If your bathroom has become the place where you get your reading done, it's time for a spoonful of psyllium.
Psyllium -- pronounced "silly-um" -- is a fiber supplement made from a Mediterranean plantain. A daily dose helps keep things moving right along.
Drink Up
Psyllium, found in products like Metamucil, bulks up stool and improves digestive flow by sucking water into the bowel.
(Here's how your heart health might benefit from it, too.) Make sure to take a rounded teaspoon with lots of water, or you'll feel as if you just ate concrete. Or do what YOU Docs Mehmet Oz, MD, and Michael Roizen, MD, do: Add psyllium to a breakfast drink.
Like this Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothie.
More on When It's Slow
If you're bothered by the occasional "backup" (as most of us are), try these other tips for getting things going:
Constipation, diarrhea, or alternating bouts?
Find out what it might mean.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a high-fiber diet can make your RealAge up to 3.5 years younger.
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