Psyllium

Seeds or powder may be found in specialty grocery stores, chemists’, or markets.

How to collect or grow it:  Psyllium grows in any soil, even compacted areas. In cooler regions, start seeds indoors, 6 to 8 weeks before the last expected frost. In warm regions without freezing temperatures, begin outside when night temperatures warm up to at least 18°C. Sow seeds 0.5 cm deep and keep the soil lightly moist. Harvesting when the psyllium flower spikes turn reddish-brown, lower leaves become dry and upper leaves turn yellow. Mature plants are cut 15 cm above the ground and then bound. They are left to dry in the shade for a few days before threshing.

How to prepare the powder: Dry the psyllium seeds and carefully crush them to separate the husks. You can then collect the husk by using a sieve.

The seeds must be stored under dry conditions to maintain their characteristic spicy flavour. Their viability is for 2 to 3 years when fully ripe. Broken seeds deteriorate rapidly; do not keep them over long periods.

The ingestion of psyllium is safe. Only slight gastrointestinal adverse events such as nausea and diarrhoea may occur.

Patients with gastrointestinal conditions such as bowel obstruction should not take psyllium.

Patients on restricted fluid intake may not be candidates for psyllium therapy, as each dose must be mixed with at least 250 ml of water.

For patients treated with metformin, gastric tolerance of oral antidiabetic was improved.  

Despite no systematically controlled studies in pregnant women or during breastfeeding, nettle can be consumed safely at the usual doses as a standard food product.