Help for All IBS Symptoms Plus Answers to IBS questions
Kit includes a generous supply of Heather's Tummy Fiber for the dietary management of IBS symptoms, particularly diarrhea, constipation, alternating bowel motility, and pain, plus Eating for IBS and First Year: IBS. The Tummy Fiber must be used twice daily, staring at a low dose and increasing gradually until bowel motility stabilizes, and then continued daily on that maintenance dose. Eating for IBS has detailed dietary information and 175 delicious recipes, for addressing multiple IBS symptoms. The First Year: IBS offers a comprehensive and sympathetic approach to managing Irritable Bowel Syndrome whether you're newly diagnosed or have been struggling for years.
Heather's Tummy Fiber is a medical food for the dietary management of IBS symptoms. Acacia senegal is a natural (not synthetic) whole food soluble fiber with a clinically proven prebiotic effect. Studies have shown that soluble fiber, as part of the diet, helps regulate bowel motility (alleviating both diarrhea and constipation), and relieves abdominal pain from IBS.
Acacia senegal's prebiotic effect stimulates the growth of healthy gut flora for ideal bowel stability, which can reduce bloating, gas, and bowel irregularities from IBS.
Heather's Tummy Fiber is unique, because it has a good gastrointestinal tolerance and a proven significantly bifidogenic effect. It is formulated specifically for the dietary management of IBS and improved bowel stability
Eating for IBS confirms what every IBS sufferer instinctively knows: that diet plays a direct role in gut function, and that the abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating from bowel disorders can be directly controlled through diet. This is true not just for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but also for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis, plus diverticulosis and diverticulitis. The Eating for IBS diet can make the difference between living a normal, happy, outgoing life versus spending every day stuck in the bathroom enduring pain, bowel dysfunction, and misery.
Contrary to what many believe, eating for IBS and IBD does not mean deprivation, never going to restaurants, boring food, or a limited and therefore unhealthy diet. It does mean learning to eat safely by realizing how different foods physically affect the GI tract, and how foods can help or hurt both diarrhea AND constipation, as well as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and nausea. Foods can either prevent or trigger IBS or IBD symptoms.
For example:
* There are two kinds of fiber...one soothes the colon and regulates gut function but the other can cause severe attacks
* Dairy is a common trigger...even in people who are not lactose intolerant
* Peppermint, chamomile, and fennel can prevent pain, spasms, and bloating better than some drugs
* Bland foods are not automatically safe foods
In Eating for IBS, Heather Van Vorous, who has suffered from IBS since age 9 and gradually learned to control her symptoms through dietary modifications, offers sympathetic information tailored specifically to the needs of IBS and IBD sufferers. She provides a comprehensive overview of IBS, explicit eating and cooking strategies, travel and restaurant advice, daily menus, supermarket ideas, and 175 delicious recipes. How delicious? Eating for IBS was a finalist for the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Health and Special Diet Award - also known as the "Julia Child" award.
IBS and IBD sufferers will be thrilled to discover that they can enjoy traditional homestyle cooking, ethnic foods, rich desserts, snacks, and party foods - and don't have to cook unusual or special meals for themselves while their families follow a "normal" diet. Eating for IBS will forever revolutionize the way people with bowel dysfunction eat - and live.
People with Irritable Bowel Syndrome desperately want to eat without fear. This groundbreaking book tells IBS sufferers exactly what they need to know to relieve diarrhea and/or constipation NOW, and how to maintain stability by preventing symptoms in the future. Eating for IBS is the first and only work written by an author with IBS, with the express goal of helping others who suffer from the same disorder.
It offers sympathetic suggestions based on first-hand experience as well as nutritional and medical research, comprehensive eating and cooking guidelines, travel and restaurant advice, supermarket ideas, and gourmet recipes - all tailored specifically to the needs of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
In addition, the IBS dietary guidelines can aid diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain from bowel dysfunction related to Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis (Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, or IBD), diverticulosis, diverticulitis, enteritis, and fibromyalgia.
The First Year: IBS incorporates suggestions, concerns, and personal stories from many Irritable Bowel Syndrome sufferers, and includes in-depth diagnostic and medical information for IBS treatments, drugs, and research. Chapters provide extensive suggestions for using supplements and herbs to prevent symptoms, as well as innovative and successful IBS stress management techniques. There are empathetic strategies for dealing with friends and family members, and detailed travel and socializing coping techniques.
The First Year: IBS includes a thorough IBS dietary chapter with sample recipes. Other chapters provide effective alternative therapies for a spastic colon, including acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and yoga, as well as IBS support group resources.
There are also special sections throughout the book just for children with IBS and their parents. These chapters draw extensively from the author's own perspectives, experiences, and memories from childhood, and address the unique concerns that children with IBS often face.
The First Year: IBS offers a comprehensive and sympathetic approach to managing irritable bowel syndrome (whether you're newly diagnosed or have been struggling for years), by an author who has dealt with the disorder since childhood and prevailed.
Whether you suffer from constipation, diarrhea, alternating bowel dysfunction, pain, bloating, gas, or nausea, this essential guide gives you the information you need to take control of your symptoms today.
An easy-to-follow daily/weekly/monthly calendar structure teaches you about the physical pathology behind IBS while giving a multitude of ways to successfully live with it, with a constant focus on symptom prevention.
Help for All IBS Symptoms Plus Answers to IBS questions
Includes 3 items:
Heather's Tummy Fiber Stick Packs
Eating for IBS
First Year: IBS
Heather's Tummy Fiber Acacia
Relieves IBS constipation AND diarrhea
Size: 2 boxes, 25 sticks/box, 2.2 oz/box
Ingredient: pure organic acacia powder
Slowly fermenting prebiotic effect
Increases good gut flora
100% acacia senegal
Never low grade acacia seyal
USDA organic, CRC kosher
100% soluble fiber, NO insoluble fiber
No gluten, FODMAPS, additives, fillers
No fructans, galactans, polyols, fructose, lactose
No FOS or inulin, nothing synthetic
No GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
No sugar, salt, artificial sweeteners, citric acid, oxalates, or yeast
Tasteless, non-thickening, grit-free
Add to cup, then add liquid
Or, add to moist foods
Start with a low dose
Increase gradually
Take twice daily
For Improved Bowel Stability
Heather's Tummy Fiber is the only soluble fiber supplement specifically formulated for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It's a medical food for the dietary management of IBS symptoms. Acacia senegal is a natural (not synthetic) whole food 100% soluble fiber with a clinically proven prebiotic effect. Studies have shown that soluble fiber, as part of the diet, helps regulate bowel motility (alleviating both diarrhea and constipation), and relieves abdominal pain from IBS.
Heather's Tummy Fiber also:
* Increases good gut flora - it's a prebiotic, and significantly bifidogenic
* Has excellent gastrointestinal tolerance, will not cause bloating and gas
* Slows down colonic fermentation (actively decreasing gas and bloating)
* Is completely safe and healthy for daily, lifelong use
* Is safe for use in children
Soluble fiber is key to preventing the abdominal spasms and bowel dysfunction of IBS. Soluble fiber works by regulating bowel motility from either extreme, and modulating water content in the bowel to form a stabilizing gel that relieves cramping and prevents both IBS diarrhea and constipation.
Heather's Tummy Fiber is a slowly fermenting prebiotic soluble fiber that has no FODMAPS (poorly digested short chain carbohydrates). Acacia senegal's prebiotic effect stimulates the growth of healthy gut flora for ideal bowel stability, which can reduce bloating, gas, and bowel irregularities from IBS.
Heather's Tummy Fiber is unique, because it is formulated specifically for the dietary management of IBS.
Eating for IBS
Comprehensive diet & recipes for all symptoms
Author: Heather Van Vorous
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1569246009
Explicit IBS diet information
175 great recipes
Addresses multiple IBS symptoms
Calms the gut
Teaches tasty substitutions, never deprivation
Safe foods vs trigger foods
Soluble vs insoluble fiber
How to eat & cook for IBS
Restaurant advice & travel
Fast & easy meals, plus full menus
By the author of First Year: IBS & Heather Cooks!
Finalist for the IACP Julia Child Cookbook Award
Library Journal's Cookbook Bestseller List
Excerpts & recipes licensed by Novartis Pharma
Excerpted by physicians & dietitians worldwide
By an author with IBS, for everyone with IBS!
First Year: IBS
Everything about IBS, for all symptoms & ages
Author: Heather Van Vorous
Paperback: 242 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1569245477
By the author of Eating for IBS & Heather Cooks!
5 key treatment categories for adults & children
Everything you need to know right now
Addresses multiple IBS symptoms
Comprehensive diagnostic information
Daily, weekly, and monthly strategies to stop IBS
For newly diagnosed and lifelong sufferers
Great critic reviews from Library Journal & Publishers Weekly
Excerpted by physicians & dietitians worldwide
Endorsed by UK Register of IBS Hypnotherapists
Recommended by UNC Center for GI Motility Disorders
By an author with IBS, for everyone with IBS!
Heather's Tummy Fiber Directions
Start with a low dose twice daily
Increase gradually
Keep increasing until symptoms stabilize
Start with 1/2 level teaspoon, twice daily. Just stir into moist foods with breakfast and dinner. Or, add to an empty cup, then stir with a fork as you gradually add room
temperature liquid. Let rest for a minute, then stir again to completely dissolve.
Does not dissolve well in boiling hot or ice cold liquids, but once fiber is liquified you can boil or chill beverage.
Or, stir into any moist food.
Gradually increase your dose. Add an extra 1/2 teaspoon every 3-5 days and keep increasing until symptoms stabilize.
Diarrhea can resolve fairly quickly as you gradually increase your dose. Average final diarrhea dose is 1-2 tablespoons per day. Constipation, if chronic and severe, may take
several weeks and require a gradual increase to the higher dose range of 4-5 tablespoons per day.
Daily Dosages Adults 12 Years & Older:
On average, symptoms stabilize at a final dose range of 4 to 18 grams (2 teaspoons to 3 tablespoons) per day total,
divided into two separate doses. You may need more or less. Max daily dose is 30 grams (5 tablespoons).
Cooking: Add 1 tbsp per cup of liquid, whisk.
Baking: Add 1 tbsp per cup of flour, whisk.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 2.5 g (about one level teaspoon)
Servings Per Container: 25
Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value*
Calories
10
Total Fat
0 g
0%
Sodium
0 g
0%
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
1%
Dietary Fiber
2 g
9%
Soluble Fiber
2 g
Protein
0 g
0%
Not a significant source of calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sugars, vitamin
A, vitamin C, calcium or iron.
* Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Cautions: For use under a physician's supervision. Keep out of the reach of children. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or nursing. Under 12 years old consult your physician. Use within 12 months of opening. Store airtight in a cool, dry place. Organic product. Color variations are normal.
How Does Tummy Fiber Work to Prevent IBS Pain, Constipation, AND Diarrhea?
How Soluble Fiber Helps IBS Diarrhea
The "soluble" in soluble fiber means that it dissolves in water (though it is not digested). This allows it to absorb excess liquid in the colon, preventing diarrhea by forming a thick gel and adding a great deal of bulk as it passes intact through the gut.
This gel (as opposed to a watery liquid) also keeps the gastrointestinal muscles stretched gently around a full colon, giving those muscles something to easily "grip" during peristaltic contractions. This prevents the rapid transit time and explosive bowel movements that are common with diarrhea.
How Soluble Fiber Helps IBS Constipation
By the same token, the full, gel-filled colon (as opposed to one clenched tightly around dry, hard, impacted stools) provides the same "grip" during the muscle waves of constipation.
This allows for an easier and faster transit time, and the passage of the thick wet gel also effectively relieves constipation by softening and pushing through impacted fecal matter.
If you can mentally picture your colon as a tube that is squeezing through matter via regular waves of contractions, it's easy to see how a colon filled with soluble fiber gel is beneficial for both sides of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome coin—diarrhea and constipation.
How Soluble Fiber Helps IBS Pain and Cramping
As a glorious bonus, normalizing the contractions of the colon triggered by your gastrocolic reflex—whether they are too fast or too slow—helps prevent the violent and irregular spasms that cause lower abdominal cramping pain, a hallmark of IBS.
Heather's Tummy Fiber: Daily IBS Support with Added Benefits
Best of all, Heather's Tummy Fiber Supplement can be taken daily and indefinitely with no harmful side effects or risk of addiction.
In fact, soluble fiber has health benefits far beyond managing IBS. It has been shown to:
Lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol
Reduce the risk of heart disease
Minimize colon cancer risks
Slow the absorption of fats and carbohydrates, improving glycemic control
Prevent the formation of free radicals
Help manage diabetes
Why is Acacia Senegal Special?
It's a Slowly Fermenting Prebiotic
Clinical studies have also shown that Heather's Tummy Fiber Supplement, made from Acacia Senegal, has unique benefits over other soluble fiber sources.
In the large intestine, Acacia Senegal fiber stimulates the development of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria, which leads to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These SCFAs play numerous beneficial roles in the physiology of the human body.
Additionally, daily consumption of Acacia Senegal fiber at doses below 15 grams/day has been shown to avoid the gas, bloating, and cramping often associated with other soluble fiber supplements.
How Much Water Do I Have to Add to Tummy Fiber?
As much or as little as you like! There is no minimum amount of water required to mix Heather's Tummy Fiber. You can use just enough water to liquefy it, or you can use a whole glass. Both options are equally effective.
As long as there is sufficient water in your gut, the soluble fiber will work properly. Heather's Tummy Fiber has no viscosity, so there is no choking risk at all. This means you are not required to drink a large glass of liquid with it—unless you prefer to.
You only need to use however much (or little) water it takes to dissolve the powder. Alternatively, you can simply sprinkle the fiber on moist foods instead of mixing it into a drink.
Because the fiber does not thicken in liquids, it cannot coat your throat, and therefore does not pose a choking hazard. You can add the fiber to an empty cup and then add just enough water to liquefy it—just like dissolving cornstarch to prevent clumps.
Once liquefied, you can drink it right away or fill the rest of the cup with more liquid if you prefer. You can also cook with it or add it to soft, moist foods like applesauce or oatmeal.
How is Tummy Fiber Better than Other Fiber Supplements?
Heather's Tummy Fiber is very different from high-viscosity fibers like psyllium and methylcellulose. Those fibers require a large glass of water to prevent choking and must be consumed quickly before they thicken.
With Heather’s Tummy Fiber, there is no such concern. It stays smooth in liquids, offers flexible dosing, and poses no choking risk—making it safe, easy, and effective for daily IBS management.
If I Take Other Supplements and Medications, When Do I Take the Tummy Fiber?
Here's how to easily schedule your Tummy Fiber with meals, supplements and medications:
Treat your fiber like food. The easiest and most effective way to take Heather's Tummy Fiber is by adding it directly to your meals — ideally at breakfast and dinner. This gives your digestive system 24/7 IBS symptom coverage.
Once you combine fiber with your meals, the only remaining concern is supplements and medications that must be taken on an empty stomach. Simply schedule those around your meals and fiber intake.
Heather’s Tummy Fiber will not interfere with nutrients in food and will not interfere with medications or supplements that can be taken with food.
For medications or supplements that require an empty stomach, the rule of thumb is to take them one hour before meals or two hours after you eat food or your fiber.
Can I Mix Tummy Fiber into Foods or Drinks in Advance?
Yes, you can! Heather’s Tummy Fiber is completely inert and stable, which means you can’t damage it, and it will not go bad. It is unaffected by heat, cold, or time.
You can safely add the fiber to any food or drink— whether you're cooking, baking, or mixing it into a bottle of water. Add it to your meals, beverages, or recipes as far in advance as you like.
The fiber will not mold, mildew, spoil, or lose its effectiveness. Whether it’s refrigerated, frozen, boiled, baked, or microwaved, the Tummy Fiber will stay fresh, effective, and it will work regardless..
The fiber is impervious. The food or drink you add it to will eventually go bad, but the fiber itself won’t.
So prepare it ahead of time without worry.
This flexibility makes Heather’s Tummy Fiber ideal for meal prepping, cooking, or on-the-go use, supporting your IBS management routine with zero hassle.
Can Tummy Fiber Make IBS Symptoms Worse Before It Makes Them Better?
No. Tummy Fiber is 100% Acacia Senegal, which is a 100% soluble fiber.
Soluble fiber cannot cause or worsen diarrhea or constipation, or flip one to the other.
But it also won't help you until there is enough of it in your gut 24/7 to regulate motility.
In the meantime, everything that is impacting your gut will keep impacting it.
It's a process to work up your dose, and you are still on a very low end.
Details:
There are two kinds of fiber, insoluble and soluble.
Insoluble is a stimulant and can set off IBS symptoms, and if you have strictures, it can cause intestinal blockages.
The Tummy Fiber is pure soluble fiber so it won’t do that – it can't.
It’s not a stimulant, it’s a bowel motility regulator.
It can’t cause blockages, diarrhea, or constipation, but it also will not help you until you gradually work up to enough of it in your gut, 24/7, to regulate motility.
In the meantime, everything else will keep impacting your gut and you will likely keep fluctuating day to day.
The Tummy Fiber is 100% soluble fiber, it can’t make anything worse, but it also will not help you with just the first dose or two, or first few days or two.
For constipation, it likely won’t help the first week or two either.
This is because you are starting at a low dose that won’t do anything at all — it is just to get your gut used to more fiber gradually.
All fibers are indigestible, so you always want to increase fiber slowly and steadily.
Do not skip doses.
Do not jump your dose up and then down and then up and then down.
Do not skip days – none of this will work.
This is a process. It can’t be erratic. It takes some time and patience, and you have to follow the process consistently, day in and day out, or soluble fiber will not do what you want it to do.
You need to start with just ½ teaspoon twice daily and then gradually increase.
Add an extra ½ teaspoon to just one of your doses, every 3–4 days.
So add an extra ½ teaspoon to your morning dose, wait 3–4 days, and then add an extra ½ teaspoon to your evening dose.
Wait 3–4 days, and then increase your morning dose again, etc.
You’ll keep following that pattern and gradually work up to the dose your gut needs for normal motility.
A rough average final dose for diarrhea is 1–3 tablespoons per day total.
For alternating diarrhea/constipation, probably 2–3 tablespoons per day total.
For constipation, a likely 3–5 tablespoons per day total.
That shows you the huge dose range, and also how far you will likely have to increase from the starting dose of just ½ teaspoon twice a day.
The fiber cannot make anything worse, but again, until you gradually work up to enough of it in your gut, it won’t help you either.
It has to reach the point where it can control your bowel motility.
You just will not have enough of it in your gut to affect you at all until you have worked your way far enough into the process.
I will tell you candidly — it will probably take you a few months to work up to the dose you would need to resolve chronic constipation.
In the meantime, you’ll still have symptoms, and you may need to use laxatives if you’re already doing that.
You should see improvements kick in as you gradually get your dose up around 3 tablespoons per day total.
Then you’d keep gradually increasing until you feel stable day in and day out.
You can’t just jump to this dose though – fiber does not work that way. I wish it did!
But you have to gradually get your gut used to more fiber, and then reach the point you need for motility regulation.
Once you hit that, you stay at whatever that dose is, morning and evening, as soluble fiber literally only works when it is physically present in your gut.
Does Acacia senegal work as well for constipation as for diarrhea?
Yes, it does - but Acacia is not a laxative or drug. Acacia can work wonders for constipation, but it not an overnight solution. It makes a great deal of difference how you take Acacia, and it's well worth the time and effort to do it right.
First of all, these are the best ways to NOT get the results you want:
* Try Acacia at a low dose for just a few days, then give up because there's no change.
* Go from zero to the maximum dose in one week flat, then give up because it's not working and now you're all bloated and gassy as well.
* Start taking Acacia at the same time you suddenly stop taking laxatives, enemas, or colon cleanses you've been using regularly, then give up because your constipation is suddenly worse, not better.
The cardinal rule with Acacia is to start at a low dose (for Acacia, just 1/2 a level measuring teaspoon, twice daily), and increase gradually. Constipation seems to require a much higher daily dose than diarrhea, and it can take several weeks, or even a few months, to slowly work your way up to the maximum daily dose. Acacia is not a laxative, and it will not give "overnight relief", so taking a low dose for a few days will not alleviate your symptoms. What it will do is begin to acclimate your gut to a higher daily dose of fiber, and this is the goal. Don't give up as soon as you start - just realize that using Acacia is a slow, steady process. You will see improvements along the way.
It's tempting to think that if you need to reach the maximum dose to see the best results, you can just force your body to adjust to a high dose as fast as possible. After all, if your constipation will resolve on an Acacia dose of, say, 25 grams a day, and it might typically take someone, say, 8 weeks to reach that dose, you'll be way ahead of the game if you race your way up to that dose in your very first week - right? Nope - wrong.
By definition, if you have IBS, you do not have a normally functioning gut. No matter how your IBS symptoms manifest (constipation or diarrhea, bloating or pain) your GI tract - and specifically, your gastrocolic reflex - is hyper-reactive to normal stimuli. Your goal should always be to keep your gastrocolic reflex stable so you can soothe and regulate your gut function.
Suddenly overloading your bowel with a fiber dose that is possibly ten times what you were taking before you started Acacia will do nothing but give you bloating and gas, as your GI tract struggles to deal with all of this unexpected fiber. Fiber is, after all, an undigestible carbohydrate, and your body needs to work to process it through your digestive tract.
Asking your gut to go from no soluble fiber supplement to a maximum daily dose too quickly is like trying to become a marathon runner by sprinting as hard and as fast as you can without rest. It won't work, you'll be frustrated, and you'll give up. Instead, go slowly, increase your dose gradually, and give your body the time and gentle approach it needs to adjust to the Acacia increase. You can't beat your colon into submission with IBS, you need to kindly, patiently, and consistently coax it into normal motility. Acacia can help do this for you if you give it a fair chance.
If you've been regularly using laxatives, or artificially increasing colon motility through other means (enemas, colon cleanses, harsh stimulant herbs such as senna, cascara, aloe) the odds are pretty good that your bowel is dependent on them. If you suddenly stop using them, bowel motility might shut down and your constipation will seriously worsen. This would be the case even if you didn't add Acacia at the same time.
It is definitely possible to transition from a laxative or other unnatural methods of alleviating constipation to Acacia. But, you can't simply switch from one to the other in a single day and expect equivalent results. What you can do is keep taking your usual dose of laxatives while you begin your Acacia and start to gradually increase your Acacia dose. When you've been able to reach a fairly high daily dose (say, 2-3 tablespoons) you can start to gradually decrease your laxative.
Keep increasing the Acacia and continue decreasing your laxative, taking each step slowly and carefully. This is not likely to be a fast process, but the slower and steadier you go the more likely it is to have a highly successful result. I've heard from numerous people who transitioned off of laxatives, senna, enemas, and even prescription constipation drugs and onto a soluble fiber supplement, with terrific results. But it took anywhere from one to six months, depending on how long their bowels had been dependent on the laxatives. Good things can be well worth the wait, and this is one of those situations where patience is truly a virtue. IBS is a lifelong problem for most people, so giving yourself a few months to make a tremendous improvement is not really taking too much time in the grand scheme of things.
Does it matter how or when I take the fiber, with or without food, what time of day?
Nope! What matters is that you find a schedule that works for you. It doesn't matter to your gut if you take the fiber with or without food, between meals or right with them, as long as it's in your gut it will regulate motility. What counts is that you start at a low dose twice daily and work up gradually until you hit the dose your gut needs for normal motility. Your goal is to keep the fiber in your gut 24/7, because it literally only works when it is physically in your gut. The details of your schedule, whether the fiber is with or between meals, are entirely up to you.
How do I use Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal?
Starting with 1/2 level teaspoon twice a day (daily dose of 1 teaspoon total). Every 3-4 days or so, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon to one of your daily doses. Alternate which dose you increase so you are going slow and steady.
You don’t want to increase your dose too much, too quickly, as your gut needs to get used to any fiber increase gradually. All fibers are indigestible, so suddenly or drastically increasing your dose can cause bloating and gas.
Keep stepping up your dose every 3-4 days or so until you gradually reach the dose that resolves your constipation and/or diarrhea.
In general, constipation resolves at 3-5 tablespoons/day and diarrhea at a lower dose, typically 1-3 tablespoons/day. If your symptoms resolve at a lower dose than is typical, stay there. If you need more than the average dose, that is just fine, continue to gradually increase. The maximum daily dose is typically 5 tablespoons per day.
The maintenance dose is different for each person depending on their specific symptoms.
The fiber will work regardless of how you take it - added to plain water, sprinkled over moist foods, added to foods you cook, on an empty stomach, full stomach, etc. In general, it's usually most helpful to take the fiber right before or right in a meal as it will help keep your gastrocolic reflex calm after you eat.
How much should I take? How often? When?
If you're not currently taking a soluble fiber supplement, begin with a low dose of Acacia (try 1/2 level teaspoon twice daily) and gradually increase. This means a level measuring/baking teaspoon - not a teaspoon that you'd use to stir a drink or eat soup. A utensil teaspoon is much larger than a measuring teaspoon. And a level teaspoon is about half of a fully rounded teaspoon. So you can inadvertently start at a much higher dose than intended if you're not using a level measuring teaspoon. As you gradually increase your dose, you can get to a maximum level of about five tablespoons a day total (divided doses are preferable). This means a measuring/baking tablespoon. You do not HAVE to get to the maximum dose, and if you stabilize at a lower dose please feel free to stay there. Take your time as you increase your dose - slow and steady is much, much better than racing to a higher dose before your gut is used to the increase in fiber.
Raise your Acacia fiber dosage level by 1/2 - 1 teaspoon at a time, every few days or every week, until your bowel function has stabilized. Diarrhea and spasms should resolve in just a few days, especially as you increase your fiber dose; constipation, particularly if it has been chronic and severe, may take several weeks. Try to gradually increase your Heather's Tummy Fiber until you're taking 15-25 grams daily (this is about 2-4 level tablespoons); if you stabilize at a lower dose, simply stay there. It's always best to divide your daily dosage of Acacia into two or three doses (or even four), as the whole point of taking a soluble fiber supplement is to keep your gut filled with soluble fiber at all times. This will help to prevent bowel dysfunction and abdominal pain in the first place, and with IBS it's always better to keep yourself stable and head off problems, instead of trying to resolve attacks once they've begun.
I find it most helpful to take Acacia on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning and again before meals. It provides a great soluble fiber supplement "buffer" for meals that follow, and it's a terrific way to get and keep myself stable as soon as I roll out of bed. It also gives a good safety margin when I've gone too long without eating, or when I know I'll be eating a meal that is too high in fat or insoluble fiber for digestive safety. This is most often a factor with restaurant meals, so I make a habit of taking Acacia right before I leave the house to go out to eat. If mornings are your worst time of day as they are mine, taking a fiber supplement dose just before you go to bed at night can help head off problems when you arise.
Though Heather's Tummy Fiber has the benefits of all soluble fiber supplements in terms of helping to normalize bowel function and motility, clinical studies have shown that it also increases good gut flora. This is why Acacia will actively help reduce bloating and gas, whereas other types of fiber supplements (particularly psyllium, inulin, and for some folks guar gum as well) can worsen these symptoms. The prebiotic effect of Acacia senegal (this simply means that it supports the growth of probiotics - beneficial bacteria - in your gut) can show very quickly or can take several weeks of daily use. In essence, the Acacia supplement is building up the beneficial flora in your GI tract to a healthy level, and how quickly you see results from this can depend on the state of your gut flora in the first place.
The active benefits from Heather's Tummy Fiber supplement in terms of a reduction in gas and bloating are separate from the fact that this fiber supplement is less likely to cause gas and bloating in the first place. This aspect of Acacia senegal is termed its "gastrointestinal tolerance" - Acacia fiber actually slows down colonic fermentation, which decreases gas and bloating. This means that on top of the fact that you should see a reduction in gas and bloating once the prebiotic effect is in full swing, you also should not see any increase in gas or bloating when you start the fiber supplement in the first place.
I've been stable for a while but now things are flaring, how do I adjust my Tummy Fiber dose?
This can happen. You’ve worked up your Tummy Fiber dose, been stable for a while, but now something has come along and really upset your gut. Diet changes, stress, new medications, something has impacted you. So now the dose that used to keep you stable is no longer doing the trick. That’s ok, if this happens you just need gradually increase your dose. You have to work up to a higher dose of fiber in your gut 24/7 to once again stabilize motility. Whatever your gut needed before, it needs more help now, so it needs more tummy fiber. Make your increases gradual. Try adding an extra ½ tsp per day every 3-4 days, and stair step your dose up like this until you get back to your stable point. That will be the new daily dose for you. Once you reach the new higher dose that resolves your symptoms, and you feel good again, that’s where you will now stay.
Is Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal high carb? Will it make me gain weight? Can I take it if I'm diabetic?
For folks who are worried about weight gain, glycemic control, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), or their carbohydrate intake, Heather's Tummy Fiber is a great way to get the benefits of soluble fiber without any carbohydrates or calories. The FDA has declared water-soluble gums such as Acacia to be a good source of soluble dietary fiber, which by definition means that they are not digested in the human gut. However, the FDA has also mandated that the caloric value of gums be declared as a carbohydrate with 4 calories per gram. The FDA is currently being petitioned by scientists on the Calorie Control Council to change this mandate, as it has been established that gums do not contribute calories as carbohydrates do, since gums are not completely metabolized in the body. In plain English, this simply means that though FDA labeling requires all dietary soluble fiber supplements, including Acacia, to list a calorie content, in reality there are virtually no calories in Heather's Tummy Fiber at all.
The net result of this is that with the Acacia fiber supplement you are getting all of the benefits of soluble fiber without any carbohydrates or calories. For diabetes and other diseases, there are terrific advantages to a diet high in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber slows the rate of carbohydrate absorption (this gives an advantage to taking Heather's Tummy Fiber right before a meal), and improves regulation of blood sugar. Soluble fiber also decreases LDL ("bad") blood cholesterol levels, and therefore reduces the risk of heart disease, which is a serious risk for diabetics. PCOS patients can also benefit from soluble fiber, as it helps to stabilize their blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption of food sugars into the bloodstream, decreasing the load on their pancreas.
What does raw Acacia Senegal look like? How is it made into Tummy Fiber?
Heather's Tummy Fiber is the all natural gum of the acacia senegal tree. Raw acacia gum is collected much like maple syrup, though the gum is more a solid than a liquid. The gum forms as gold or amber colored, crystal-like pieces; these pieces are what the acacia gum looks like when it is collected from the outside of the tree. The gum is then dissolved in water, filtered, and the liquid is sprayed onto very large heated surfaces to sterilize the fiber and so the water can evaporate. That's it. There is no processing, no bleaching, no hydrolyzing, and nothing is added. What's left after the water evaporates from the dissolved crystals? Just the fine, white powder that is Heather's Tummy Fiber.
There are no chemicals used in processing the acacia, or in our packaging facility. Because this is a natural gum with nothing added, and not a synthetic product that is highly processed, the grain size and color of the finished powder can vary slightly from lot to lot, and even within a single lot. These natural variations are normal and to be expected.
What's the easiest way to dissolve your Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal powder?
1) Stir right into moist foods instead of adding to liquids.
2) For adding to liquids, it works best if the liquid temperature is cool or lukewarm, not very cold or boiling hot. Once the acacia is dissolved, you can add any more liquid of any temperature you wish.
3) Add Tummy Fiber first to your empty cup, mix it with just enough liquid to dissolve it (like you'd dissolve cornstarch), and then add the remaining liquid.
4) Stir with a fork instead of a spoon.
5) After stirring initially, let it sit for about 60 seconds, then stir again and any remaining lumps should dissolve.
6) Instead of adding a big spoonful all at once, sprinkle on moist foods while stirring.
7) Add the Tummy Fiber to the blender in smoothies.
(1493 reviews) *
The First Year: IBS
The First Year: IBS
Product*
Judith from ELY, MN
Purchased on 6/26/2025
Reviewed on 7/17/2025
First Year IBS
Great information! I refer back to the book frequently in choosing items for my daily menu.
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Eating for IBS
Eating for IBS Diet & Cookbook
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Judith from ELY, MN
Purchased on 6/26/2025
Reviewed on 7/17/2025
Eating For IBS Cookbook
Very good book!
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Donna from IRONTON, OH
Purchased on 4/17/2025
Reviewed on 5/9/2025
This product is s game changer for IBS. I can't say enough about the benefits.
I love this product so much, I didn't. Think Acacia Senegal would do much but I was oh so wrong.
I only wish you had a mens version as my husband thinks it's only for women. Make guy packaging and call it Gut Repair or some such lol. He really needs it too.
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Diet Starter Kit - Eating for IBS, First Year IBS, Tummy Fiber Acacia
Carol from WOODLAND HLS, CA
Purchased on 1/16/2025
Reviewed on 2/6/2025
ACACIA FIBER
I have been using Acacia Fiber for years and never be disappointed.
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Valerie from SCARSDALE, NY
Purchased on 1/5/2025
Reviewed on 1/26/2025
I have been using Heathers Tummy Fiber for at least a decade or more
This is the best product out there to help regulate IBS bowels. It helps with tremendously and is a lifesaver for me.
I like to buy a bulk shipment of 12 bags and 1 tin, which lasts the better part of year.
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Lynda from GRAND ISLAND, NE
Purchased on 12/25/2024
Reviewed on 1/15/2025
Tummy Fiber
I am so glad I happen to see your post on Facebook many years ago. The TUMMY FIBER works almost perfect. I still have to get the right amount to take twice a day. Thank for your emails, selling your product, and finding me!! Lynda McComb!
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Sarah from COLUMBUS, OH
Purchased on 12/20/2024
Reviewed on 1/10/2025
Tummy fiber
I have been using Tummy Fiber for many years now and it's a staple for managing my IBS/SIBO Sx. I don't leave home without it - I take the travel pouches on vacation.
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The First Year: IBS
The First Year: IBS
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Marie from ALBUQUERQUE, NM
Purchased on 12/19/2024
Reviewed on 1/9/2025
Love your product, Acacia Fiber, just wish it was a little easier to mix. I sifted one pk and it mixed a little easier but haven't had time to do the other ones. It definitely. helps calm my stomache. I just bought your book on first week will start re
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Nancy from AURORA, CO
Purchased on 12/17/2024
Reviewed on 1/7/2025
Awesome product!
I have been taking this product for about 5 years and it has really helped me. I highly recommend it.
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Mark from WALDPORT, OR
Purchased on 11/19/2024
Reviewed on 12/10/2024
Ordered Heather's tummy care
Heather's is an excellent company with good service. The product is very effective and I've been using it for years it has saved my life. I was looking at hemorrhoid surgery until I came upon this product after 2 weeks of using, the symptoms went away I've been using it ever since 1/2 teaspoon
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Tummy Fiber Acacia CAN
Tummy Fiber Acacia Senegal CAN
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Ruth from HOUSTON, TX
Purchased on 11/14/2024
Reviewed on 12/5/2024
This is the first thing that helped me with my chronic constipation.
I have tried many other supplements as well as prescriptions from my gastroenterologist and all the usual remedies. I'm only about 6 weeks in but I am definitely seeing improvement and have hope for the future.