What Can Cause Pain Under the Left Ribs?

Pain under the left rib cage can arise from any organ in the left upper abdomen or chest, spine, or the left ribs themselves. In otherwise healthy people, spleen irritation and gas built in the colon are main causes of pain under the lower left ribs. Pain can be also psychological, for example from neurotic heart, but physical causes have to be excluded first.

Spleen Irritation

During or after running, walking or other physical activities, irritation of the spleen capsule can cause side pain under the lower left ribs. Pain usually goes away after some rest.

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What Are Fiber Supplements?

Fiber supplements contain dietary fiber or synthesized fiber-like substances that increase bulk of the stool. They mostly contain indigestible carbohydrates. Several types and brands exist. They are available over the counter (OTC) in various forms, including powder, granules, seeds, chewable gum, caplets, wafers and capsules.

General Advice About Fiber Supplements

1. If you have persistent constipation not responding to high-fiber diet or persistent diarrhea after gallbladder, stomach or colon removal, then you can try fiber supplements, since they act as laxatives. If you have hemorrhoids or diverticulosis, you can try high-fiber diet, rather than supplements, to soften the stool. Other commonly advertised effects of fiber supplements, as weight loss or drop in blood cholesterol, should be achieved with appropriate diet; supplements alone are not likely to help. Despite the opposite claims, there is no firm proof about protecting role of fiber supplements against any type of cancer.

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What Is Natural Dietary Fiber?

Natural dietary fiber is dietary fiber naturally present in the food or extracted from natural foods and added to other foods to increase their fiber content. In the later case it is called functional fiber.

The aim of this article is to collect common fiber-related terms rather than make you anxious about which types of fiber you should include into your diet.

Some components of natural fiber, like mucilage, pectin and gum are soluble in water. When ingested, they absorb water and make stool bulky and can thus prevent both constipation and mild diarrhea. Chemically, they are complex carbohydrates and glycoproteins that can not be digested and have no calorie value. Normal colonic bacteria can partly break them down and yield substances beneficial for the cells that line the colonic wall. During bacterial breakdown (fermentation) some gas is usually produced.

Pectin and gum are also used in food production as thickening or gelling agents, stabilizers, or emulsifiers.

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What Is a High Fiber Food?

Plant foods, in general, are rich in fiber. An amount of fiber and soluble/insoluble fiber varies from food to food. A commercial food product can be labeled as ‘High Fiber’, if it contains at least 5 g of fiber per serving.

‘Dietary Fiber’ on the Nutritional Facts Label refers to fiber originally present in the food. Total dietary fiber is a sum of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. ‘Total Fiber’ consists of dietary fiber and added fiber. Added fiber does not necessary have good fiber-like properties, though.

Good Sources of Fiber

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What Is Psyllium Fiber?

Psyllium fiber is soluble dietary fiber, produced from the covering (husk) of seeds of Plantago ovata plant. When added to food and ingested, it absorbs water from the bowel, and thus makes the stool bulk and therefore easy to excrete.

Psyllium Fiber Content

100 grams of Psyllium husk contains about 60-70 grams of soluble fiber, namely mucilage.

Benefits of Psyllium Fiber

Psyllium fiber can be used in treatment of constipation, mild diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids. Other effects, like lowering LDL cholesterol, or prevention of colon cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, have not been firmly confirmed so far.

Synonyms for psyllium fiber: flea seeds, isapgol, ispaghula, isphagula, ispaghula husk, ispaghula seed, natural vegetable laxative, psyllion, psyllios, psyllium husk, psyllium seed.

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