{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Glossary","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.healthbenefitstimes.com\/glossary","author_name":"Glossary","author_url":"https:\/\/www.healthbenefitstimes.com\/glossary\/author\/adminglossary\/","title":"Psyllium - Definition of Psyllium","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"FzVrWpL1AS\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthbenefitstimes.com\/glossary\/psyllium\/\">Psyllium<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healthbenefitstimes.com\/glossary\/psyllium\/embed\/#?secret=FzVrWpL1AS\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Psyllium&#8221; &#8212; Glossary\" data-secret=\"FzVrWpL1AS\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.healthbenefitstimes.com\/glossary\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n","description":"English is a hungry language: it grabs words from a buffet of other languages, and snarfs them down whole, rarely bothering to make that borrowed word jive with whatever spelling system English supposedly has. The result is a kind of orthographic indigestion. The language ends up being full of words with needless bits, better known as silent letters. We don't say the t in debut, nor the n in hymn, nor the h in honour, nor the s in island. Silent ps especially abound: coup, corp, receipt, psychiatrist, and psyllium. Over the centuries, some people have suggested that English spelling be reformed, so that we would end up with coo, cor, reseet, sikiatrist, and silium, but with minor exceptions (like Noah Webster getting rid of the u in the American spelling of colour and neighbour) those reforms have never caught on. As for psyllium, the name of that high-fibre plant (often used in breakfast cereals) begins with a silent p because it was adopted holus bolus from ancient Greek, where it began with the letter y, known as psi and pronounced as ps. When the word was transliterated from the Greek alphabet to the Roman alphabet, the ps was retained, even when the p ceased to be pronounced. Psyllium was adopted into English at the end of the sixteenth century; before that, the same plant had been known asfleawort since at least the eleventh century. What the two names share are fleas: psyllium derives from the Greek word tor flea, because it was used to repel that insect, much as my mother used to sprinkle cloves along the doorsill to keep ants out.A food component that has laxative qualities.A bulk-forming laxative. Psyllium is derived from the seed of a plant called Plantago indica. It is a mild natural laxative that acts by absorbing water and providing indigestible bulk in the intestines. The bowel is stimulated by the presence of the mass formed by psyllium. More than a dozen products containing psyllium, can be purchased without a prescription."}