# Ensure



## knothappy (Jul 31, 1999)

whne i get a bad flare up i can lose a lot of weight and energy..i began to take Ensure on bad days whe i cannot eat and it did a good job on making feel a bit better....the original one did not cause me diarehha....now the idiots put fiber in the original calling it immuneboost or some junk..and it gave me D>>i called the company and found they added fiber........yikes..mhy system cannot handle fiber at all..i even have to peel an apple before i eat it...they took the original off the shelf and replaced it with this junk...ik amso sick of hearing about fiber , does anyone understand not everyone can tolerate it!!!!!!!!!


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## crstar (Jun 29, 2009)

yes, i understand........there is a really good book called: "FIBER MENACE".............also a website by the same name.........what most people don't understand about fiber, is it can damage the delicate tissues of the intestines, because it is not something our systems can breakdown............so it cuts & scrapes the intestines on it's way out..........and the fiber industry makes a bundle........anyway, the book has helped me alot..........lots of good info..........


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## Borrellifan (May 5, 2009)

crstar said:


> yes, i understand........there is a really good book called: "FIBER MENACE".............also a website by the same name.........what most people don't understand about fiber, is it can damage the delicate tissues of the intestines, because it is not something our systems can breakdown............so it cuts & scrapes the intestines on it's way out..........and the fiber industry makes a bundle........anyway, the book has helped me alot..........lots of good info..........


Is there any actual studies or proof that shows fiber can harm your body? Why would so many people be touting fiber these days if it is so bad for you?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

In general, for healthy people, who have no GI problems, fiber is usually a good thing. However there is also a lot of hype about how it must be the bestest thing ever for all people. It isn't the miracle it gets proclaimed to be. It is just one more thing food companies can add to food to make it sound like they care about your health. If it helps it sell more, they will add whatever is the hype of the moment.Nothing is only a good thing or a bad thing. Pretty much everything can be bad for some people in some amount. Usually once something get the it is totally good for you hype, someone will put out a "it is the worst thing ever" book. The truth usually is somewhere in between.Now maybe hundreds of IBSers reporting on this site that increasing fiber causes them problem means nothing and all of them are lying or something, but it does seem that an awful lot of people with IBS (and some other GI problems) find that increasing fiber makes their symptoms worse. Enough that it seems to be real, but it may not be enough for you to think it is real.Generally in the clinical trials for fiber use in IBS patients they show that it sometimes help and sometimes makes things worse and the conclusions usually are that if it makes things more normal for you then it is a pretty safe thing to take, but it may make things worse so don't take it if it makes things worse.Some people with Ulcerative colitis used to use Ensure when they needed to go on a fiber free diet for a few weeks to allow the colon to heal. I don't know what they will use now.


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## Borrellifan (May 5, 2009)

Well yes, i understand that some people have sensitivities to fiber but i can't seem to find any studies or clinical evidence suggesting it is harmful to the human body? Since i also lose a good amount of weight during flare-ups and have a difficult time regaining it, I was drinking the ensure with fiber maybe 6-8 months ago but it seems it was discontinued in my market so i only drink the regular kind now. For what its worth I tolerate fiber just fine and have recently been taking fibercon pills with some success. I really don't like taking it because i know its simply a bulking agent and not doing much to help the cause but at this point i have little options. My only concerns are as to whether there is any truth to fiber being bad for your intestines/body?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I don't think there is any solid data to show it actively damages the body. (books do not need hard data nor are they peer reviewed, and sometimes they aren't even fact checked). The author does have a pharmacy degree but seems to have mostly worked in the financial industry.I think it is more the usual if anything gets enough it is all good for all people add it to everything hype eventually someone will write a "it is the worstest thing ever" book.For people with active ulceration in the colon it does seem it can be quite irritating (like wearing wool when you have a rash).There is an upper limit to how much a healthy person tolerates, usually something like diets over 50 grams a day seem to make anyone feel uncomfortably full.I do think fiber gets overhyped and it isn't nearly as cure all as some of the claims.


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## Borrellifan (May 5, 2009)

Kathleen M. said:


> I don't think there is any solid data to show it actively damages the body. (books do not need hard data nor are they peer reviewed, and sometimes they aren't even fact checked). The author does have a pharmacy degree but seems to have mostly worked in the financial industry.I think it is more the usual if anything gets enough it is all good for all people add it to everything hype eventually someone will write a "it is the worstest thing ever" book.For people with active ulceration in the colon it does seem it can be quite irritating (like wearing wool when you have a rash).There is an upper limit to how much a healthy person tolerates, usually something like diets over 50 grams a day seem to make anyone feel uncomfortably full.I do think fiber gets overhyped and it isn't nearly as cure all as some of the claims.


Gotcha, I agree that fiber is much too over hyped. It does help me but all its doing is bulking my stool and at the same time creating more of it so its really just an illusion and it doesn't do anything to help the other symptoms like cramping, gas, pain, etc.There is another forum that im sure your aware of where they claim fiber is the end all cure all for IBS and they don't like it when other people disagree, thats why i no longer partake in there discussions.


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## Yukie (Feb 13, 2009)

fiber doesn't help at all when you have diarreah


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## Borrellifan (May 5, 2009)

Yukie said:


> fiber doesn't help at all when you have diarreah


It definitely bulks my stools up and make them much more normal then without taking it. Unfortunetly it does nothing for the spasms, cramps, ergency and general uncomfortablness but to say say it does nothing for diarreah is wrong. It supposedly helps both D and C.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> It supposedly helps both D and C.


Maybe not for everyone though.


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

There are 2 types of fibre,soluble and insoluble.The soluble stuff,Pasta,White Rice,Potatoes boiled and mashed but not fried,Bananas plus some others are the good ones when it comes to IBS D and work well for me personally.The insoluble fibre Bran,Apples with skins on although skinned Apples are considered soluble,Brown Rice and some other things are very bad,in my experience for IBS D.This is just a little information I've picked up from browsing the web and it rings true for me.


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