Is “Fibermaxxing” Healthy?

You may have heard of the trend of “fibermaxxing” your diet – it has hit social media recently, and everyone from expert MD’s to casual content creators are touting the benefits of optimizing your fiber intake. But is “fibermaxxing” actually healthy?

Here are few things to think about…

Practically No One Eats Enough Fiber

The American diet tends to be low in fiber, even for overall healthy eaters. In my client work, I heavily emphasize fiber intake as a nutritional goal (both for health and for weight loss optimization), and I could probably count on one hand the number of clients who were already exceeding fiber intake goals when we started working together.

When many people try to “eat clean,” they tend to cut carbs – and in the process, they unintentionally cut fiber. This also can happen with GLP-1’s. When calories radically drop and someone is already not eating enough fiber, the total amount of fiber drops along with the calories. This can account for some of the gastric distress that people experience on weight loss medications.

But Why is Fiber So Important?

Fiber is not a sexy nutrient – protein has been in the limelight for over a decade and I’m actually really happy to see “fibermaxxing” bringing fiber to the front.

Typically fiber is associated with digestion, and – honestly – aging. But the truth is that high fiber intake can play a tremendous preventative role for many health conditions (including cancer and cardiovascular disease) at any age.

But fiber also changes your day-to-day enjoyment of life, as well, creating healthy gut flora, promoting smooth and regular digestion, and helping with weight management.

When I counsel clients on nutrition and one of their main issues is that they are frequently hungry, a shortfall on fiber (and usually the related volume that comes with fiber) is often the culprit. Taking meals from 4-5 grams of fiber to 10-15 grams of fiber often solves the problem.

This is because fiber is very “slow digesting” – it empties slowly out of your stomach, and helps to stabilize blood sugar and promote fullness. In addition to its general health benefits, this glucose-stabilizing superpower helps to decrease cravings/hunger and promote healthy weight management.

But How Much Fiber is the “Right” Amount?

For women, the goal is 25+ grams of fiber per day. For men, it’s 38+ grams per day. The average American only eats about 10-15 grams per day, or – on the generous side – perhaps up to 20 grams for more health-conscious eaters.

This is partly because of the processed quality of the American diet, but it’s also because eating enough fiber takes focused effort. It can become a pretty automatic habit, but if you’re not already hitting the goal, it takes planning to re-engineer your daily food habits so that you hit the threshold.

So What Foods Maximize Fiber?

This is the next logical question – if you’re only hitting about 15 grams per day and you need to be hitting 25 (or 38)… what foods should you focus on? Here is a quick and easy cheatsheet of foods that pack a punch of fiber:

• Beans/lentils/edamame – while the fiber content can vary slightly among types of legumes, you almost can’t go wrong. For example, 1/2 cup of canned black beans packs about 9 grams of fiber
• Chia seeds – 2 tablespoons of chia seeds contain 10 grams of fiber
• Apples, pears, and other fruits with skins – about 4-5 grams of fiber (per piece)
• Blueberries – 1 cup has 4 grams of fiber
• Oatmeal – 4 grams of fiber per 1/2 dry cup (Trader Joe’s has a product called “Organic Rolled Oats with Ancient Grains and Seeds” and this is 7 grams of fiber per serving)
• Whole grains like quinoa and Bulgur wheat contain 3-5 grams of fiber per serving
• Higher-fiber, whole-grain breads, wraps, and cereals – Trader Joe’s “Carb Savvy Tortillas” have 12 grams of fiber (for two tortillas), Dave’s Killer Bread (the thin-sliced variety) has 6 grams of fiber per two slices of bread, and Kashi Go Protein+Fiber cereal has about 10 grams per 3/4 cup serving
• Whole-grain and bean-based varieties of pasta – Brami pasta, for example, has 5 grams of fiber per 2-ounce serving
• Cruciferous vegetables – 1 cup of veggies like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, and more can add about 2-3 grams of fiber per serving
• Nuts and seeds in general also contain fiber but I mainly highlight chia seeds as the MVP. Walnuts, for example, add about 2 grams of fiber per ounce.
• Psyllium husks – I often recommend this supplement to pull your fiber goals over the finish line – adding 2-3 teaspoons to water (or to some of your morning smoothie) can add 4 grams of fiber per teaspoon! 
• I also recommend beans like The Only Bean roasted edamame snacks (5 grams of fiber per serving) and Biena roasted chickpea snacks (5 grams of fiber per serving) to pump up the fiber content of your snacks, too!

I encourage people to envision splitting this fiber intake evenly across the day (rather than “fibermaxxing” one indigestible meal).

Example day:* 

• Breakfast – smoothie with 1 cup of berries and 2 tsp Psyllium husks OR a yogurt bowl with 2 tbsp chia seeds and 3/4 cup Kashi Go cereal
• Lunch – salad with 1/2 cup black beans on it OR 2 oz. Brami pasta with broccoli and pesto
• Afternoon snack – apple with 1 oz. Biena roasted chickpeas
• Dinner – tacos with high-fiber tortillas and a cruciferous veggie like red cabbage OR lentil soup/chili

*Please note that these are not complete recipes – they’re just highlighting the fiber sources 

The key to increasing your fiber intake is to give each meal a mini-makeover by adding one of the fiber heavy hitters, and to systematize this into your meal planning and grocery shopping.

Pro tip: you may also want to increase fiber gradually week to week to avoid gastrointestinal distress. Your gut will incrementally adjust if you give it time. 

So What About “Fibermaxxing”?

Is it healthy? The answer is: it really depends.

Let’s say you are a typical American who eats 10-15 grams per day. If “fibermaxxing” means that you gradually increase your intake to 25-38+ grams per day, this is incredibly healthy and needed.

Let’s say you are a health-conscious eater who might be just shy of your goal – if “fibermaxxing” means that you add psyllium husks to your daily breakfast and this pulls you over the finish line, this is great too.

25 grams for women (or 38 grams for men) is not necessarily a ceiling – for most people, it is okay to eat a lot of fiber. Even if you’re hitting 30+ or 40+ grams per day as a woman, there are probably no downsides.

However, there are some people for whom fiber intake is more nuanced, and here are a few examples:

• People with GI issues like IBS/SIBO – consult your doctor/dietitian! For some people, excessive fiber can be irritating to the gut.
• Very lean, very athletic people (especially women) – because fiber decreases overall absorption of calories and can have an affect on hormone levels, very high-fiber diets can put exercising women at risk of anovulation and cycle/fertility issues… this can be attenuated by eating more calories and by eating enough lower-fiber carbs to fuel/refuel workouts
• People recovering from eating disorders – consult your doctor/dietitian!

Keep in mind that trends like “fibermaxxing” almost always have an upside, but they can have downsides too. It’s also important to note that some people are more vulnerable to taking health trends to extremes than others are – health-conscious people tend to be more sensitive to health-related messaging. In other words, someone who’s already eating 20 grams of fiber per day is probably more likely to jump to 50 grams per day than someone eating 10 grams per day is going to get to 25. Judging whether something is beneficial to you depends on (1) your starting point and (2) the level to which you take it.

Here are a few tips for reaping health benefits from “fibermaxxing,” instead of overdoing it:

• Actually track your fiber for a week or two and figure out what your average range of intake is, especially if you incorporate more of the suggested foods I included above
• If you are already over 25-30 grams (for women) or over 38 grams (for men), relax! Keep doing what you’re doing and watch out for periods of life that easily cause shortfalls
• If you’re short, increase fiber a little bit at each meal (or pump up the lowest meals)
• Drink more water as you add more fiber! Trust me!
• Pay attention to experiences like daily digestion, hunger/cravings, and the amount of time you can wait to eat between meals without getting hungry

Have more questions about your overall nutrition and your goals? Schedule a free consultation and we can talk through what you’re doing!