How do you get enough fiber?
carolineorr97
Posts: 5 Member
New to Keto and have realized I'm not getting enough fiber. I get only a couple grams a day.. how do you get enough fiber on Keto?? Thanks in advance!!
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Replies
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I eat avocados, 14 grams in 1 avocado2
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I don't get any. Or very little from a few green veges. Unless you have an actual medical need it's not necessary. All fibre actually does is make more waste. There is no issue "going" on LCHF.2
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With a ketogenic diet, fat replaces the need for fiber for 95% of people. A rare few still need or prefer the way their body processes foods with the fiber, but fiber works by adding bulk to solid waste, and aggravating the walks of the intestines/colon to produce lubrication to aid in solid waste removal. On a ketogenic diet, the fats do the lubricating naturally without the irritation to one's digestive processes. You will go less often, and with less bulk, as you are eating more nutrient dense foods and extracting more nutrition during the slowed processing. Fiber is generally needed to help process carbs through the system. If you're not eating many, your "need" for fiber is highly reduced.
It only becomes an issue if you are uncomfortable, can't go, or go less than once a week or so... Coffee/caffeine can stimulate the bowels, as can other foods...so experimenting to find your optimum processing combination is a good idea. Stay away from laxatives if at all possible - it will stop your body from natural healing and processing this properly - unless specifically under medical supervision. However, I will say that some folks with IBS and related issues who have always had to add fiber now find that fiber causes them more drama than avoiding it does... @Sunny_Bunny_ can personally attest to the latter.5 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »With a ketogenic diet, fat replaces the need for fiber for 95% of people. A rare few still need or prefer the way their body processes foods with the fiber, but fiber works by adding bulk to solid waste, and aggravating the walks of the intestines/colon to produce lubrication to aid in solid waste removal. On a ketogenic diet, the fats do the lubricating naturally without the irritation to one's digestive processes. You will go less often, and with less bulk, as you are eating more nutrient dense foods and extracting more nutrition during the slowed processing. Fiber is generally needed to help process carbs through the system. If you're not eating many, your "need" for fiber is highly reduced.
It only becomes an issue if you are uncomfortable, can't go, or go less than once a week or so... Coffee/caffeine can stimulate the bowels, as can other foods...so experimenting to find your optimum processing combination is a good idea. Stay away from laxatives if at all possible - it will stop your body from natural healing and processing this properly - unless specifically under medical supervision. However, I will say that some folks with IBS and related issues who have always had to add fiber now find that fiber causes them more drama than avoiding it does... @Sunny_Bunny_ can personally attest to the latter.
Those are all great suggestions.
I did have digestive problems my whole life really.
After a couple years of suffering from undiagnosed gall stones I finally had my gall bladder removed when I was 16 years old. I already had IBS symptoms at that time and I just got used to either taking fiber supplements or eating a high fiber breakfast and I also ate things like fiber one bars and such. I only felt ok if I got a lot of fiber every day.
I started keto in may 2015 and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it wasn't more than a few days before my gut was feeling better and I was only getting fiber from veggies. I stopped using supplements and I wasn't choosing high fiber foods. Just green veggies.
I felt great for the next 11 months getting about 10-15g fiber from only veggies. I was taking magnesium in high doses because I think it's good for me and also it helped with the minor constipation I would have fairly often. Nothing major and I really felt so much better than before I didn't even consider it much of an issue really. I thought it was related to eating too much cheese and protein.
After 11 months keto, I decided to participate in a 30 day challenge to eat only animal products and no vegetables at all. It was pure curiosity. Within a couple of days I realized my usual magnesium dosage was suddenly too high and was giving me a laxative effect. I lowered it. I continued on the challenge and before the end of one week I was back to a very easy daily regularity that I hadn't experienced in a long time. Then I cheated and ate a bunch of broccoli and my stomach bloated up and I got the constipation symptoms right back. It took a few days to get back to feeling great. I realized I could eat all the cheese and protein I wanted without the problem. But one serving of broccoli did terrible things.
I cannot tolerate more than a few, like maximum 5g fiber without having issues. If I just eat one or two bites of broccoli or other veggies, it doesn't do enough to notice symptoms, but a regular serving is bad news for my gut. So now I probably get 0-3g total fiber a day and that's because coffee has fiber. Lol
And I don't have any digestive trouble anymore.1 -
Oh maybe I'm doing it wrong! I'm new to keto too, but I had 23g of fibre today (and 25g of NET carbs)? Is the NET carbs thing badness?0
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The typical target is 50g or less net carbs a day, to reach ketosis. The actual varies person to person, and is most often found by experimentation.
I find that there are days I can end up eating well over 25g of fiber, and still end up under 50g net. It all depends on your choices.
The Institute of Medicine recommends 25/38 a day for F/M on a TAD.
Fiber helps with satiety and regularity. No reason to consciously try to lower it, unless you have an underlying medical condition.1 -
This is great info about the decreased need for fiber on keto, I didn't know about that. I've been getting probably about 15 grams a day and was worrying that was not enough.
The only way I'm getting 15 grams a day is with chia seeds. When I started eating them daily I found my digestion was better (the high fat messes with me sometimes.) I usually get my chia seeds, and a bit of a sweet fix with a really simple chia pudding. I put 2 tablespoons chia seeds in maybe five or six tablespoons of heavy cream (It might be more, I don't measure) and a tiny bit of maple syrup. Sometimes some cinnamon. Put it in the fridge overnight and it comes out creamy with a balanced sweetness. I have half of that at a time. It looks weird but makes a good breakfast with BPC.
The other way I've been having it is just activating it with water and putting it in yogurt.
Costco has big bags of chia seeds for a pretty good price.0 -
I've not had issues going on keto ever except first week. Fiber is just plant material your body can't digest... does no real harm, does no real good unless you need more matter to poop adequately... usually things high in fat and protein seem to provide enough matter and the fat lubricates enough everything flows normally. Ymmv, try without, if you find you need it... make sure you're getting some.1
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What about fiber suppliments? Has anyine used them?0
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Fiber-Famished Gut Microbes Linked to Poor Health
While probiotics receive more attention, key fibers remain the workhorses in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fiber-famished-gut-microbes-linked-to-poor-health1/
"Diet is one of the most powerful tools we have for changing the microbiota," Justin Sonnenburg, a biologist at Stanford University, said earlier this month at a Keystone Symposia conference on the gut microbiome. "Dietary fiber and diversity of the microbiota complement each other for better health outcomes."
In particular, beneficial microbes feast on fermentable fibers—which can come from various vegetables, whole grains and other foods—that resist digestion by human-made enzymes as they travel down the digestive tract. These fibers arrive in the large intestine relatively intact, ready to be devoured by our microbial multitudes.
Microbes can extract the fiber's extra energy, nutrients, vitamins and other compounds for us. Short-chain fatty acids obtained from fiber are of particular interest, as they have been linked to improved immune function, decreased inflammation and protection against obesity.
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Ground-flaxseed, muffin in a mug, takes 3 minutes including cooking, has 8-10 grams fiber.0
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I've not had issues going on keto ever except first week. Fiber is just plant material your body can't digest... does no real harm, does no real good unless you need more matter to poop adequately... usually things high in fat and protein seem to provide enough matter and the fat lubricates enough everything flows normally. Ymmv, try without, if you find you need it... make sure you're getting some.
It definitely causes me harm.0
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