If you have read a handful of our blogs, you probably know we are huge fans of fiber and are always telling our customers they should most likely be eating more of it! It aids gut health, digestion and blood sugar stability.
Women ages 18 to 50 should eat 25 grams of fiber a day. Women over 51 should eat 21 grams. Men need 30 grams of fiber a day.
But Jennifer House, a registered dietitian, said, “Most people only get about half of the recommended amount of fiber each day.”
Fibermaxxing is a current online trend about maximizing a person’s daily fiber intake with fiber-rich foods for every meal and snack, along with taking fiber supplements. It sounds great. Having a diet low in fiber is linked to microbiome imbalances and a higher risk of inflammatory diseases. Soluble fiber helps blood sugar and lowers cholesterol. Insoluble fiber prevents constipation and aids colon health. Fiber also feeds the bacteria in your gut to make sure they flourish and can do their jobs effectively.
For all of these reasons, you would expect us to be on board with fibermaxxing. But it can be a bad idea. Just like a yard needs sunshine to grow, but unrelenting sun will kill your grass, there is such a thing as too much fiber. Eating a lot of fiber can be hard on your system and produce gas. Fiber helps keep blood sugar stable partly by being so hard to digest. Going from not eating enough to suddenly eating more than the daily recommended intake can cause cramping, diarrhea and constipation.
“The gut bacteria essentially go into overdrive trying to process the sudden influx of fiber, producing excess gas as a byproduct,” said Dr. Michael Ednie. “In rare cases, if someone dramatically increases fiber without proper hydration or pacing, it can even lead to intestinal blockages that require medical attention.”
For older people, there is also a risk that the fast addition of satiating fiber could lower their overall food intake, leading to unintentional weight loss or nutritional gaps. And, consuming too much fiber can disrupt how the body absorbs essential minerals, binding them in the gut and making them unusable for the body.
“Instead of jumping from 10 grams a day to 30 overnight, add just three to five grams of fiber per week,” said Dr. Ednie. “Consistency makes it much easier for the body to adapt and helps create sustainable habits that support long-term gut health.”
While eating a healthy diet is essential, it’s important to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Adding fiber to your diet slowly, with foods you enjoy, in a way that you will stick with, will help you change your eating patterns in a long-term, meaningful way. Fibermaxxing will be an exhausting trend that may cause you a lot of gut pain.
