How much fiber

sarah8352
sarah8352 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So guys. I recently asked how much sugar. Awesome and informative responses. Can you guys help me out with fiber. How much fiber should we take a day!? I always thought the more the merrier but I find if I go over 35 grams I’m bloated and sometimes constipated. Thoughts!?

Replies

  • ercarta
    ercarta Posts: 74 Member
    edited April 2019
    sarah8352 wrote: »
    So guys. I recently asked how much sugar. Awesome and informative responses. Can you guys help me out with fiber. How much fiber should we take a day!? I always thought the more the merrier but I find if I go over 35 grams I’m bloated and sometimes constipated. Thoughts!?

    I aim for 5g of soluble fiber with each meal, alternating between pre-soaked chia seeds and psyllium husk in water. 30-35g total daily fiber sounds about right.

    If you’re bloated you could be consuming too much in a short period of time or your not getting enough water for the amount of fiber your consuming. I used to have the same issue with bloating, cramps and constipation when I started supplementing fiber.

    16 ounces of water WITH the 5g of soluble fiber is comfortable for me. I’ve also replaced all caloric drinks with water throughout the day. Gone are the pain and blockage issues. 👍🏼

    Eric
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Women need 25 g daily. Men need 30 g daily. All need about 50/50 ratio of soluble/insoluble in your fiber intake.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    30-35 is sufficient. I am not sure if there is any benefit to more than that, and if eating it causes gastrointestinal problems, I would avoid it.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,224 Member
    It's good to phase it in gradually, rather than a quick increase. If experiencing constipation with increased fiber, make sure you're hydrating enough (urine pale yellow, not dark), and get enough fats (a frequent constipation cause among people who're cutting calories is too-low fat since people limit fat to cut calories & take that too far). Exercise helps some people (especially things that move the midsection), regularly eating probiotic foods helps some people (live-culture yogurt or kefir, miso, kombucha, raw unpasteurized sauerkraut or kim chi, that sort of thing).

    The numbers people have suggested above are good minimums, but there are people around here who routinely get much more and do fine (I'm one - 50g+ isn't unusual; tolerance is individual, though).
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    14 g per 1000 kcal
    Using the nutrient-density approach (fiber expressed as a
    percentage of calories or per 1,000 kilocalories [kcal]), IOM
    in 2002 recommended that Americans of all ages consume
    14 g of total fiber for each 1,000 kcal.

    USDA citing the Institute of Medicine.
  • atevy
    atevy Posts: 6 Member
    It depends, I got used to eating loads of fiber and now I eat around 60-80 g a day and I’m doing fine, no bloating, nothing. However, I started increasing my fiber intake very gradually and mainly because of IBS-C (I don’t think it was the fiber that helped me to resolve it though).
  • gogetemrogue
    gogetemrogue Posts: 80 Member
    ercarta wrote: »

    I aim for 5g of soluble fiber with each meal, alternating between pre-soaked chia seeds and psyllium husk in water. 30-35g total daily fiber sounds about right.

    If you’re bloated you could be consuming too much in a short period of time or your not getting enough water for the amount of fiber your consuming. I used to have the same issue with bloating, cramps and constipation when I started supplementing fiber.

    16 ounces of water WITH the 5g of soluble fiber is comfortable for me. I’ve also replaced all caloric drinks with water throughout the day. Gone are the pain and blockage issues. 👍🏼

    Eric

    I was wanting to try psyllium husk, but then I saw that it was considered a laxative and I got a bit nervous. Have you you had any kind of laxative effect with psyllium husk? I mean beyond just what fiber would provide.
  • chris89topher
    chris89topher Posts: 389 Member
    Is there such a thing as too much? I've been eating over 65g per day. No issues but just curious if too much of a good thing is bad.
  • ercarta
    ercarta Posts: 74 Member

    gogetemrogue wrote: »
    ercarta wrote: »

    I aim for 5g of soluble fiber with each meal, alternating between pre-soaked chia seeds and psyllium husk in water. 30-35g total daily fiber sounds about right.

    If you’re bloated you could be consuming too much in a short period of time or your not getting enough water for the amount of fiber your consuming. I used to have the same issue with bloating, cramps and constipation when I started supplementing fiber.

    16 ounces of water WITH the 5g of soluble fiber is comfortable for me. I’ve also replaced all caloric drinks with water throughout the day. Gone are the pain and blockage issues. 👍🏼

    Eric

    I was wanting to try psyllium husk, but then I saw that it was considered a laxative and I got a bit nervous. Have you you had any kind of laxative effect with psyllium husk? I mean beyond just what fiber would provide.

    I may have been more sensitive to psyllium husk at the onset simply because I had never supplemented fiber and my movements were happening every two days or so, so the sudden daily bathroom visits may have seemed like I was on a laxative. Now that I’ve been using it for some time, I’m pretty regular.

    Here’s what I’m using, works well...
    https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Naturals-Organic-Psyllium-Husk/dp/B011QGTRG4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=TR3AAUA0ZOK&keywords=psyllium+husk+powder&qid=1556195062&s=gateway&sprefix=psy&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

    Eric
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    gogetemrogue wrote: »
    ercarta wrote: »

    I aim for 5g of soluble fiber with each meal, alternating between pre-soaked chia seeds and psyllium husk in water. 30-35g total daily fiber sounds about right.

    If you’re bloated you could be consuming too much in a short period of time or your not getting enough water for the amount of fiber your consuming. I used to have the same issue with bloating, cramps and constipation when I started supplementing fiber.

    16 ounces of water WITH the 5g of soluble fiber is comfortable for me. I’ve also replaced all caloric drinks with water throughout the day. Gone are the pain and blockage issues. 👍🏼

    Eric

    I was wanting to try psyllium husk, but then I saw that it was considered a laxative and I got a bit nervous. Have you you had any kind of laxative effect with psyllium husk? I mean beyond just what fiber would provide.

    I'm pretty sure it's only considered a laxative because it's straight fiber.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    i am for 15g per 1000cal which is similar to what Lynn posted above - that gives me between 35-45g most days

    if you increase it rapdily, then you may experience constipation/bloating; also if your fat is too low, you may experience issues
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    chris89topher wrote: »
    Is there such a thing as too much? I've been eating over 65g per day. No issues but just curious if too much of a good thing is bad.

    Assuming you're not experiencing any negative effects (bloating, cramps, diarrhea, and, yes, even constipation), I've never seen anything science-based that suggested an upper limit for fiber health-wise.

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