Do fiber supplements work?
I am not shy about elimination discussions. Being diagnosed with an intestinal disease will do that to a person! Ulcerative colitis has made me more familiar with intestines, bowels, and poop than I ever wanted to be. But on the bright side, it has led me to discover invaluable information about how to heal myself!
“Here, just take Metamucil”
I’ve always tended toward constipation. Since I was eight years old, doctors have been diligently repeating their “solution” to this issue: Eat more whole grains with fiber and take this Metamucil/Benefiber/Senna Tablets as needed.
I didn’t know that eating more whole grains was not only ineffective for my constipation, but was actually worsening my digestion.
I also didn’t realize that these laxitives were actually harming my intestines. For example, muscle-stimulating laxatives like Senna are actually addicting–your bowels become weakened and lazy by relying on the muscle stimulant.
Faithfully, I snacked on high fiber bread, fiber-fortified bars, and fiber-fortified cereals. As you can imagine, I felt confused and helpless when this prescribed regimine did nothing to promote regularity.
When I began a grain free diet, I removed these fiber-fortified foods from my life. Though I was consuming less fiber, my bowel movements became regular for the first time in my life. Though it confused me at the time, it makes sense after discovering the problems with fiber supplements.
1. Isolated Fiber is not a Real Food
Here are five questions that I suggest you ask yourself to determine if an item is real food:
- Is it a product or is it a food?
- Is it made with ingredients that humans have used for thousands of years?
- Is this something that your great-grandmother would recognize as food?
- Can you make it in your kitchen with grocery store ingredients?
- Is it advertised on TV?
Fiber supplements and fiber-fortified foods are fake food, just as much as canola oil is a fake food. In answer to the above questions, fiber supplements are products, not food. You won’t find isolated Metamucil or any such isolated fiber in nature, and neither would your grandmother recognize it as food. You can’t make it in your kitchen, and it is indeed advertised on TV.
If we consider the traditional diets that produced thriving cultures, we see that many diets contained little to no grain-based fiber.
As discovered by Weston A. Price, a 19th century nutrition pioneer, the Masai tribe subsisted on the meat, milk and blood from their cattle. The native Inuit also grew strong and healthy one a primarily animal-based diet of fish, fish eggs, seal oil, caribou. This was supplemented with plant products like kelp, berries and nuts.
2. Fiber supplements can worsen constipation
Fiber is most commonly applauded as a way to stay regular. The early studies that prompted the high fiber movement found that young, healthy study participants had better bowel movements. The participants were not constipated in the beginning. Current studies show that a high fiber diet may actually exacerbate constipation. According to Science Daily:
The role of dietary fiber to treat chronic constipation is exaggerated. A low fiber diet has been proven not to be the cause of constipation and the success of fiber intake as treatment is modest. The study reviewed conducted by Voderholzer et al showed that only 20% of slow transit patients benefited from fiber. Further data suggests that while many patients may be helped by a fiber-rich diet, some actually suffer from worse symptoms when increasing their fiber intake.
Why do fiber supplements worsen constipation? Because they are dehydrating. Whereas fruit and vegetables contain fiber paired with water and electrolytes, fiber supplements are stripped of these nutrients. Isolated fiber absorbs water in the digestive tract, which can make fecal matter more compact and difficult to eliminate.
3. Fiber supplements can throw gut flora out of whack
Consuming grain-based fiber and fiber-fortified foods can devastate gut flora. According to Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride in The Gut and Psychology Syndrome,
“A diet high in fiber from grains (brans and breakfast cereals in particular) has a profound negative effect on the gut flora, gut health and general body metabolism, predisposing the person to IBS, bowel cancer, nutritional deficiencies, and many other problems. Fruit and vegetables provide a much better quality fiber that is not as harsh on the digestive system.”
You may have noticed symptoms including gas, bloating and belching after eating fiber supplements. Isolated fiber consumption often produces these symptoms due to the fermentation action of gut bacteria.
Further, grain fiber contains large amounts of phytic acid, a compound which “locks” onto minerals like zinc, copper, iron and calcium. Traditional cultures practiced fermenting or soaking their grains to reduce the phytic acid and thereby making consumed minerals bioavailable. Of course, modern grain products, such as fiber-fortified bread and cereals, are not properly prepared and contain high amounts of phytic acid.
Real vs. Fake Fiber
Is all fiber bad? Certainly not! We do need to create a balanced fiber intake, however.
Soluble fiber, the fiber found in fruits and vegetables is much more gentle on the digestive tract. Small amounts of this fiber acts as food for the bacteria – friendly and unfriendly bugs alike – in our digestive tract and is called a prebiotic.
Insoluble fiber carries the problems discussed in this post. It is found in fiber-fortified foods, fiber supplements, and grain products like “whole grain” items, cereals, breads and pastas. The insoluble fiber content as well as other aspects make grains in general a strain on the digestive tract. All grains, but especially high fiber whole grain products, should be strictly limited (or completely avoided).
Here’s the important takeaway point from this whole post: We get all the fiber we need if we enjoy plenty of freshly-prepared vegetables.
5 Natural Constipation Remedies
If you are wondering how to address constipation without fiber supplements, I have you covered. I’ve been there, done that!
Read my post 5 steps to cure constipation naturally for steps that effectively address the root causes of constipation.
There seems to be new research on the benefits of resistance starch which was consumed in large amounts by many hunter / gatherer societies in the form of roots & tubers? What are your thoughts on resistance starch and resistance starch products like potato starch or this product?
https://www.mygutgarden.com/
Thanks.
I am 13, and my pooping is regular. My brother, father, mother, and aunt all needed fiber, but I don’t. They are trying to make me take it, but I don’t need or want it. Help me!
I was also having digestive issues with some constipation. When I checked my RDA for fiber, i quickly realized that I was not eating anywhere near enough fruits and veggies. Ince I did the research on the amount of fiber in various whole foods, I decided to take a fiber supplement while I increased my whole food intake. The combo has worked wonders for me personally and I haven’t seen any of the detrimental side effects of supplemental fiber noted in this article. The key here is the word “supplement”…not a full on replacement of whole foods. Also I would like to point out that there are MANY studies demonstrating the benefits of getting enough fiber in your diet.
For me the bottom line is that our bodies are all unique and respond differently to foods, supplements, etc. Do your research, try a few things and choose what works best for you. Our bodies will tell us very clearly what they like and do not like. I often default to this inner wisdom and that has served me well.
Right on, you are doing what most researchers, doctors and dietitians fail to do — allow us to use some good old-fashioned common sense, when it comes to our own bodies. Of course, don’t eliminate needed doctor’s visits and/or needed labs, tests ect., but if you have had similar experiences with doctors like I have, such as not treating you as an individual that might have accumulated a few smarts about yourself over time, or not really listening to your wisdom with regard to your own body, then you can trust you!! I think all of us would greatly benefit from not being viewed as just one of the pack! Bravo for comment — I enjoyed it.
“Would your great-grandmother recognize it as food”?? To me, this seems like a bizarre criteria to make. Our great-grandmothers probably also didn’t realize smoking and use of other tobacco products was harmful; in that time this was touted as harmless or even beneficial to health. Clearly, now we know that it can cause cancer and other disease (and going off another point you brought up about natural vs unnatural being used as an indicator of the safety of a substance: tobacco, even in its additive-free, natural form can cause cancer). My point is, although our ancestors did possess much wisdom we can learn from, they (through no fault of their own) didn’t know everything, and much can be said for some of the knowledge which has been gained in modern times. This is your article and you’re more than free to say what you want. Since there was a comment section, I also chose to share my perspective. I urge people to make fact-based decisions, not decisions based on emotionally-charged statements that bring about unnecessary fear. Peace 🙂
I have diverticulitis I just came home from hospital. They had to drain an abscess from diverticulitis. They want to put me on a high fiber diet after 2 weeks. After reading your articles I’m now sceptical. I think your findings make lots of sense.please help.
I suggest you look at the research abstracts on PubMed, at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=fiber+diverticulitis … and see if you can reach a conclusion. Ask your doctors which research they are going by too. Good luck! Ultimately, it’s your choice. If you do try fiber, you’ll soon discover if it makes things better of worse in practice. And not all fiber is the same. Psyllium is a gelatinous mucilage, for example, and needs a lot of water to create the required consistency. BTW, I have diverticulosis, i.e. I have diverticuli, seen on endoscopy, but they’re not inflamed/painful, though they do cause symptoms. Don’t neglect to drink plenty of water, as fiber without water makes constipation worse. Inadequate fluid intake is a major cause of constipation in the population. {my quals: 30+ years in health care and health education, many registrations, Masters degree etc.]
To those who feel they have been left out to dry after reading this, please go to the website called gutsense.org
It will explain in great detail, why fibre can be a menace.
Your experience is anecdotal, as is mine which is very different from yours.
The wife and I went on the Atkins diet and all of our aches and pains went away,
but we found ourselves battling constipation off and on. I take a tablespoon of Metamucil religiously every morning and in two years have YET to get constipated. Wife wont get into the habit, and she STILL occasionally suffers from constipation. Those are THE FACTS in my situation. Your mileage may vary.
I have crohns and coeliacs. I am allergic to grains any how though i know when i did have them in the past, they made my crohns a whole lot worse and constipated me. My doctors put me on high fibre amd may as well of put a bullet to my head. Once i went holistic and cut all grains out and other fibres of this form, my life moved forward.
I am done with Fiber. Since starting it, I have only gotten more constipated. I have suffered from severe and chronic constipation since I was a child. I have tried everything. Konsyl, Citrucel, Benefiber, Miralax (this should be taken off the market..). High Fiber bread, oatmeal, everything, and I have lost over 70 pounds. Before I was constipated, I could still occasionally eat donuts, cookies, and still have a normal bowel movement. Now, I’m lucky If I can do a pellet or two once a week. I am miserable. Things have gotten even worse since stopping opiods cold turkey from being in an auto accident. The doctors all told me “more fiber, more water” and now I have no social life and have become almost anorexic. No more. I’m going back to Donuts occassionally, Wendy’s in modertation, heck I may even go back to Taco bell. I don’t care anymore. I just want to gain weight back and stop worrying about “insoluble and sociable fiber” how much and what to have. Nothing seems to work, except for prunes and Senna, and Prunes are even harsher than Senna-Lax.
What about Psyllium husks? They grow next to the river.
I dont understand, why my experience with fiber is so positive while other were not. Ive had terrible IBS-D and the only thing that keeps me out of the bathroom and out and about doing my job is pyhill husk fiber. Why so different?