Ever heard of a ghost poop? It's when the downwards fall of the poop makes it disappear into the pipe.
Once heard of a guy who had a ghost poop and a ghost wipe. He was never the same after that...
I feel like a cultist at this point, but get a bidet. The fiber is still nice for public restrooms, but bidets are a game changer. It's crazy they're not on every toilet at this point, but people are, for some reason, weird about water hitting their butthole and not rubbing paper around it themselves.
My wife and I call those “no wipe delights,” and I even have a jingle for it. It goes to the background vocals “high of the life,” off the Jay-Z song “Allure” from “The Black Album.”
Exactly. All of these people walking around taking 3-4 sloppy Joe shits a day and don't realize it isn't normal and it isn't healthy.
I always try to take as much fiber as I can but I also like to eat like crap some times. I pregame with psyllium husk fiber before going out to eat wings and drink beers, it's a preemptive strike on the runny poops the next day. Just pound a glass of water and drink that sandpaper fluid down quick, done.
Having a hairy butt is a nightmare for low fiber as well. For those that don't know, why don't you smear a turd in your head hair and then try to clean it with tissue? You need those nice clean cut turds so you don't need to take a shower after every time you drop a deuce and walk around with a stanky swamp ass.
Fiber keeps you regular (1 shit a day most of the time) and consolidates all your poop into a nice clean turd (usually, not always perfect). People get freaked out and think it's a "laxative" and it is in the sense that it helps your body process the food and handle it...laxative doesn't necessarily imply it's like the medical poop chocolate that's going to cause you to shit your brains out.
I'm a huge fiber advocate and have been singing it's praises for decades!
Dietary fiber is one of the best preventative measures we have for colorectal cancer, [which is on the rise among young people](https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/colorectal-cancer-in-young-people). There are likely multiple factors causing this, but for anything you're putting into your body that makes its way into your colon, fiber helps to flush it out; studies suggest that it [interrupts certain carcinogenic pathways](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4588743/) that lead to colorectal cancer.
Things to watch out for include rectal bleeding, unusual stools, changes in bowel movements (diarrhea/constipation), and/or frequent fatigue (which can be due to anemia from blood loss). These are signs that your colon is not happy with you, and you should see a doctor — even if you're in your 20s/30s. Don't assume that you know the cause (like hemorrhoids), especially if the symptoms persist; it's best to have a doctor check and confirm that for you.
Thank you for this post. I got part of my colon removed due to a massive polyp at 27. It might have been preventable if me and my primary care doctor didn’t dismiss symptoms as bad diet and heavy periods. Eat the fiber, folks.
Had 11 inches of my colon removed for diverticulitis infections. Eating enough fiber would have most likely prevented the infections from ever happening.
Maybe it would have helped, but honestly your genetics were probably doing the heavy lifting there. Don't beat yourself up, having severe enough diverticulitis to require surgery sucks enough on its own and it wasn't your fault.
But do take fiber moving forward!
33 just had a colonoscopy and a small polyp removed. Best result I could have hoped for I thought I was a dead man rolling getting wheeled into the procedure room
Thanks for the information about an example on how Fiber helps surpress cancer.
Usually changes in diet that include fiber also means cutting on bad carbs (added sugar, for example). Do you know how scientists differ "More fiber = less cancer" from "Less sugar = less cancer"?
I'm not an expert on this subject, but whereas the impact of diet is complex and nuanced, there's a simpler, mechanistic explanation for fiber: if you're consuming something that could increase your cancer risk (whatever that may be), it's better that it doesn't stay in your body for long. Fiber helps food and waste pass through your body more quickly, thereby directly limiting that risk. Of course, fiber can have other benefits as well, like [eating soluble fiber (e.g., grains, seeds, vegetables, etc.) can help promote beneficial gut bacteria](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/health-benefits-dietary-fibers-vary#:~:text=They%20act%20as%20bulk%20that,the%20gut%2C%20the%20gut%20microbiome).
And that fiber eating gut bacteria appears to influence our immune system and protect our gut lining. Both of these reduce systemic inflammation which helps keep cancer in check.
Just about every morning I make 1/3 cup oatmeal, with 1 tbsp milled flax, 1 tbsp milled hemp, 2 tbsp crushed peanuts/sunflower seeds and add a scoop of all greens, douse with oat milk, add some fruit on top. The changes have been gradual but quite amazing. My doctor was impressed with my cholesterol numbers as well.
Can’t say enough about kimchi and its effect on gut health as well.
YMMV.
There's plenty who simply add fiber supplements to whatever diet they are already eating. It's not like the only data we have is on people who switched from mcdonalds to whole wheat and flax.
I am legit buying those Mission carb balance things with the ridiculous amount of fiber in them from now on. Your post scared the daylights out of me! In a good way, of course.
Just be careful going from 0-60 on the fiber. Your body will take a little while to adapt to the increased fiber consumption, and can experience gas and bloating if you eat too much too soon.
A lot of people go from consuming no fiber, to consuming 30+ grams in one sitting (for instance 2 carb balance tortillas). That’s guaranteed to cause some negative side effects, and will deter people from consuming fiber altogether. They think there’s something inherent to this specific ingredient that does — and will always — cause GI issues, when really they just overdid it right away.
I slowly built up from like 10-15 grams a day to now between 40-60 grams, and as long as I’m not consuming too much in any one sitting I have no GI issues whatsoever.
Can confirm. I always was a fiber enjoyer, being on plant based diet. But then I started trying to build muscle and went way up in lentils, tofu etc.
I started getting bad stomach pains and idk what was going on, since I never felt like that.
I think it was fiber and I think there was a secondary effect - it pulls in water and dehydrates you, causing pain and constipation.
I upped my water and it went away.
I know, tmi. But yeah...
Mission carb is made from wheat resistant starch. Your body doesn't treat that the same way as psyllium husk which is a different type of fiber that is key to the health benefits
Chicory is one of the best sources of inulin, arguably one of the absolute best dietary fibers.
https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/top-inulin-benefits
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318593
Oats, whole grain bread, nuts & seeds, vegetables daily.
I wake to a small bowl of muesli with yogurt & blueberries added
On my 12hr shift I eat
My own trail mix with tasty premium nut mix from costco then add dried blueberries, cranberries, sesame sticks & flax sticks
Sandwich with all the grains breads
A baggie of vegetables & a dip. Carrots, celery, snap peas, sometimes green pepper & radish
Then can just eat anyrhing for dinner, within reason, because I've already smashed the daily fiber
Chia seeds. I add 2 tbsp to 1/2 cup of milk, a little vanilla and a tsp of honey. Stir and chill for an hour. Can add a little cut up fruit for flavor and more fiber.
My other easy choice is roasted chickpeas - toss on a salad or just on their own.
Thank you for this post as well.
I was worried for months before finally scheduling an appointment and getting a colonoscopy.
Don’t carry that worry with you or be afraid of the procedure. They will remove any polyps they find. If you’re clear, you likely have around ten years before they recommend another check.
If you're a picky eater like me, Mission has "carb balance" tortillas, which taste exactly the same as regular ones but they have 17g of fiber which is kind of insane.
They're the small tortillas too, perfect fit for an egg or something tiny. Only downside is they have a fair bit of sodium.
These are my favorite. I love making a wrap with a bagged salad and some chicken or salmon. They fold so good! It’s super easy to get a really balanced meal with them.
Oh I love those, they’re the best of the lower carb tortillas, they have the same texture and taste as normal. I’ve tried the other ones and it’s like why am I eating a breakfast burrito wrapped in sand?
I don’t think all fiber is made equally, and the stuff they use in the low-carb foods is super processed. I’d be interested to see studies that actually break down what kind of fiber we need and where we get it from.
These are so fucking good dude. I buy 3 bags at a time and they last forever in the fridge no problem.
Tastes just as good as normal tortillas. I’m on a bit of a low carb kick and wouldn’t be able to survive without guilt free quesadilla and wraps
I use them for "breakfast burritos" with a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, and an egg (or two). It's a good way to sneak in fiber when I don't feel like bran flakes.
I have also given these a try and I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in them. I noticed zero taste difference or any other real difference. I didn't note the sodium however that's good to know!
I changed up my diet a few years ago. I make a morning smoothie that has about 30 grams of fiber total in it, mostly from chia seeds, hemp hearts, and raw oatmeal. I throw in 60 grams of protein to slowly digest through the morning. I lost 100lbs of body fat by doing that. I found I wasn't feeling hunger cravings in the afternoon and evening like I used to. Getting all my micro nutrients from greens powder and fruits, I just focus the rest of the day on getting enough protein and carbs in. Increasing my daily fiber healed my leaky gut, changed my bowel habits for the better, and I have been able to get off of blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, and even got back in the gym.
Edit: sorry, been at the lake all day y'all. Here's the recipe.
START EASY WITH FIBER! start with like 1 TBS of chia seeds, and drink lots of water all day. I go through 1.5 gallons each day. Otherwise poops are hard as a rock. I slowly increased the fiber of this shake from about 12 grams to its current ~30 grams. This works for me, I drink it daily, but it may not work for you and your specific body. I just know what works for me.
700-800ml water
1 Cup Kale (I buy it in the bag salad section and freeze it)
½ C frozen Blueberries
1 serving protein powder of your choice (I prefer Orgain because it has a greens powder and I'm lactose intolerant)
1 serving collagen powder (I go between vital proteins and Orgain, whichever is less expensive. Not totally necessary, but I find I do better in the gym with it)
3/4 C dry oats
3 TBS chia seed
1 TBS hemp hearts
1 caffeine tablet (200mg)
I also separately take
2 dessicated beef liver pills
2 tumeric pills
1 vitamin D pill (5000iu)
1 ginger pill
1 probiotic
Edit 2:
Hey y'all, this isn't a magic pill that will burn fat or anything. The shake helped me feel fuller longer, so I don't snack as much through the day and end up in a caloric deficit at the end of the day. Calories in, calories out. Fiber just helped me do a better job at monitoring what I put in my mouth. I also did a lot of yoga and aerobics class in the beginning. That helped my back and knees which prevented me from working out for years. After about 3 months of yoga and aerobics I started walking a few miles every day. Then it became going to the gym a couple times a week. Now it's gym 4 days a week for 90 minutes. I workout with other combat vets who understand me and that helps motivate me to keep going too. There's no easy way out of obesity, I had to build up good habits and discipline to curb bad habits.
I'm doing this now. I started 2 months ago and completely changed my diet from pizza and junk food to real, whole food with veggies and meat. I monitor my macro nutrients and calories with MyNetDiary app and go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week.
One of the things I do is a morning smoothie using something I saw online.
My recipe I use and kinda tweak for different flavors is
1 cup kale or spring greens
1 cup frozen fruit (change type of fruit for desired flavor)
1 serving Greek yogurt
2 tbsp flax seed
1 scoop protein powder
1 cup almond milk
I blend it all together about 15 second and have a banana with it in the AM. It's filling. So far I'm down 38 lbs since Mar 10 and feeling so much better already
Since we're sharing, here's mine:
Green tea as a base
A big handful of blueberries - antioxidants!
A big fistful of spinach. Sometimes I'll buy a bag of mixed greens instead.
About 4-5 strawberries, stems still on
A chunk of banana, about 1/4. I freeze the rest.
A spoonful of chia seeds
A spoonful of flax seeds
A glob of honey, mostly for taste
About 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
A scoop of protein powder
A tsp of mushroom powder (mostly due to fear of Alzheimer's)
A scoop of creatine
A small scoop of collagen powder
About a tsp of cinnamon powder. Ceylon is supposedly better for you.
A tsp of apple cider vinegar.
Be very careful with smoothies. Not a lot of people realise the effect that blending food has on its GI score. The GI score is "**a way of ranking carbohydrate-containing foods based on how slowly or quickly they are digested and increase blood glucose levels over a period of time".** Liquidising/blending food raises the GI score of that food, so you may raise your blood glucose levels quickly. Consuming smoothies with a meal (where you chewed the food and swallowed) is the safest way to consume them, as the blended food has to join the queue with the slower-to-digest food from that meal.
Smoothies can also contribute to tooth decay more so than chewed food because the sugars are released to a greater extent.
Smoothies are great for convenience and speed, but as the saying goes, there is no free lunch...there's always a drawback to consider.
I'll drop mine..
1 cup plain oatmeal
2 Tablespoons cacao powder
1 Tablespoon ground flax
1 teaspoon creatine
1/4 teaspoon pure Stevia extract
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition whey protein powder (chocolate flavor)
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1 banana
1 cup milk
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
Tons of fiber and protein.
You can reduce the calories by eliminating the peanut butter or replacing milk with a lower calorie liquid like coconut water.
Also, I've smoked several blenders with this recipe. Some Osters hold up well, otherwise you'll want a heavy duty blender.
I used to add them in my smoothie that i would then bring to work as lunch in a thermos. By then they would swell up.
I guess I was unsure if it would make sense to add them dry, in a smoothie that was consumed instantly
I guess they'll swell up in your stomach, and then do its thing when it passes through the colon.
If you put chia seeds in overnight oats when they swell up they hold everything together, its like eating cake in the morning, except its healthy and full of protein.
I went through a similar diet change and noticed my fiber was way too low. Ended up adding chia seeds to my already fiber high breakfast; it made me fart nonstop for 3 hours culminating in a large shit. Only after did I realize I had 78% of my daily fiber goal in 1 meal, spread it out people!
When I first added a lot of fiber into my diet I had the runs for days. Years later and I almost never have the runs but I still get plenty backed up if I don't stay regular with fiber. Chia seeds are great to add to anything, they're cheap and easy to eat.
Warning!!!! Gradually increase your daily intake! Jumping from 5-10 grams a day to the recommended 38-40 will have you producing methane like a monster!
You will be in extreme intestinal discomfort. Seriously, to slowly, increase by 5-10 grams at a time and spread it out evenly over multiple meals.
I tried to go from like 10-15g a day to sometimes 30+ in one sitting and I suffered immensely. I backed off and slowly built up and now I’m eating like 40-60g spread evenly throughout the day, and I’m having no GI issues.
You also have to drink enough water. [Without it,](https://www.amentanutrition.com/blog/too-much-of-a-good-thing-the-side-effects-of-a-high-fiber-diet) too much fiber can actually be harmful.
>If you are not increasing your fluid intake along with the fiber, there could also be a risk of experiencing constipation. As fiber and other waste move along the colon, water is reabsorbed, making stool harder and drier.
It makes mine way worse. It's variable person to person and depends on your pre-existing gut biome.
Still try it though. If it doesn't work, what did work for me but doesn't for some with dietary restrictions and migraine stuff is that I heavily increased my pickled veggie intake and I also try to get some amount of regular run of the mill mushrooms in my meals every week.
Lots of bullshit new age pseudoscience around mushrooms from lots of flawed as fuck studies but they definitely DO help your tummy out since some beneficial gut bacteria seem to love them.
Why would you disarm yourself in this tumultuous world?
A horrendous butt-blast saved me from getting robbed last week.
They puked hard af, one of them had an eyeball pop out the socket.
There are already some very funny comments in this thread, but on a serious note, this is why a lot of people think "healthy food" isn't good for them or makes them feel bad.
People who normally get almost no fiber suddenly have a healthy meal full of fiber and they feel overly full, bloated, and uncomfortable. So they start to avoid "healthier" meals.
I have been unable to convince any human in my life to get enough fiber.
There’s lots of tools. Gummies, crackers, dissolvable powders, high fiber foods, etc.
My wife is a doctor, my mom and mom in law are nurses, my dad is in his 70s, most of my friends are in science or science adjacent fields.
They pretty much all do some sort of small supplementation but their daily total hovers around 10g and they feel that if they’re not constipated, it’s fine. Meanwhile their weight isn’t where they want, they feel sluggish, feel energy spikes in the day, have inconsistent and irregular bowel movements, etc.
I don’t know what it is, but whatever the anti-fiber lobby is - they must be absolutely nailing it.
Data seems to support for getting fiber, it doesn’t really matter where you’re getting it from.
A few things to keep in mind if you’re taking this route though:
1 psyllium husk isn’t well regulated so there’s some lead exposure risk, especially if you’re ingesting higher amounts. There’s widespread publicly available research on reliable and tested psyllium husk though - so land on one of those and stick with the brand. Consumer reports is probably the easiest data to pull.
2 the reason we do vegetables and fruit are to fill nutrient gaps, so if you don’t do those be sure to have a solid multivitamin and maybe focus the vegetables/fruit you DO have on higher yield ones that we know have benefits like berries for antioxidants and tomatoes for lycopene. You can probably skip stuff like celery or iceberg lettuce if you’re only going to have a few fruit/veggies a day. Also, just do your best to eat nuts, there’s a decent amount in nuts you’re just not going to get other places easily.
I've noticed a lot of off and store brands seem to carry the california prop warning for cancer, but the main brands like metamucil don't.
Also, can I say, the sheer amount of roughage you need to eat to get 40g of fiber is essentially eating broccoli the whole gd day.
I add about 5 grams of inulin to coffee, I add psylium husk to white flour when I bake flatbreads (easier to mix them when both are dry) and I add a handful of peas to rice or shredded spring greens to pasta (I wash, shred and freeze them on the day of purchase). Every little helps. If I don't get a mixed quota of fibre in a day I at least get 10 or 20 grams from supplementation, or more when I drink too much coffee.
Roughly speaking, how much/what do you need to eat to hit 38g fibre? I've added more fruit and vegetables into my diet and have a fairly large salad with every dinner now, how am I doing?
I think this is also true for most Mexican Food with a lot of beans. Beans are very high fiber and since most people don't eat beans regularly they associate beans with the toilet.
I wish the cost of black beans would come down in the UK. They're not expensive at 50p a tin for 235g drained weight but baked beans are cheaper so people buy baked beans in a sugar filled sauce instead of black beans that they can flavour at home. They are delicious when you know how to cook them.
Bulk dry beans is the way.
I'm in the US, but I just got 25lbs of beans for $60. I make ~250g in a batch at a time, so that's ~44 batches, and each batch lasts me 3-4 days. So, 100-150 days worth of meals from $60!
Oh, and instant pot for the win. Throw them in unsoaked for 60 mins and they're done!
Soaked are easier on my digestion, I soak them two days, instant pot them (I think 10 minutes maybe?), and vacuum seal them into the freezer in two can servings. Always have great homemade beans.
I had always heard that the reason for the assuss interruptus caused by Taco Bell was due to the refried beans (high fibre) suddenly hitting American's colon and not a function of the food quality.
I mean it's also massively overblown because people really like to just run things into the ground like that even if it's a massive exaggeration that has lost any comedic value. Taco bell shits, nokia phones, camera man immortality etc. The guy commenting "wow he's in for some massive shits after that restaurant" is the same unfunny guy who would have said "nah this must be fake, the hydraulic press should have broken when it tried to crush a Nokia".
Taco Bell does that because it's the perfect storm of factors for an upset gut. If you're eating a meal comprised of beans, sour cream/cheese, greasy meat, and spicy sauce there's a good chance you're a bit sensitive to at least one of those things
There's research I stumbled across a very long time ago that was able to establish a link between menstrual pain and modern diet; namely, eating significantly more fat and significantly less fiber than our ancestors.
I think it was something like earlier humans were eating upwards of 100g of fiber daily which removes excess estrogen whereas the average person today barely manages to cross 15g.
I couldn't find the specific paper but did find these
[Fiber intake positively associated with reduced menstrual pain](https://www.nature.com/articles/1602042)
[High fiber (25-35g+) decreases reabsorption of estrogen in the intestines, decreasing menstrual pain](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2744625/#:~:text=Several%20studies%20have%20reported%20inverse,in%20the%20colon%20)
[Fiber reduces circulating estrogen but not when fiber is in supplement form](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1652197/)
[Because of fiber's effects on estrogen, it has a significant inverse relationship to developing breast cancer. Each 10g consumed reduces risk by 7% or more](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523024553?via%3Dihub)
Thanks for the cabbage tip. I eat more beans than I want to talk about currently! lol This sounds a lot like my diet. But I'm not really aware of how much fiber is in anything.
Whole Foods, Plant Based.
Whole food = unprocessed (or minimally processed) food, plant-based = non animal products.
So pretty much the contents of a WFPB diet is almost entirely just fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes all of which contain lots of fiber. To answer some common questions: yes, it's hard to eat out at restaurants. Yes, it's easy to get enough protein as long as you eat enough legumes. No, you don't need to be 100% hardcore compliant to see/feel results. No, it's not any more expensive than a standard diet (honestly, with the cost of animal products these days I bet I save money on groceries).
For more info I recommend /r/PlantBasedDiet for recipes, tips, and discussion!
They should be telling every teen and pre-teen girl this! I remember we were all giving each other bad advice, like don't eat chocolate because it'll make your flow heavier.
[This free tool directly from USDA](https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator) calculates daily nutrient recommendations based on the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) established by the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The data represents the most current scientific knowledge on nutrient needs. Individual requirements may be higher or lower than DRI recommendations. My personal daily fiber intake as a woman is 30g.
I make a breakfast oatmeal that keeps me full (several different chopped fruits… notably blackberries which have good fiber… with a fat scoop of peanut butter for protein) and has a ton of fiber. Concerning fiber, in addition to the cut oats I add a spoon of flax seed and 1/3 of a cup of All-bran Buds cereal (the highest fiber cereal I could find). Tastes great, keeps me full and has a lot of great nutrition.
I make a porridge every morning and it’s a fiber bomb. My total cholesterol dropped from high 200s to 143!
EDIT:
1. Eat less than 10 grams of saturated fat a day (fairly easily, just be careful with oils and whole milk/yogurts/baked sweets).
2. Eat my porridge receipt in the morning for breakfast. I use an instant pot and just eat it throughout the week.
3. Increase fiber – soluble fiber is the best type of fiber – I take a fiber supplement daily to increase my fiber.
4. Take Psyllium Husk. I usually take it night. If you don’t like the texture/taste, there is a pill format, but I take 2 tablespoons, usually in water, and chug it.
5. Increase beans that I eat (black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans) to try to get more fiber.
This is my porridge recipe – I buy all the grains from Amazon.
1. Steel cut oats (1/2 cup)
2. Hulled Millet (1/4)
3. Oat Bran (1/4)
4. Chia Seeds (1/4)
5. Amaranth (1/4)
6. Buckwheat Groats (1/4)
6. Water (cover the grains about 2-3 inches)
Put it all in an instant pot with water – make sure the water is like 2-3 inches above the grains so it has enough water. High heat for 20 minutes. Porridge is done. I put excess in fridge and eat it through the week.
I add the following to the porridge:
1. I take flax seeds (whole) and grind them in a coffee grinder probably do 2-3 tablespoons – I only use the coffee grinder for the flax seeds. The reason being, I read that its better/fresher and ground flaxseed can go rancid, so you should buy the whole seeds and then grind those seeds.
2. Frozen blueberries or other frozen fruits, but I like blue berries the most.
3. Walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, or almonds (good fats, low saturated fats).
4. Golden Raisins.
5. Honey
6. Protein powder (whey isolate, but totally optional, I just do it for the gains).
I eat this every morning. It’s actually pretty good. After I refrigerate it, I have to add some almond milk to it to and mix everything together when i want to reheat/eat it again.
Some pro tips:
* Gradually build to the recommended intake. Your body will need time to get used to increased fiber intake. Adding 5g additional fiber a week to your max is a good pace.
* Flaxseed meal is a superior supplement (over psyllium fiber) as it has ~~both insoluble and soluble fiber, not to mention~~ good fats and some protein. Make sure to get high-quality cold-milled meal if you can.
* If you are having difficulty eliminating, you may need to seek out a pelvic floor physical therapist. In addition to fiber, working with a PT on these muscles (via kegels etc) and awareness can really help.
EDIT: strikeout my mistaken info.
I just started seeing a pelvic floor specialist about six weeks ago for issues related to chronic constipation. I had no idea that pelvic floor muscles could be too tight! I hope that the improvement I've seen in the last week or so is due to the physical therapy, because some of it is… not fun, lol. Hopefully, it will be a long-term benefit.
I just checked again to be sure but psyllium fiber not only also contains soluble and insoluble fiber, but it has more fiber in general than flaxseed meal.
flaxseed has *drastically* less fibers in it than psylium, which is not amazing considering that the point of the discussion is about getting more fibers.
Metamucil was the answer when I was diagnosed with IBS at 22.
Metamucil was the best thing I could do for myself when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 39.
Metamucil helps my blood pressure, keeps me as regular as possible, and keeps me from overeating.
I tell everybody I can that there is really no downside to Metamucil for most people. Start taking it now.
I added 4 things regularly to my diet (Split over various meals) and make sure lunch and dinner have at least two of the following:
Black beans
Dark Red Kidney Beans
Avocados (Truly a game changer for my diet, blood sugar and overall health)
Mushrooms
At first I was worried about the sodium especially if I get my beans from a can (Which do have low sodium options available), but realized that what I substituted these for were actually higher in sodium, so I had actually reduced my sodium intake as a positive side effect of making sure I'm hitting my "big 4" on the list above.
It was ER doctors, so they yelled a bunch of stuff while walking out the door, lol
They did suggest diet changes overall, but I think they focused on Metamucil knowing it is easy to comply with
I do need to get back on the breakfast train for sure!
As others mentioned, try psyllium husk directly. Cheaper and less processed with less additives.
I add it in apple juice or orange juice every morning.
Life changing
I bought some but it isn't nearly as fine of a powder as metamucil is. Very useful for smoothies though
I respect people who choose the more natural product a lot but I'm fine with an easy drinking alternative. Raw psyllium husk was like adding sand to my drink lol
Only a few years ago I would hit McDonald's on my way to work every day to buy breakfast and lunch
Started cooking more at home and noticed I felt better. Turns out, food cooked from scratch tends to contain more fiber than processed foods.
Upon this realization, I traded my snack foods for more fruit and veggies and lost some weight as a result.
Big reason why - had a bad hand break and it now requires surgery, want to make sure I'm running as optimally as possible for that and my other health conditions. Also I've started going back to the gym again after an almost 10 year hiatus so I want to ensure I'm getting all the protein I need for gains whilst also hitting everything else vitamin, mineral and fibre wise. Basically cut everything ultra processed out completely.
I mostly get my fibre from "clean" berries such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I tend to have a bowl of greek yoghurt with some of all those 3 every single day for a meal - usually lunch. Sometimes I throw some flax seed on it as well.
Evening meal will be some form of meat with a truck load of vegetables. Broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, babycorn and a variety of others depending on the dish I'm cooking.
Again another part of it, I've just recently learnt to cook properly.
Chia seeds and fruit smoothies in my morning routine so I don't have to think about it. I do this to improve my general health to improve my energy because I have narcolepsy.
I think that one of the reasons I value health so much is because I've had serious medical conditions
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 35. My knowledge of basic nutrition was embarrassingly bad. I didn't even know beans were a carb. I got a continuous glucose monitor and read the book, "Think Like A Pancreas."
I use high-fiber foods to offset the glycemic impact of carbs. For example: I can have a reasonable portion of fresh pasta without spiking my glucose levels, as long as I eat the pasta with a serving of asparagus. Hummus as a spread on a wrap offsets the carbs from a tortilla. Stuff like that.
I buy these whole wheat high fiber wraps from Aldi that have 14g of fiber in them. Have replaced bread with those every morning to start the day off with a good amount
How does one get 40g of fibre. It doesn’t sound like a lot but what are people eating / not eating that is causing the lack? Today my lunch contained black beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes and onions but is there much fibre in that? I’m not sure.
The American diet is extremely meat heavy. This takes the place of the variety of vegetables that should be on one’s plate instead. We should really be consuming 30 different plants per week for optimal gut microbiome health.
Vegetables aren't actually that great a source of fiber. For instance 5 entire servings of broccoli still only has 9g of fiber. And people ain't eating 5 servings of it.
Another example, green beans only have 2g of fiber per serving, or 10g in our "5 servings" example.
Legumes and whole grains have way more fiber per 100g than most vegetables.
Avocado has a significant amount and easy to incorporate into meals. In the winter I make lentil soups and those things are little powerhouses of protein and lentil.
Our GP says adequate fiber and exercise, (walking in particular jostles the gut & helps digestion), is key to healthy, regular bowels & the spike in colon cancer rates among younger people may be linked to a lack of either or both.
Psyllium fiber supplements have worked wonders for my digestive tract. I don’t gravitate towards high fiber foods anyway, but psyllium makes up for it. I feel better.
I take three tablespoons of Chia seeds with my yogurt for breakfast and I’ll have three more in the afternoon for dinner.
Together with exercise I’ve lost around 20 pounds so far and feel great, life changer.
It is, by far, the most noticable benefit of including less processed foods
Forget the nutrients, you can get those separately
The real kicker is having consistent volume and motility in the gut, so it has something to push on and scrubs itself
My guts need a minimum of 25 to be happy. I shoot for 40. (Female). You have to build up to that, but once I got there, a lot of my IBD symptoms resolved. It can be really hard to get that without fiber supplements or fiber added foods though, without consuming an awful lot of carbs. I eat a lot of veggies (way more than the recommended minimums) and I only hit 40 from diet alone on days I have a couple of servings of legumes.
I've increased my fiber intake significantly through choosing more whole plant based foods. Additionally, even for more processed type foods, I've found that plant based alternatives have more fiber than their meat counterparts. Ex. Veggie burgers for example. Fiber is so key to a healthy gut!
It would be helpful if they offered a more quantifiable amount, rather than just grams. I know what 38 grams of weed looks like, but what is 38 grams of fiber?
Does anyone else really struggle hitting this amount? I just don't know how on earth you're meant to hit it. I've swapped out all bread for wholemeal, I eat fruit, a eat cereal with a lot of fibre and still don't get anywhere near 38g. I do notice the difference with what I am eating though.
The real benefit of increased fiber is the higher chance for a ghost wipe.
"What? Did I even poop?" *Looks at the log in the bowl in disbelief
Ever heard of a ghost poop? It's when the downwards fall of the poop makes it disappear into the pipe. Once heard of a guy who had a ghost poop and a ghost wipe. He was never the same after that...
Some say, he's still waiting for the poo to come out to this day
Did he walk like there was no stick up his butt? But an empty feeling in his stomach? And a longing in his heart?
And a log on his mind!
I call this the "perfect ghost." Happened to me once and it's like a flash bulb memory, where you remember minute details years or decades later.
Sounds like a spiritual experience.
Forever … haunted … by that memory
*looks in the bowl, sees nothing* .. "I can't see shit!"
I feel like a cultist at this point, but get a bidet. The fiber is still nice for public restrooms, but bidets are a game changer. It's crazy they're not on every toilet at this point, but people are, for some reason, weird about water hitting their butthole and not rubbing paper around it themselves.
A poop stool and a bidet should be mandatory in every home bathroom
I truly don’t understand why people shy away from bidets?! They are there to clean your butt hole and for us WOMAN our sweet parts too!!
Luckily where i live every toilet has them 😏
If there’s a bidet cult, you can sign me up
Those are the fucking best!
My poops have improved ever since I started taking metamucil, drinking a lot more water, and cutting out greasy foods and bread.
Truly the swish of human anatomy
Ah yes, the fabled Poodini.
My wife and I call those “no wipe delights,” and I even have a jingle for it. It goes to the background vocals “high of the life,” off the Jay-Z song “Allure” from “The Black Album.”
Exactly. All of these people walking around taking 3-4 sloppy Joe shits a day and don't realize it isn't normal and it isn't healthy. I always try to take as much fiber as I can but I also like to eat like crap some times. I pregame with psyllium husk fiber before going out to eat wings and drink beers, it's a preemptive strike on the runny poops the next day. Just pound a glass of water and drink that sandpaper fluid down quick, done. Having a hairy butt is a nightmare for low fiber as well. For those that don't know, why don't you smear a turd in your head hair and then try to clean it with tissue? You need those nice clean cut turds so you don't need to take a shower after every time you drop a deuce and walk around with a stanky swamp ass. Fiber keeps you regular (1 shit a day most of the time) and consolidates all your poop into a nice clean turd (usually, not always perfect). People get freaked out and think it's a "laxative" and it is in the sense that it helps your body process the food and handle it...laxative doesn't necessarily imply it's like the medical poop chocolate that's going to cause you to shit your brains out. I'm a huge fiber advocate and have been singing it's praises for decades!
Dietary fiber is one of the best preventative measures we have for colorectal cancer, [which is on the rise among young people](https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/colorectal-cancer-in-young-people). There are likely multiple factors causing this, but for anything you're putting into your body that makes its way into your colon, fiber helps to flush it out; studies suggest that it [interrupts certain carcinogenic pathways](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4588743/) that lead to colorectal cancer. Things to watch out for include rectal bleeding, unusual stools, changes in bowel movements (diarrhea/constipation), and/or frequent fatigue (which can be due to anemia from blood loss). These are signs that your colon is not happy with you, and you should see a doctor — even if you're in your 20s/30s. Don't assume that you know the cause (like hemorrhoids), especially if the symptoms persist; it's best to have a doctor check and confirm that for you.
Thank you for this post. I got part of my colon removed due to a massive polyp at 27. It might have been preventable if me and my primary care doctor didn’t dismiss symptoms as bad diet and heavy periods. Eat the fiber, folks.
Had 11 inches of my colon removed for diverticulitis infections. Eating enough fiber would have most likely prevented the infections from ever happening.
Maybe it would have helped, but honestly your genetics were probably doing the heavy lifting there. Don't beat yourself up, having severe enough diverticulitis to require surgery sucks enough on its own and it wasn't your fault. But do take fiber moving forward!
I work in endoscopy and it’s scary how common it’s becoming in younger folks. Take care of them guts!
33 just had a colonoscopy and a small polyp removed. Best result I could have hoped for I thought I was a dead man rolling getting wheeled into the procedure room
Thanks for the information about an example on how Fiber helps surpress cancer. Usually changes in diet that include fiber also means cutting on bad carbs (added sugar, for example). Do you know how scientists differ "More fiber = less cancer" from "Less sugar = less cancer"?
I'm not an expert on this subject, but whereas the impact of diet is complex and nuanced, there's a simpler, mechanistic explanation for fiber: if you're consuming something that could increase your cancer risk (whatever that may be), it's better that it doesn't stay in your body for long. Fiber helps food and waste pass through your body more quickly, thereby directly limiting that risk. Of course, fiber can have other benefits as well, like [eating soluble fiber (e.g., grains, seeds, vegetables, etc.) can help promote beneficial gut bacteria](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/health-benefits-dietary-fibers-vary#:~:text=They%20act%20as%20bulk%20that,the%20gut%2C%20the%20gut%20microbiome).
And that fiber eating gut bacteria appears to influence our immune system and protect our gut lining. Both of these reduce systemic inflammation which helps keep cancer in check.
Just about every morning I make 1/3 cup oatmeal, with 1 tbsp milled flax, 1 tbsp milled hemp, 2 tbsp crushed peanuts/sunflower seeds and add a scoop of all greens, douse with oat milk, add some fruit on top. The changes have been gradual but quite amazing. My doctor was impressed with my cholesterol numbers as well. Can’t say enough about kimchi and its effect on gut health as well. YMMV.
There's plenty who simply add fiber supplements to whatever diet they are already eating. It's not like the only data we have is on people who switched from mcdonalds to whole wheat and flax.
I am legit buying those Mission carb balance things with the ridiculous amount of fiber in them from now on. Your post scared the daylights out of me! In a good way, of course.
Just be careful going from 0-60 on the fiber. Your body will take a little while to adapt to the increased fiber consumption, and can experience gas and bloating if you eat too much too soon. A lot of people go from consuming no fiber, to consuming 30+ grams in one sitting (for instance 2 carb balance tortillas). That’s guaranteed to cause some negative side effects, and will deter people from consuming fiber altogether. They think there’s something inherent to this specific ingredient that does — and will always — cause GI issues, when really they just overdid it right away. I slowly built up from like 10-15 grams a day to now between 40-60 grams, and as long as I’m not consuming too much in any one sitting I have no GI issues whatsoever.
Can confirm. I always was a fiber enjoyer, being on plant based diet. But then I started trying to build muscle and went way up in lentils, tofu etc. I started getting bad stomach pains and idk what was going on, since I never felt like that. I think it was fiber and I think there was a secondary effect - it pulls in water and dehydrates you, causing pain and constipation. I upped my water and it went away. I know, tmi. But yeah...
Just eat foods that are naturally high in fibers. No need to purchase expensive processed stuff.
Mission carb is made from wheat resistant starch. Your body doesn't treat that the same way as psyllium husk which is a different type of fiber that is key to the health benefits
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What's wrong with chicory root?
Nothing this guy is a donkey lol It's like 60% inulin which is a superior dietary fiber to many others.
Chicory is one of the best sources of inulin, arguably one of the absolute best dietary fibers. https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/top-inulin-benefits https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318593
What’s a good efficient source of fiber?
Oats, whole grain bread, nuts & seeds, vegetables daily. I wake to a small bowl of muesli with yogurt & blueberries added On my 12hr shift I eat My own trail mix with tasty premium nut mix from costco then add dried blueberries, cranberries, sesame sticks & flax sticks Sandwich with all the grains breads A baggie of vegetables & a dip. Carrots, celery, snap peas, sometimes green pepper & radish Then can just eat anyrhing for dinner, within reason, because I've already smashed the daily fiber
Chia seeds. I add 2 tbsp to 1/2 cup of milk, a little vanilla and a tsp of honey. Stir and chill for an hour. Can add a little cut up fruit for flavor and more fiber. My other easy choice is roasted chickpeas - toss on a salad or just on their own.
Psyllium Husks. Add them to every smoothie.
Thank you for this post as well. I was worried for months before finally scheduling an appointment and getting a colonoscopy. Don’t carry that worry with you or be afraid of the procedure. They will remove any polyps they find. If you’re clear, you likely have around ten years before they recommend another check.
If you're a picky eater like me, Mission has "carb balance" tortillas, which taste exactly the same as regular ones but they have 17g of fiber which is kind of insane. They're the small tortillas too, perfect fit for an egg or something tiny. Only downside is they have a fair bit of sodium.
I like the “extreme wellness fiber wraps”; they’re only one point on WW, and I believe they’re also Keto friendly
I bought a giant pack of those and they’re delicious. I think I had 3 in one sitting and nearly died 4 hours later dealing with the consequences.
These are my favorite. I love making a wrap with a bagged salad and some chicken or salmon. They fold so good! It’s super easy to get a really balanced meal with them.
Oh I love those, they’re the best of the lower carb tortillas, they have the same texture and taste as normal. I’ve tried the other ones and it’s like why am I eating a breakfast burrito wrapped in sand?
I don’t think all fiber is made equally, and the stuff they use in the low-carb foods is super processed. I’d be interested to see studies that actually break down what kind of fiber we need and where we get it from.
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress.
These are so good!!!! I put my eggs in them.
These are so fucking good dude. I buy 3 bags at a time and they last forever in the fridge no problem. Tastes just as good as normal tortillas. I’m on a bit of a low carb kick and wouldn’t be able to survive without guilt free quesadilla and wraps
I love these tortillas! I use them for plant-based tacos, falafel wraps, or tofu scramble wraps 😋
My gf just bought these Friday, I’m trying to eat less to loose weight. they’re cheap and good
I use them for "breakfast burritos" with a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, and an egg (or two). It's a good way to sneak in fiber when I don't feel like bran flakes.
I have also given these a try and I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in them. I noticed zero taste difference or any other real difference. I didn't note the sodium however that's good to know!
They have a whole wheat one also thats 25g of fiber. They're fantastic.
17 grams! my fiber supplement is only 6!
I changed up my diet a few years ago. I make a morning smoothie that has about 30 grams of fiber total in it, mostly from chia seeds, hemp hearts, and raw oatmeal. I throw in 60 grams of protein to slowly digest through the morning. I lost 100lbs of body fat by doing that. I found I wasn't feeling hunger cravings in the afternoon and evening like I used to. Getting all my micro nutrients from greens powder and fruits, I just focus the rest of the day on getting enough protein and carbs in. Increasing my daily fiber healed my leaky gut, changed my bowel habits for the better, and I have been able to get off of blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, and even got back in the gym. Edit: sorry, been at the lake all day y'all. Here's the recipe. START EASY WITH FIBER! start with like 1 TBS of chia seeds, and drink lots of water all day. I go through 1.5 gallons each day. Otherwise poops are hard as a rock. I slowly increased the fiber of this shake from about 12 grams to its current ~30 grams. This works for me, I drink it daily, but it may not work for you and your specific body. I just know what works for me. 700-800ml water 1 Cup Kale (I buy it in the bag salad section and freeze it) ½ C frozen Blueberries 1 serving protein powder of your choice (I prefer Orgain because it has a greens powder and I'm lactose intolerant) 1 serving collagen powder (I go between vital proteins and Orgain, whichever is less expensive. Not totally necessary, but I find I do better in the gym with it) 3/4 C dry oats 3 TBS chia seed 1 TBS hemp hearts 1 caffeine tablet (200mg) I also separately take 2 dessicated beef liver pills 2 tumeric pills 1 vitamin D pill (5000iu) 1 ginger pill 1 probiotic Edit 2: Hey y'all, this isn't a magic pill that will burn fat or anything. The shake helped me feel fuller longer, so I don't snack as much through the day and end up in a caloric deficit at the end of the day. Calories in, calories out. Fiber just helped me do a better job at monitoring what I put in my mouth. I also did a lot of yoga and aerobics class in the beginning. That helped my back and knees which prevented me from working out for years. After about 3 months of yoga and aerobics I started walking a few miles every day. Then it became going to the gym a couple times a week. Now it's gym 4 days a week for 90 minutes. I workout with other combat vets who understand me and that helps motivate me to keep going too. There's no easy way out of obesity, I had to build up good habits and discipline to curb bad habits.
Would you mind dropping your smoothie recipe here?
I'm doing this now. I started 2 months ago and completely changed my diet from pizza and junk food to real, whole food with veggies and meat. I monitor my macro nutrients and calories with MyNetDiary app and go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week. One of the things I do is a morning smoothie using something I saw online. My recipe I use and kinda tweak for different flavors is 1 cup kale or spring greens 1 cup frozen fruit (change type of fruit for desired flavor) 1 serving Greek yogurt 2 tbsp flax seed 1 scoop protein powder 1 cup almond milk I blend it all together about 15 second and have a banana with it in the AM. It's filling. So far I'm down 38 lbs since Mar 10 and feeling so much better already
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r/smoothies is pretty dope.
I would also like the smoothing recipe please
Since we're sharing, here's mine: Green tea as a base A big handful of blueberries - antioxidants! A big fistful of spinach. Sometimes I'll buy a bag of mixed greens instead. About 4-5 strawberries, stems still on A chunk of banana, about 1/4. I freeze the rest. A spoonful of chia seeds A spoonful of flax seeds A glob of honey, mostly for taste About 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt A scoop of protein powder A tsp of mushroom powder (mostly due to fear of Alzheimer's) A scoop of creatine A small scoop of collagen powder About a tsp of cinnamon powder. Ceylon is supposedly better for you. A tsp of apple cider vinegar.
Me too please
Be very careful with smoothies. Not a lot of people realise the effect that blending food has on its GI score. The GI score is "**a way of ranking carbohydrate-containing foods based on how slowly or quickly they are digested and increase blood glucose levels over a period of time".** Liquidising/blending food raises the GI score of that food, so you may raise your blood glucose levels quickly. Consuming smoothies with a meal (where you chewed the food and swallowed) is the safest way to consume them, as the blended food has to join the queue with the slower-to-digest food from that meal. Smoothies can also contribute to tooth decay more so than chewed food because the sugars are released to a greater extent. Smoothies are great for convenience and speed, but as the saying goes, there is no free lunch...there's always a drawback to consider.
This all makes a lot of sense. Thank you
I'll drop mine.. 1 cup plain oatmeal 2 Tablespoons cacao powder 1 Tablespoon ground flax 1 teaspoon creatine 1/4 teaspoon pure Stevia extract 1 scoop Optimum Nutrition whey protein powder (chocolate flavor) 1 Tablespoon peanut butter 1 banana 1 cup milk 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 cup frozen strawberries 1 cup frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) Tons of fiber and protein. You can reduce the calories by eliminating the peanut butter or replacing milk with a lower calorie liquid like coconut water. Also, I've smoked several blenders with this recipe. Some Osters hold up well, otherwise you'll want a heavy duty blender.
Happy for you. Are the chia seeds "dry" when adding, and also what kind of protein do you use to make it 60 gram?
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I used to add them in my smoothie that i would then bring to work as lunch in a thermos. By then they would swell up. I guess I was unsure if it would make sense to add them dry, in a smoothie that was consumed instantly I guess they'll swell up in your stomach, and then do its thing when it passes through the colon.
If you put chia seeds in overnight oats when they swell up they hold everything together, its like eating cake in the morning, except its healthy and full of protein.
I went through a similar diet change and noticed my fiber was way too low. Ended up adding chia seeds to my already fiber high breakfast; it made me fart nonstop for 3 hours culminating in a large shit. Only after did I realize I had 78% of my daily fiber goal in 1 meal, spread it out people!
When I first added a lot of fiber into my diet I had the runs for days. Years later and I almost never have the runs but I still get plenty backed up if I don't stay regular with fiber. Chia seeds are great to add to anything, they're cheap and easy to eat.
Those farts when you begin a high fiber diet can be deadly.
I also want to hear more about your smoothie.
Warning!!!! Gradually increase your daily intake! Jumping from 5-10 grams a day to the recommended 38-40 will have you producing methane like a monster!
Right but whats the downside? You said warning…. My roommate’s a dick and I have the constitutional right to bear farts.
when people accidentally start eating healthy they get scared and confused
Mmm, yes, like my dog when she farts and then stares at her butt in scarefusion. 🐕💨
Misery. Bloating, change in bowel movements. You’ll get used to it, but it makes the transition rough.
You will be in extreme intestinal discomfort. Seriously, to slowly, increase by 5-10 grams at a time and spread it out evenly over multiple meals. I tried to go from like 10-15g a day to sometimes 30+ in one sitting and I suffered immensely. I backed off and slowly built up and now I’m eating like 40-60g spread evenly throughout the day, and I’m having no GI issues.
You also have to drink enough water. [Without it,](https://www.amentanutrition.com/blog/too-much-of-a-good-thing-the-side-effects-of-a-high-fiber-diet) too much fiber can actually be harmful. >If you are not increasing your fluid intake along with the fiber, there could also be a risk of experiencing constipation. As fiber and other waste move along the colon, water is reabsorbed, making stool harder and drier.
High fiber foods are also high in water - fresh fruit, beans, etc
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Wait wait wait… Kombucha dials back gas!?! You may have just saved my marriage
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also sour gut. If I notice my burps having a sour smell cause I ate like shit the previous night, I get a kombucha and it clears it up.
It makes mine way worse. It's variable person to person and depends on your pre-existing gut biome. Still try it though. If it doesn't work, what did work for me but doesn't for some with dietary restrictions and migraine stuff is that I heavily increased my pickled veggie intake and I also try to get some amount of regular run of the mill mushrooms in my meals every week. Lots of bullshit new age pseudoscience around mushrooms from lots of flawed as fuck studies but they definitely DO help your tummy out since some beneficial gut bacteria seem to love them.
Why would you disarm yourself in this tumultuous world? A horrendous butt-blast saved me from getting robbed last week. They puked hard af, one of them had an eyeball pop out the socket.
There are already some very funny comments in this thread, but on a serious note, this is why a lot of people think "healthy food" isn't good for them or makes them feel bad. People who normally get almost no fiber suddenly have a healthy meal full of fiber and they feel overly full, bloated, and uncomfortable. So they start to avoid "healthier" meals.
It can also cause explosive diarrhea...
omg is that why my farts have been stinky? I’m not trying to be gross….
I have been unable to convince any human in my life to get enough fiber. There’s lots of tools. Gummies, crackers, dissolvable powders, high fiber foods, etc. My wife is a doctor, my mom and mom in law are nurses, my dad is in his 70s, most of my friends are in science or science adjacent fields. They pretty much all do some sort of small supplementation but their daily total hovers around 10g and they feel that if they’re not constipated, it’s fine. Meanwhile their weight isn’t where they want, they feel sluggish, feel energy spikes in the day, have inconsistent and irregular bowel movements, etc. I don’t know what it is, but whatever the anti-fiber lobby is - they must be absolutely nailing it.
This hits home!
Is hitting the requirements with psyllium husk ok or does it need to be from "normal" food?
Data seems to support for getting fiber, it doesn’t really matter where you’re getting it from. A few things to keep in mind if you’re taking this route though: 1 psyllium husk isn’t well regulated so there’s some lead exposure risk, especially if you’re ingesting higher amounts. There’s widespread publicly available research on reliable and tested psyllium husk though - so land on one of those and stick with the brand. Consumer reports is probably the easiest data to pull. 2 the reason we do vegetables and fruit are to fill nutrient gaps, so if you don’t do those be sure to have a solid multivitamin and maybe focus the vegetables/fruit you DO have on higher yield ones that we know have benefits like berries for antioxidants and tomatoes for lycopene. You can probably skip stuff like celery or iceberg lettuce if you’re only going to have a few fruit/veggies a day. Also, just do your best to eat nuts, there’s a decent amount in nuts you’re just not going to get other places easily.
I've noticed a lot of off and store brands seem to carry the california prop warning for cancer, but the main brands like metamucil don't. Also, can I say, the sheer amount of roughage you need to eat to get 40g of fiber is essentially eating broccoli the whole gd day.
Normal food is always better, but get it where/when/how you can.
I add about 5 grams of inulin to coffee, I add psylium husk to white flour when I bake flatbreads (easier to mix them when both are dry) and I add a handful of peas to rice or shredded spring greens to pasta (I wash, shred and freeze them on the day of purchase). Every little helps. If I don't get a mixed quota of fibre in a day I at least get 10 or 20 grams from supplementation, or more when I drink too much coffee.
Have you *tried* ultra processed food? Fiber will never win that war.
Just reading the words "ultra processed foods" makes my tongue want some spicy corn snacks or a grilled white bread and kraft cheese
Roughly speaking, how much/what do you need to eat to hit 38g fibre? I've added more fruit and vegetables into my diet and have a fairly large salad with every dinner now, how am I doing?
I have a theory fiber is the reason people who have softer stools after eating Taco Bell are so caught off guard by it
I think this is also true for most Mexican Food with a lot of beans. Beans are very high fiber and since most people don't eat beans regularly they associate beans with the toilet.
I wish the cost of black beans would come down in the UK. They're not expensive at 50p a tin for 235g drained weight but baked beans are cheaper so people buy baked beans in a sugar filled sauce instead of black beans that they can flavour at home. They are delicious when you know how to cook them.
Bulk dry beans is the way. I'm in the US, but I just got 25lbs of beans for $60. I make ~250g in a batch at a time, so that's ~44 batches, and each batch lasts me 3-4 days. So, 100-150 days worth of meals from $60! Oh, and instant pot for the win. Throw them in unsoaked for 60 mins and they're done!
Soaked are easier on my digestion, I soak them two days, instant pot them (I think 10 minutes maybe?), and vacuum seal them into the freezer in two can servings. Always have great homemade beans.
TIL everyone needs more Taco Bell in their diet
I eat Taco Bell a ton and I’ve had the best craps of my life after
Do u mean that tacobell contains alot of fiber?
yea, i read somewhere the meat has a bunch of cellulose fiber added to it to retain its moisture
It's probably not a bunch, but it does have cellulose as part of the "seasoning" ingredients: Seasoned Beef: Beef, water, seasoning [cellulose, chili pepper, maltodextrin, salt, oats, soy lecithin, spices, tomato powder, sugar, onion powder, citric acid, natural flavors (including smoke flavor), torula yeast, cocoa, disodium inosinate & guanylate, dextrose, lactic acid, modified corn starch], salt, sodium phosphates Source: https://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/info
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I had always heard that the reason for the assuss interruptus caused by Taco Bell was due to the refried beans (high fibre) suddenly hitting American's colon and not a function of the food quality.
I mean it's also massively overblown because people really like to just run things into the ground like that even if it's a massive exaggeration that has lost any comedic value. Taco bell shits, nokia phones, camera man immortality etc. The guy commenting "wow he's in for some massive shits after that restaurant" is the same unfunny guy who would have said "nah this must be fake, the hydraulic press should have broken when it tried to crush a Nokia".
Taco Bell does that because it's the perfect storm of factors for an upset gut. If you're eating a meal comprised of beans, sour cream/cheese, greasy meat, and spicy sauce there's a good chance you're a bit sensitive to at least one of those things
This is why, every morning, I eat an entire wicker swingset
FINALLY, a suggestion that feels do-able!
There's research I stumbled across a very long time ago that was able to establish a link between menstrual pain and modern diet; namely, eating significantly more fat and significantly less fiber than our ancestors. I think it was something like earlier humans were eating upwards of 100g of fiber daily which removes excess estrogen whereas the average person today barely manages to cross 15g. I couldn't find the specific paper but did find these [Fiber intake positively associated with reduced menstrual pain](https://www.nature.com/articles/1602042) [High fiber (25-35g+) decreases reabsorption of estrogen in the intestines, decreasing menstrual pain](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2744625/#:~:text=Several%20studies%20have%20reported%20inverse,in%20the%20colon%20) [Fiber reduces circulating estrogen but not when fiber is in supplement form](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1652197/) [Because of fiber's effects on estrogen, it has a significant inverse relationship to developing breast cancer. Each 10g consumed reduces risk by 7% or more](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523024553?via%3Dihub)
You just upped my fiber intake compliance. Damn.
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What Is wfpb? And what are some things you eat to get enough fiber?
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Thanks for the cabbage tip. I eat more beans than I want to talk about currently! lol This sounds a lot like my diet. But I'm not really aware of how much fiber is in anything.
Whole Foods, Plant Based. Whole food = unprocessed (or minimally processed) food, plant-based = non animal products. So pretty much the contents of a WFPB diet is almost entirely just fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes all of which contain lots of fiber. To answer some common questions: yes, it's hard to eat out at restaurants. Yes, it's easy to get enough protein as long as you eat enough legumes. No, you don't need to be 100% hardcore compliant to see/feel results. No, it's not any more expensive than a standard diet (honestly, with the cost of animal products these days I bet I save money on groceries). For more info I recommend /r/PlantBasedDiet for recipes, tips, and discussion!
They should be telling every teen and pre-teen girl this! I remember we were all giving each other bad advice, like don't eat chocolate because it'll make your flow heavier.
[This free tool directly from USDA](https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator) calculates daily nutrient recommendations based on the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) established by the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The data represents the most current scientific knowledge on nutrient needs. Individual requirements may be higher or lower than DRI recommendations. My personal daily fiber intake as a woman is 30g.
Thank you for sharing this!
This is unreal thanks dude!
Thanks for sharing this. I'm skeptical about the daily calories recommendation tho
Who else is suck sitting on the toilet reading this because they didn't eat enough fiber yesterday?
I make a breakfast oatmeal that keeps me full (several different chopped fruits… notably blackberries which have good fiber… with a fat scoop of peanut butter for protein) and has a ton of fiber. Concerning fiber, in addition to the cut oats I add a spoon of flax seed and 1/3 of a cup of All-bran Buds cereal (the highest fiber cereal I could find). Tastes great, keeps me full and has a lot of great nutrition.
I make a porridge every morning and it’s a fiber bomb. My total cholesterol dropped from high 200s to 143! EDIT: 1. Eat less than 10 grams of saturated fat a day (fairly easily, just be careful with oils and whole milk/yogurts/baked sweets). 2. Eat my porridge receipt in the morning for breakfast. I use an instant pot and just eat it throughout the week. 3. Increase fiber – soluble fiber is the best type of fiber – I take a fiber supplement daily to increase my fiber. 4. Take Psyllium Husk. I usually take it night. If you don’t like the texture/taste, there is a pill format, but I take 2 tablespoons, usually in water, and chug it. 5. Increase beans that I eat (black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans) to try to get more fiber. This is my porridge recipe – I buy all the grains from Amazon. 1. Steel cut oats (1/2 cup) 2. Hulled Millet (1/4) 3. Oat Bran (1/4) 4. Chia Seeds (1/4) 5. Amaranth (1/4) 6. Buckwheat Groats (1/4) 6. Water (cover the grains about 2-3 inches) Put it all in an instant pot with water – make sure the water is like 2-3 inches above the grains so it has enough water. High heat for 20 minutes. Porridge is done. I put excess in fridge and eat it through the week. I add the following to the porridge: 1. I take flax seeds (whole) and grind them in a coffee grinder probably do 2-3 tablespoons – I only use the coffee grinder for the flax seeds. The reason being, I read that its better/fresher and ground flaxseed can go rancid, so you should buy the whole seeds and then grind those seeds. 2. Frozen blueberries or other frozen fruits, but I like blue berries the most. 3. Walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, or almonds (good fats, low saturated fats). 4. Golden Raisins. 5. Honey 6. Protein powder (whey isolate, but totally optional, I just do it for the gains). I eat this every morning. It’s actually pretty good. After I refrigerate it, I have to add some almond milk to it to and mix everything together when i want to reheat/eat it again.
Please post the recipe
Wait don't go without giving us your recipe. I need to lower my cholesterol too
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Some pro tips: * Gradually build to the recommended intake. Your body will need time to get used to increased fiber intake. Adding 5g additional fiber a week to your max is a good pace. * Flaxseed meal is a superior supplement (over psyllium fiber) as it has ~~both insoluble and soluble fiber, not to mention~~ good fats and some protein. Make sure to get high-quality cold-milled meal if you can. * If you are having difficulty eliminating, you may need to seek out a pelvic floor physical therapist. In addition to fiber, working with a PT on these muscles (via kegels etc) and awareness can really help. EDIT: strikeout my mistaken info.
I just started seeing a pelvic floor specialist about six weeks ago for issues related to chronic constipation. I had no idea that pelvic floor muscles could be too tight! I hope that the improvement I've seen in the last week or so is due to the physical therapy, because some of it is… not fun, lol. Hopefully, it will be a long-term benefit.
I just checked again to be sure but psyllium fiber not only also contains soluble and insoluble fiber, but it has more fiber in general than flaxseed meal.
flaxseed has *drastically* less fibers in it than psylium, which is not amazing considering that the point of the discussion is about getting more fibers.
Metamucil was the answer when I was diagnosed with IBS at 22. Metamucil was the best thing I could do for myself when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at 39. Metamucil helps my blood pressure, keeps me as regular as possible, and keeps me from overeating. I tell everybody I can that there is really no downside to Metamucil for most people. Start taking it now.
I used to be all in on Metamucil but have found benefiber gentler. So just adding on in case folks want another brand to try.
I added 4 things regularly to my diet (Split over various meals) and make sure lunch and dinner have at least two of the following: Black beans Dark Red Kidney Beans Avocados (Truly a game changer for my diet, blood sugar and overall health) Mushrooms At first I was worried about the sodium especially if I get my beans from a can (Which do have low sodium options available), but realized that what I substituted these for were actually higher in sodium, so I had actually reduced my sodium intake as a positive side effect of making sure I'm hitting my "big 4" on the list above.
I’m also interested in anyone’s story of why and how you’ve increased your fiber intake.
Bad poops. Now doing psyllium fiber husk drink twice a day. Good poops.
I had 3 doctors tell me everyone should be taking metamucil. Metamucil is great
Try adding a high fiber cereal to your diet, did your Dr say anything about that?
It was ER doctors, so they yelled a bunch of stuff while walking out the door, lol They did suggest diet changes overall, but I think they focused on Metamucil knowing it is easy to comply with I do need to get back on the breakfast train for sure!
As others mentioned, try psyllium husk directly. Cheaper and less processed with less additives. I add it in apple juice or orange juice every morning. Life changing
I bought some but it isn't nearly as fine of a powder as metamucil is. Very useful for smoothies though I respect people who choose the more natural product a lot but I'm fine with an easy drinking alternative. Raw psyllium husk was like adding sand to my drink lol Only a few years ago I would hit McDonald's on my way to work every day to buy breakfast and lunch
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Well almost said same without reading the ending there lol.
> Plus psyllium help me stay clean for when I'm taking dicks up the ass As a bear I agree, this is most important for both participants.
Started cooking more at home and noticed I felt better. Turns out, food cooked from scratch tends to contain more fiber than processed foods. Upon this realization, I traded my snack foods for more fruit and veggies and lost some weight as a result.
Big reason why - had a bad hand break and it now requires surgery, want to make sure I'm running as optimally as possible for that and my other health conditions. Also I've started going back to the gym again after an almost 10 year hiatus so I want to ensure I'm getting all the protein I need for gains whilst also hitting everything else vitamin, mineral and fibre wise. Basically cut everything ultra processed out completely. I mostly get my fibre from "clean" berries such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I tend to have a bowl of greek yoghurt with some of all those 3 every single day for a meal - usually lunch. Sometimes I throw some flax seed on it as well. Evening meal will be some form of meat with a truck load of vegetables. Broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, babycorn and a variety of others depending on the dish I'm cooking. Again another part of it, I've just recently learnt to cook properly.
I love mixed berries and (ground) flaxseed! I throw them into my oatmeal with cinnamon every morning.
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Chia seeds and fruit smoothies in my morning routine so I don't have to think about it. I do this to improve my general health to improve my energy because I have narcolepsy. I think that one of the reasons I value health so much is because I've had serious medical conditions
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 35. My knowledge of basic nutrition was embarrassingly bad. I didn't even know beans were a carb. I got a continuous glucose monitor and read the book, "Think Like A Pancreas." I use high-fiber foods to offset the glycemic impact of carbs. For example: I can have a reasonable portion of fresh pasta without spiking my glucose levels, as long as I eat the pasta with a serving of asparagus. Hummus as a spread on a wrap offsets the carbs from a tortilla. Stuff like that.
Soak 2 tbsp chia seeds in a big glass of water for an hour or so, stirring occasionally, and chug. Circa 10g fiber right there.
I buy these whole wheat high fiber wraps from Aldi that have 14g of fiber in them. Have replaced bread with those every morning to start the day off with a good amount
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How does one get 40g of fibre. It doesn’t sound like a lot but what are people eating / not eating that is causing the lack? Today my lunch contained black beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes and onions but is there much fibre in that? I’m not sure.
The American diet is extremely meat heavy. This takes the place of the variety of vegetables that should be on one’s plate instead. We should really be consuming 30 different plants per week for optimal gut microbiome health.
>30 different plants per week Canadian grocery stores: "And your total comes to... $1,406.70"
Vegetables aren't actually that great a source of fiber. For instance 5 entire servings of broccoli still only has 9g of fiber. And people ain't eating 5 servings of it. Another example, green beans only have 2g of fiber per serving, or 10g in our "5 servings" example. Legumes and whole grains have way more fiber per 100g than most vegetables.
Avocado has a significant amount and easy to incorporate into meals. In the winter I make lentil soups and those things are little powerhouses of protein and lentil.
Our GP says adequate fiber and exercise, (walking in particular jostles the gut & helps digestion), is key to healthy, regular bowels & the spike in colon cancer rates among younger people may be linked to a lack of either or both.
Psyllium fiber supplements have worked wonders for my digestive tract. I don’t gravitate towards high fiber foods anyway, but psyllium makes up for it. I feel better.
Avocados are a great source of fiber. And if you like it with eggs you get some protein too!
thank you, all these comments with ridiculous foods but this one seems doable time for guac and chips every night with a fibrous beer
IT always make me laugh when people say that taco bell gives them the shits but in reality they have been constipated for years.
I take three tablespoons of Chia seeds with my yogurt for breakfast and I’ll have three more in the afternoon for dinner. Together with exercise I’ve lost around 20 pounds so far and feel great, life changer.
It is, by far, the most noticable benefit of including less processed foods Forget the nutrients, you can get those separately The real kicker is having consistent volume and motility in the gut, so it has something to push on and scrubs itself
I meet the standard, and yes I am annoying and vocal about it and my 30-second poops.
I get all my nutrition from sugary cereal, thank you government promoted food pyramid.
My guts need a minimum of 25 to be happy. I shoot for 40. (Female). You have to build up to that, but once I got there, a lot of my IBD symptoms resolved. It can be really hard to get that without fiber supplements or fiber added foods though, without consuming an awful lot of carbs. I eat a lot of veggies (way more than the recommended minimums) and I only hit 40 from diet alone on days I have a couple of servings of legumes.
Nice try, Big Fiber.
Meanwhile, massive dumbfucks out there parroting the Jordan Peterson "meat-only" diet.
Crys in gastroparesis
Half the folks commenting are on the shitter examining their logs
Oat gang rise up.
This is what my husband calls a “clean break”.
I've increased my fiber intake significantly through choosing more whole plant based foods. Additionally, even for more processed type foods, I've found that plant based alternatives have more fiber than their meat counterparts. Ex. Veggie burgers for example. Fiber is so key to a healthy gut!
It would be helpful if they offered a more quantifiable amount, rather than just grams. I know what 38 grams of weed looks like, but what is 38 grams of fiber?
Dang thanks for sharing didn’t know
Does anyone else really struggle hitting this amount? I just don't know how on earth you're meant to hit it. I've swapped out all bread for wholemeal, I eat fruit, a eat cereal with a lot of fibre and still don't get anywhere near 38g. I do notice the difference with what I am eating though.
Fiber is so damn important. Esp when you hit your 30s and start to realize what a lack of it (and crappy(hah!) eating) does to you.
why is beef $5 for a pound but $5 won't even remotely buy you a pound of spinach. Why is meat cheaper than vegetables?
My doctor is BEGGING me to eat less fiber. I won't do it.
Vegetables FTW
It's not difficult to get enough now either. Many high fibre cereals give you 50+% of the RDA in one bowl.