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There are so many social media health trends out there. Internet influencers are now promoting the intake of large amounts of fiber in one’s diet. These influencers call it fibermaxxing, which is a new term for me.
Here, they recommend that people increase their daily fiber intake. This has been a recommendation that dietitians have been making for a long time. Remarkably, only five percent of Americans consume the 25 grams of fiber for women and 38 grams of fiber recommended for men daily. Today’s Standard American Diet (SAD) is depleted of fiber, as it is of so many nutrients.
What is it with this fiber, and how can it help you? Yes, ma’am, it really can be most helpful in many ways.
It is a no-brainer that fiber may be helpful in making sure that constipation is alleviated, but there are so many other reasons to increase its intake. It can help with glucose control and cholesterol, and of course, it helps those gut microbes.
Fiber comes in two forms. Water soluble such as pectin, gums and mucilage, and water insoluble such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
As the process of digestion takes place, these are not absorbed in the upper intestine and go into the large intestine, where the gut microbes eat them. The soluble products help produce short-chained fatty acids that are known to help with communication between the gut microbes and thus improve immunity and decrease inflammation.
Meanwhile, the insoluble products are busy bulking up the stool, cleansing toxins from the colon walls, potentially preventing colon cancer. It improves the transit time in the colon, improves the feeling of fullness, helps with diverticulosis, and may even aid in weight loss.
But can there be too much of a good thing? We recommend increasing your fiber intake to the recommended amounts by incorporating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, berries, apples, beans, lentils, nuts, oatmeal, and chia seeds into your diet. The influencers, though, are recommending 50 to 100 grams of fiber a day. This much fiber is especially not good for people who have Crohn’s disease or an obstruction.
Fibermaxxing may also cause bloating and constipation with decreased absorption of nutrients. Most gastroenterologists are not fans of fibermaxxing.
So, yes, we all need our fiber, and it does so many great things for us, but be careful when fibermaxxing. Indeed, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Dr. Veita Bland is a board-certified Greensboro physician and hypertension specialist. Dr. Bland’s radio show, “It’s a Matter of Your Health,” can be heard live on Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. on N.C. A&T State University’s WNAA, 90.1 FM. Listeners may call in and ask questions. The show is replayed on Sirius 142 at 5 p.m. on Wed. Email Dr. Bland at ideas@blandclinicpa.com.
