too much fiber?

celtickarasu

I thought fiber was a good thing and the more the better. I have started monitoring my fiber, and when I go over MFP's amount, it yells at me with big red numbers. Isn't extra fiber good?

maryd523

Yes, absolutely. MFP's fiber requirement is pretty low. I try to get as much fiber as I can and just ignore the red numbers. Fiber is a good thing, it would probably be hard to eat too much. I don't even know that it would do anything negative.

yeabby

any time your over their number it turns red. i'm always over in fiber. it's a good thing. you can go too far over. your body will tell you if you've gone too far.

rebecca9341

Too much fiber can have negative effects. If you're increasing your fiber but not increasing your water intake then you may start to have issues with constipation. Also, increasing your fiber drastically in a short period of time may give you some stomach upset.

ESVABelle

Essentially, there's "no such thing" as too much. Clinically, consuming more than 75g per day for an extended period of time can cause a depletion of some micronutrients due to lack of absorption (since fiber pulls in to create 'bulk', not all nutrients have a chance to be absorbed). This is extremely rare considering most foods that contain an excess of fiber typically contain an excess of micronutrients. Basically, it balances out. But make sure you're drinking water because fiber pulls in and takes away from your body's water supply.

peachNpunkin

You should have about 25 grams per day if you are younger than 50, and 21 grams per day if you are older than 50. You can change than amount of daily fiber in your goals section, i believe. Or you can just ignore the red screaming numbers and reach for your daily goal.

I meet mine by using benefiber. I mix it in everything. You can't taste it. The only thing you can't mix it in is carbonated drinks.

Richard170

The nutrients list that MFP uses is very similar, if not identical, to standard food labeling. A good overview of nutrition labels can be found on the FDA web site.

http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/consumerinformation/ucm078889.htm

Some items listed on the standard label, such as saturated fat and sugar, are daily maximums while others are daily minimums based on an a diet of 2000 calories. Fiber is one of those listed as a minimum nutrient and you should eat at least what is recommended, well that is if you trust the institutional judgment of the FDA.

MFP could improve it's tracking software by using green to indicate below maximums and over minimums and red to indicate over maximums and below minimums for each nutrient instead of red just being used to indicate over the target number. The MFP user should know if they want to be over the target or under the target number for each nutrient.

Schwiggity

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SiltyPigeon

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NeuroticVirgo

Too much fiber can have negative effects. If you're increasing your fiber but not increasing your water intake then you may start to have issues with constipation. Also, increasing your fiber drastically in a short period of time may give you some stomach upset.

This! Slowly increase your fiber. But don't worry if your over. Its worse to be under than over.