Let’s talk about fiber!

[Yvonne Smith]

So, it used to be that fiber was not a big thing either way, and we were told we got our fiber if we had our morning bowl of oatmeal or Wheaties, and if we wanted to be really sure, then we had Raisin Bran.

Now, however, it seems the scale has swung a long ways in both directions.
We have the carnivore people who do not eat anything with fiber, just animal foods, and some are picky about which animal foods they will eat. They all say how wonderful they feel, and how much healthier they are, with lots of stories.

Then, there are the mostly vegetarian type people, who’d often eat either no animal foods, or very few, and focus instead on eating lots of plants foods that have fiber, the more the better.
The in-between seems to be almost gone, except for the people who just eat whatever they enjoy and don’t even think about whether it has fiber or not.

Since I started on the Whole Foods, plant based eating again, I have been reading a lot more about fiber , and how important it is for our gut biome, and how important THAT is for how we feel and even how we think, not just how healthy our gut is.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I have been reading Dr. Will Bulciewicz book, Fiber Fueled, as well as watching YouTube videos about the importance of getting enough fiber and what fiber does for our body.
He is a gastroenterologist, so this is what he deals with all the time in his medical profession.

(The link is not working, so I deleted it, but you can find the book on Amazon.)

 

[Don Alaska]

So, it used to be that fiber was not a big thing either way, and we were told we got our fiber if we had our morning bowl of oatmeal or Wheaties, and if we wanted to be really sure, then we had Raisin Bran.

Now, however, it seems the scale has swung a long ways in both directions.
We have the carnivore people who do not eat anything with fiber, just animal foods, and some are picky about which animal foods they will eat. They all say how wonderful they feel, and how much healthier they are, with lots of stories.

Then, there are the mostly vegetarian type people, who’d often eat either no animal foods, or very few, and focus instead on eating lots of plants foods that have fiber, the more the better.
The in-between seems to be almost gone, except for the people who just eat whatever they enjoy and don’t even think about whether it has fiber or not.

Since I started on the Whole Foods, plant based eating again, I have been reading a lot more about fiber , and how important it is for our gut biome, and how important THAT is for how we feel and even how we think, not just how healthy our gut is.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I have been reading Dr. Will Bulciewicz book, Fiber Fueled, as well as watching YouTube videos about the importance of getting enough fiber and what fiber does for our body.
He is a gastroenterologist, so this is what he deals with all the time in his medical profession.

https://www.amazon.com/Fiber-Fueled-Plant-Based-Optimizing-Microbiome-ebook/

I couldn't find the book link @Yvonne Smith. I don't know what happened.

I have said before that from viewing human intestinal tract, we were "designed" as omnivores. Even carnivores such as cats and dogs eat vegetation to balance their guts as you can see from adds for Greenies and cat grass. In addition, true carnivores, such as felines, canines, and some Eskimo cultures eat their meat raw. Eating a cooked meat diet is definitely not really healthy, nor is a strictly vegan diet, as both will leave the human deficient in nutrients they cannot make internally. Raw meat diets and vegetarian diets including eggs and/or dairy are complete if balanced. The raw meat diet will make you subject to parasites however, which may be detrimental.

Your gut biome will usually self-balance after a time, but the interim may leave you gassy and bloated, or constipated. It is interesting to observe the moose diet here as they switch from summer foliage to winter bark and wood. The animals develop diarrhea in the spring as they switch from the stark diet of winter to the richer diet of spring and summer. Fish and Game here claim you can kill a moose by feeding it hay during the winter, as the animals then cannot digest their normal winter diet. I have no idea if that is true however. The spring moose poop is sometimes difficult to differentiate form bear droppings for the same time as they emerge form sleep, so that can cause some consternation.

 

[Marie Miller]

Pick a good middle way. There is so much good food out there which requires little preparation. Herbs, spices, sauces make the difference. Grilled apple slices with honey on a grilled pork chop anyone?

 

[Tony Nathanson]

There might be something to be said for evolution. I read that because we have domesticated dogs (for example) & controlled their diets over the years, they have actually developed an extra foot of intestine needed to digest carbohydrates - grains etc.

 

[Ken Anderson]

Here's the link to the book, Fiber Fueled. The link takes you to the Kindle edition but the printed editions are available from the same page.

 

[Tony Nathanson]

I couldn't find the book link @Yvonne Smith. I don't know what happened.

I have said before that form viewing human intestinal tract, we were "designed" as omnivores. Even carnivores such as cats and dogs eat vegetation to balance their guts as you can see from adds for Greenies and cat grass. In addition, true carnivores, such as felines, canines, and some Eskimo cultures eat their meat raw. Eating a cooked meat diet is definitely not really healthy, nor is a strictly vegan diet, as both will leave the human deficient in nutrients they cannot make internally. Raw meat diets and vegetarian diets including eggs and/or dairy are complete if balanced. The raw meat diet will make you subject to parasites however, which may be detrimental.

Your gut biome will usually self-balance after a time, but the interim may leave you gassy and bloated, or constipated. It is interesting to observe the moose diet here as they switch from summer foliage to winter bark and wood. The animals develop diarrhea in the spring as they switch from the stark diet of winter to the richer diet of spring and summer. Fish and Game here claim you can kill a moose by feeding it hay during the winter, as the animals then cannot digest their normal winter diet. I have no idea if that is true however. The spring moose poop is sometimes difficult to differentiate form bear droppings for the same time as they emerge form sleep, so that can cause some consternation.

A raw meat diet would make me subject to severe nausea & vomiting.

 

[Hedi Mitchell]

With IBS... fiber is good, but moderation, otherwise unbearable

 

[Krystal Shay]

I get alot of fiber in my diet. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, especially fruit, when in season. My husband has always said he hadsn't ever known anyone who can eat as much fruit as I can. My grandpa always ate lots of fruit too.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

I get alot of fiber in my diet. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, especially fruit, when in season. My husband has always said he hadsn't ever known anyone who can eat as much fruit as I can. My grandpa always ate lots of fruit too.

When I was growing up , we had fresh fruit all summer long. At our house, there were several fruit trees, pear, apple , cherry, plums, and little golden apricots, which were my favorite.
Mom had blackberries, raspberries, currents, and rhubarb, so pretty much all summer long and well into fall, we had some kind of fruit.

There were always roadside fruit stands which had fruit we didn’t have, like peaches and strawberries, plus they had ripe tomatoes and other farm fresh veggies. A big bowl of fresh fruit was often a summer breakfast or lunch.
Back then, almost all houses, even in town , had some sort of garden area for veggies, too.

 

[Ken Anderson]

For the remainder of my life, I have to eat a low-fiber diet, so I have had to reverse what had once been considered healthy because, for me, most of those are things I now have to avoid.

 

[Marie Miller]

Fruit does not like me. Acidity? I generally replace some white flour with whole wheat in everything I bake. Nobody has yet complained about my snicker poodles

 

[Kate Ellery]

I’ve had to limit my fibre intake for years but still try to eat some , I made lintel soup but it gives me pain / bloating for a few days

 

[John Brunner]

I've been paying more attention to fiber since I had gastro issues in April/May. It's weird for such things to crop up for me because I've been taking probiotics and prebiotics for years now. I've added Metamucil, Fibrosol-2, nuts, dates, prunes and figs to my fiber cereal breakfast.

There are a couple of things about fiber recommendations that make me question the underlying science:

1-In whose world can a man get 35 grams of fiber a day? I look up high fiber diets, and the recipes do not look like something that came from any normal culture's diet. They all look like someone took a list of high-fiber ingredients and tried to figure a way to use them all in a dish.

2-The availability of specific foods varies greatly across the planet. I doubt that any single culture has ever has access to a large enough variety of foods to get that much fiber. And I bet a lot of cultures get a lot less.

The only reason one can even pursue that goal is because of modern global/national food distribution systems. Absent that, we're all stuck with what's local at any given time of the year. (Of course, the modern system that provide variety also destroys most of the healthy components including fiber out of our diet.)

 

[Marie Miller]

Try a common sense approach- what fruits and vegetables to you like. What do you tolerate?
Go baby steps. Nobody complained about 1/3 whole wheat in most of my baking. I do not advertise it. You want to go more into what I do please say so.

 

[Tony Page]

About 20 years ago, the cardiologist I had then wanted to prescribe medication to lower my high cholesterol. I refused the prescription, I told my doctor to give me some time I'll diet and bring it down. He agreed, but wanted to see me in 3 months, to see how I was progressing.

I started a calorie counting diet. A little research showed soluble fiber can reduce cholesterol. I found psyllium husk a soluble fiber in capsules. I took two capsules a day one in the morning and one in the evening.

In 3 months my next visit to the cardiologist my blood test showed my cholesterol was within limits. Between Diet and taking psyllium husk for fiber, it did the trick. I've been taking psyllium husk daily until I started my radiation treatment for prostate cancer.

My wife's last blood test about a month ago, showed her cholesterol was high. I told her to try psyllium husk and a Diet like I did. Unfortunately for her psyllium husk is not recommended because she has a colostomy. We didn't know this, we did some research after she became bound. She felt like she had a blockage. With a colostomy that's not a good situation. She told me she was having a problem that she didn't have a movement in 3 days. I purchased prune juice told her to drink 8 oz and within 2 hours there was activity. She's back to normal now.

I would like to go back on psyllium husk in the future. I was told to stay away from taking any vitamins or herbs, or at least check with my oncologist first, while I'm taking a hormone pill for cancer.

Psyllium husk may not be for everybody, however for me while I was taking it, it kept me regular.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

Psyllium husk is the same fiber that they put in Metamucil. Wile it does add bulk to your stools, it is not one of the prebiotic fibers that our gut bacteria can use . It does help to soak up toxins and get them out of the body, and also unwanted dietary cholesterol, but it is important to get the prebiotic type of fiber as well, like we get from foods like whole grains and legumes, fruits and veggies.

 

[Faye Fox]

Let’s talk about fiber!​

I should, but I shan't!

 

[Don Alaska]

Psyllium husk is the same fiber that they put in Metamucil. Wile it does add bulk to your stools, it is not one of the prebiotic fibers that our gut bacteria can use . It does help to soak up toxins and get them out of the body, and also unwanted dietary cholesterol, but it is important to get the prebiotic type of fiber as well, like we get from foods like whole grains and legumes, fruits and veggies.

Gut bacteria can use Psyllium though, and it causes flatulence in many folks until their biome adjusts. The only fiber supplement I have found that doesn't ferment is methylcellulose (Citracel). You can buy methylcellulose in bulk an Amazon and probably some other places.

https://trudtox.com/can-psyllium-result-in-bloating-and-gas.html

 

[Beth Gallagher]

Since Tony mentioned psyllium husks for his cholesterol, do these others work the same for that?

 

[John Brunner]

Gut bacteria can use Psyllium though, and it causes flatulence in many folks until their biome adjusts. The only fiber supplement I have found that doesn't ferment is methylcellulose (Citracel). You can buy methylcellulose in bulk an Amazon and probably some other places.

https://trudtox.com/can-psyllium-result-in-bloating-and-gas.html

Isn't this the one that's basically made of sticks & twigs (cellulose)? It's tough to figure out if stuff like this is OK for daily use because admonitions to not take it for more than 7 days are geared towards "You may have a chronic condition that requires medical attention" and not necessarily "It may do harm with long-term use."