Is there such a thing as too much fiber in one's diet?
I was wondering... is there such a thing as too much fiber in one's diet? With my new eating habits I plan to consume anywhere between 50 and 60 grams of fiber per day. I'm wondering with that much fiber (from food, not any supplements) am I doing more harm than good? I do try to drink a lot of water throughout the day to help move things along. Could something bad happen with too much fiber?
Interesting question. I eat almost exclusively fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, so I get a lot of fiber as well. However, looking at my fitday totals, I average only around 35 grams of fiber on a 1000-calorie day. I've read that too much fiber can make you gassy and bloated and make you need to be uncomfortably close to a bathroom all day, but I've never had problems with the bloat or frequency issues. You will probably get quite gassy at first, though, especially if you're making a radical shift in fiber intake. I've read that Beano is helpful with that issue. In my experience, (WARNING: too much info here!) the gas tends to be both loud and fairly odorless, and subsides fairly quickly after the first few weeks, though it doesn't quite go away.
If you aren't drinking enough water it can cause problems. Worst case scenario you could cause a blockage that could theoretically put you in the ER. This can happen when you consume too much at one sitting without drinking enough fluids. I think this is rare.
If you are drinking a lot of water you should be fine. I've seen several ladies here on the forum who consume over 60 grams of fiber and they have no problems. Just make sure you drink your water!
Personally I average between 35 (low day) to well over 50 and I've never had any issues. I drink 2-3 liters (sometimes more) of water per day.
The jury is out on this one. Some sources say that eating over 50 grams a day can lead to non absorption of certain minerals. And then of course there are other sources who say this has never been proved.
The recommended amount is 25 gms a day. Most Americans get only 10- 15 gms per day.
I eat about 40 grams of it a day. Many days more then that. I love the stuff. It keeps blood sugar levels steady and keeps that colon working properly. It lowers cholesterol as well.
It keeps me full and satisfied. Plus you burn lots of calories just digesting the stuff. And everything that it's in is healthy food. For me it's a win-win situation. I can't praise it enough, that's how much it has helped me.
You need to increase it slowly though over a few weeks time to allow your system to get used to it. And you MUST drink lots of water as well, since fiber absorbs lots of it.
I eat a lot of fiber everyday and it really keeps me on plan. I eat mostly vegetables, fruit,whole grains and beans . I have discovered it I vary from eating lots of fiber I get way off plan and eat everything in sight. It tend to make me feel full with much fewer calories. I also feel a lot better. You might consider taking a multi- vitamin if you are concerned with vitamin absorption. The only problem I have seen with this much fiber is the tendency to need to go to the bathroom a bit more. I personally think it is a good thing since fiber helps with cholesterol control and lower rates of colon cancer. If you find yourself having issues with diarrhea then it may be time to cut back.
In addition to what others have posted, you may want to look at how much you are eating now. Doubling your fiber overnight may not be a good idea, as it could make you very uncomfortable. Increasing your fiber intake slowly, but steadily would be less likely to cause problems.
You're question has been answered, but like Zenor said.... make sure you drink enough water!!!! I eat between 40-50 grams per day and the only problem I have experienced is the occasional problem with constipation when I don't drink enough water.
I eat lots of fiber and have never had any gastrointestinal problems of any sort. The only day I did was when I splurged and ate a Skinny Cow ice cream bar and then I was in the bathroom for an hour...
I'm sure it varies from person to person as to whether suddenly and drastically increasing fiber has any unpleasant effects, but I can definitely say from experience that if you are one of those who is affected, it can be extremely painful.
When I was dieting in high school, and eating TONS of fiber, I began to get such incredible abdominal pains that I was tested for appendicitis, mono, ulcers, and had tons of blood work drawn for other diagnostic tests I didn't even understand. I was eventually diagonosed with colitis (which probably would be diagnoses as IBS today, as there was no actual inflammation of the colon detected), but basically the doctor told me it was a result of drastically increasing my fiber intake too quickly.
The one thing I remember clearly was that it was much worse than menstral cramps, and at the time (before NSAIDS like ibuprofen) I would get such severe menstral cramps that I would be in bed crying over them for at least two days.
Is there such a thing as too much fiber in one's diet?
