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Open WellbeingWhat the studies actually measured

Cholesterol and blood fats

Psylliumand Apolipoprotein B

Only one source here so far, and it measured lower apolipoprotein B.

How sure anyone can be

Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

Further research may change this.

The numbers reported

One source’s range, drawn against its own line of no difference and scaled to its own numbers.

-0.08-0.05-0.03

This range stays on one side of the no-difference line.

Bar the confidence interval — the range the true effect is likely to sit inNotch the number the source reportedLine where there would be no difference at all

One source, newest first

What we read is the published abstract, not the full paper, so a blank below may still be printed in the paper itself. A fixed rule worked this out from the source’s own fields. Nobody checked this rating by hand.

  • Systematic review, 2018

    Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4

    Effect of psyllium (Plantago ovata) fiber on LDL cholesterol and alternative lipid targets, non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    Am J Clin Nutr. 2018;108(5):922-932. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqy115. PMID:30239559.

    Number reported
    -0.05
    Which way it went
    Lower
    Likely range
    -0.08 to -0.03
    Source’s own words
    g/L apolipoprotein B mean difference vs control
    Who was studied
    Adult
    Compared with
    control (placebo or diet control) arm of randomized trials
    Amount taken
    10.2 g/d (median pooled dose)
    For how long
    21 days (upper bound: Not in the abstract)
    Disagreement between studies
    GRADE high quality for apoB
    Kind of record
    Journal article
    How this rating was reachedstarts at High, one step down: imprecision
    1. Starts at High
    2. Imprecision brought it down to Moderatethe abstract does not state how many participants were pooledNot in the abstract
    3. Ends at ModerateOne step down.
    Checked, nothing to step it down for
    risk of bias and indirectness
    Inconsistency
    No disagreement reported, and no count of studies behind it

    Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.

    AI review could not confirm it — an AI agent re-read this finding against the saved source and at least one check failed. The batch record names the check and quotes the sentence that caused the doubt. No person read it.

    Read the abstract on PubMed

What is still missing from these readings

  • One do not say how many people took part.

Something nobody wrote down is never a zero and never a guess.

Still to read for Psyllium

Ten of the 19 things on our list for Psyllium have no reading here yet:

  • ApoB / ApoA1 Ratio
  • Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1)
  • Fasting insulin
  • Fructosamine
  • HDL cholesterol
  • High-sensitivity CRP
  • HOMA-IR
  • Stool frequency
  • Triglycerides
  • Waist circumference

Still to read means nobody here has got to it, not that it was tried and did nothing or that no research exists. A pairing on no list is not a gap: we never set out to read it.

Read next

  • Psyllium

    Eight other questions read for it

  • Cholesterol and blood fats

    65 questions read under it

  • Apolipoprotein B

    No other ingredients read against it

    Alphabetical, and by nothing else.

This is a library, not advice. No recommendation, no dose, no diagnosis, no ranking. We never ask about your symptoms, and nothing here is tailored to you.