I heard a theory one time that this is the reason why so many Americans consider foods like Taco Bell or just Mexican food in general to be immediate causes of diarrhea.
These people’s diets are so starved of any sort of fiber that just the small amount of bean in the burritos they eat at in these restaurants and lettuce in their tacos is enough to cause their entire digestive system to just panic and evacuate.
Adequate intake of dietary fiber is associated with digestive health and reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
Had a lot of movements that made me think I might have IBS. Then I got some metamucil and didn’t even have to take it very regularly to see significant and lasting improvements. Guessing some of the crap my gut biome really didn’t like ended up getting stuck in there and kept signaling “emergency evacuation required” but it didn’t help until some fiber was able to clean it out.
Without going into details, it was a significant difference in my day to day life, not just some arbitrary “% of heart attack chance reduced” (which is still good just not as noticeable unless you’re regularly having heart attacks already).
Learned this from my Gastro too, we have almost no fiber in our diet. She was pretty clear if you’re over thirty there is almost a guarantee that as an American you should be on a fiber supplement. I can say that after altering my diet and being on one things are chugging along down there now.
I’ve bumped it up for sure, but reading how much you need vs what you get there’s still a gap. I have oatmeal for breakfast, greens/lentils for lunch and dinners vary and still it’s not enough. If you are feeling good then don’t worry, but if you would like to be more regular I found a couple spoonfuls of benefiber in my coffee in the morning does wonders.
Idk, you could still be causing long term damage. A 20 year old guy eating chicken nuggets everyday could be feeling good, but 30 years later they could be suffering serious heart and gut health problems for doing so.
I mean, if you’re eating chicken nuggets every single day, gut health is just one of many issues people could have, including heart disease, diabetes, peripheral neuroapathy, obesity, disability, etc. 20 year olds arnt immune to that. People really struggle with basic diet. I’m very lucky I was raised by a gardener. Home cooked fresh foods for the first 18 years and fast food feels like eating plastic. If I was raised eating junk food I probably wouldn’t know better.
I looked it up and entirely get it now. It’s like 35g to 40g of fiber, which is like a whole loaf of whole wheat bread, lol.
I meet the guideline still, albeit only on days I prep overnight oats. Chia seeds and flaxseed are key, truly a fiber bomb. Otherwise, even my lovely 100% whole wheat sandwich just now was only maybe 6g, tops. Lol
It’s not that we don’t have fiber sources in the supermarket (assuming you can access one, admittedly). We’ve got plenty of fresh fruits and veg, canned beans, etc.
It’s all the bullshit around the perimeter, and the highly-refined hyper-palatable versions of everything that often win out. We also have an education problem.
Don’t skimp on the fiber…
I heard a theory one time that this is the reason why so many Americans consider foods like Taco Bell or just Mexican food in general to be immediate causes of diarrhea.
These people’s diets are so starved of any sort of fiber that just the small amount of bean in the burritos they eat at in these restaurants and lettuce in their tacos is enough to cause their entire digestive system to just panic and evacuate.
Fun fact: as of 2016, only 5% of Americans get adequate daily fiber intake, where:
Definitely don’t skimp on the fiber.
Had a lot of movements that made me think I might have IBS. Then I got some metamucil and didn’t even have to take it very regularly to see significant and lasting improvements. Guessing some of the crap my gut biome really didn’t like ended up getting stuck in there and kept signaling “emergency evacuation required” but it didn’t help until some fiber was able to clean it out.
Without going into details, it was a significant difference in my day to day life, not just some arbitrary “% of heart attack chance reduced” (which is still good just not as noticeable unless you’re regularly having heart attacks already).
Like everything else in life, though, some people don’t do well with increased fiber.
Nothing is universal.
Learned this from my Gastro too, we have almost no fiber in our diet. She was pretty clear if you’re over thirty there is almost a guarantee that as an American you should be on a fiber supplement. I can say that after altering my diet and being on one things are chugging along down there now.
Always start your day with a fiberous breakfast.
How? There’s so many good sources of fiber. What do people eat?
Or maybe even then, a supplement might help. But I have a good amount of fiber with most meals so idk…
I’ve bumped it up for sure, but reading how much you need vs what you get there’s still a gap. I have oatmeal for breakfast, greens/lentils for lunch and dinners vary and still it’s not enough. If you are feeling good then don’t worry, but if you would like to be more regular I found a couple spoonfuls of benefiber in my coffee in the morning does wonders.
Idk, you could still be causing long term damage. A 20 year old guy eating chicken nuggets everyday could be feeling good, but 30 years later they could be suffering serious heart and gut health problems for doing so.
I mean, if you’re eating chicken nuggets every single day, gut health is just one of many issues people could have, including heart disease, diabetes, peripheral neuroapathy, obesity, disability, etc. 20 year olds arnt immune to that. People really struggle with basic diet. I’m very lucky I was raised by a gardener. Home cooked fresh foods for the first 18 years and fast food feels like eating plastic. If I was raised eating junk food I probably wouldn’t know better.
I looked it up and entirely get it now. It’s like 35g to 40g of fiber, which is like a whole loaf of whole wheat bread, lol.
I meet the guideline still, albeit only on days I prep overnight oats. Chia seeds and flaxseed are key, truly a fiber bomb. Otherwise, even my lovely 100% whole wheat sandwich just now was only maybe 6g, tops. Lol
one of my favorite snacks is popcorn. that’s so fiberrific my doctors want me to eat less of it.
Have you seen an American supermarket?
It’s not that we don’t have fiber sources in the supermarket (assuming you can access one, admittedly). We’ve got plenty of fresh fruits and veg, canned beans, etc.
It’s all the bullshit around the perimeter, and the highly-refined hyper-palatable versions of everything that often win out. We also have an education problem.
I’ve just resorted to mixing benefiber into my coffee. My husband said it doesn’t work for him though.