includes loss of mineral and vitamins, which is especially seen in cases where people opt for fiber supplements for weight loss and at the same time, severely restrict their diet. Most of the vitamins lost are the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. These are required by the body to carry out many of its functions and deficiency of any or all of these could have dire effects on the body.

Constipation
This may come as a big shock for people that have been taking fiber supplements on a regular basis. You may end up with constipation due to the heavy intake of fiber supplements because many of these supplements, like psyllium husk, are hydrophilic in nature, that is, they absorb water and swell up in the intestine. Thus, unless you drink extra water while taking fiber supplements, side effects due to this could include constipation. This is applicable for both insoluble and soluble fiber supplements.

Other Side Effects
If you happen to be on any kind of medication, then you need to be careful when taking in too much fiber or fiber supplements. Side effects of these supplements include variation in the absorption and effectiveness of medicines. In some rare cases, a person may develop an allergic reaction to the intake of fiber supplements.

This was all about the various side effects of fiber supplements. Side effects of these supplements are mostly seen in people that jump into its use head on. You need to gradually start using these supplements and also have to ensure that the type of fiber supplement you have opted for is suiting you. If you do not wish to go in for fiber supplements, then you can always instead opt for a high fiber diet, which will ensure that you get your required dietary fiber, directly from the food you eat.