Fiber…Overhyped? How much do you Really need?
April 8, 2008
photo by Walsh
Everyone tells us we need it….we need more and more fiber, that’s the solution to all our problems. Ok, first thing I always like to ask when hearing something like this is “who” said we need it. The usual answer for most of these general health concepts are to respond doctors or scientists or some other random source. But do you even know why we need it? To have more bowel movements? Nope sorry…false assumption. To lower cholesterol? Nope sorry, never been proven. To lower the risk of colon cancer? Well….yes and no, and you will see that below in more detail. First let’s go over the 2 types of fiber:
- Soluble - fiber that is “water soluble” (put it in water it expands into a large gel like substance). This is what expands in our guts, gives us a feeling of fullness, slows down digestion.
- Insoluble - fiber that is NOT “water soluble”, this goes through us like sand through a long winding pipe. Simple enough huh?
Ok….so what are the main sources of fiber? Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes and the most popular source nowadays of “bran fiber”. But what is Bran? Does it really improve our health? Why do we even need it? Let the games begin….
The belief that regular bowel movement is important for health is very ancient. But the present theory is based on Dr. Dennis Burkitt’s discovery that relatively few rural black Africans suffer from cancer of the colon. He attributed this to their relatively crude diet.
The theory was that, as fibre made food travel through the gut faster, it allowed less time for cancer-inducing agents to form. This, of course, presupposed that food became carcinogenic in the gut and there was no evidence that it did. Neither was there any evidence that moving food through the intestine at a faster rate decreased the risk of colon cancer. Moreover, the rural Africans’ lifestyle was far from that of the Western city dweller: their diet is different, but also they were not exposed to so many pollutants, toxins or mental stresses. Indeed, there were many factors that could have been responsible for a difference in disease patterns. Other communities - the Mormons of Utah, for example - also enjoyed a low incidence of colon cancer yet they ate a low-fibre diet.
Wait….so more fiber does not lower the rate of colon cancer? Other factors in their lifestyle could of been more important to preventing colon cancer? Hmmmm….go on…..
Commercial interests were quick to see the potential in the recommendation and jump on the bran wagon. Burkitt’s recommendation was based on vegetable fibre, but bran (cereal fibre) has a far higher fibre content and bran was a practically worthless by-product of the milling process that, until then, had been thrown away. Almost overnight, it became a highly priced profit maker. Although totally inedible, backed by Burkitt’s fibre hypothesis, bran could now be promoted as a valuable food. But Dr. Hugh Trowell, Burkitt’s partner and another strong advocate of dietary fibre, stated in 1974 that: “A serious confusion of thought is produced by referring to the dietary fibre hypothesis as the bran hypothesis, for many Africans do not consume cereal or bran”
So basically Fruits and Vegetable based diets are what all the health benefits of fiber are based upon yet Bran jumped on that bandwagon because manufacturers found a cheap way to make their cheap products healthy to the general public? Hmmmmmm……more?
It may be useful at this stage to consider the claims for fibre in curing or preventing other diseases. For example, bran has been a popular way to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for about thirty years, despite the fact that no placebo-controlled study of bran in IBS has yet shown any convincing beneficial effect. A study, published in 1994, found that while fruit fibre was effective, bran only made the situation worse. Far from being a cure for IBS, they found that it was the bran that was causing it! Bran also caused bowel disturbances, abdominal distension and pain.
Again….”Yeah” for Fruits and Vegetables….but Bran? “Booooooo…….”.
Tests into the supposed benefits of dietary fibre soon showed that there could be other harmful side effects. All the nutrients in food are absorbed through the gut wall and this takes time. Fibre, by speeding food through the gut faster so that less nutrients are absorbed, inhibits the absorption of iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, energy, proteins, fats and vitamins A, D, E and K. This happens with all types of fibre although with a normal Western-style, nutrient-rich diet, the loss caused by vegetable fibre intake is unimportant. More importantly, phytate found in cereal fibre (bran) also binds with calcium, iron and zinc making them indigestible, which in turn causes malabsorption. One study, for example, showed that subjects absorbed more iron from white bread than from wholemeal bread even though their intakes of iron were fifty percent higher with the wholemeal bread. Bran has also been shown to cause faecal losses of calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, nitrogen, fats, fatty acids and sterols, thus depleting the body of these materials.
Holy *#&$…..(I mean Wow…). Too much fiber can speed up food through the gut, bind itself to essential vitamins and minerals and cause malabsorption? I didn’t see that on the box of Cheerios…..(all those quotes above were taken from this article)
So honestly what are we to do for maximum health? Here’s the overview:The source of fiber is important, fruits and vegetables should be our primary source. Bran is cheap, worthless and does more harm than good. (also makes crappy foods “healthy”in the public eye)
- If you are not eating processed foods, then you don’t have to worry about blood sugar control with slower gastric emptying, as you get that automatically with fruits and vegetables.
- Bowel movements are more based on the BACTERIA environment of the gut. Don’t believe me? Go take some probiotics (healthy bacteria) and let me know what happens….stock up on the TP! If you want more bowel movements, start with treating the source which is the bacteria balance in your gut. Fiber is not the answer.
- Fiber is not the magic pill to cure or prevent colon caner or any disease/illness. Eating a diet higher in fruits and vegetables will always give you a healthier body….but it is a small portion of what true health is. Our whole environment from external toxins, stress, and overall lifestyle play into those factors as well. Don’t think a fiber pill is going to save you if you life is chaotic and destructive.
- Too much fiber is not going to be healthy too as it can absorb essential nutrients that your body needs and can cause gut irritation (like scratching your skin with your fingernails…fiber is scraping your intenstinal lining). You want to get really sick? Then mess up your gut! I can’t stress how important a healthy gut is for overall health…it’s the biggest factor that we can control and is usually all messed up! Re-read the post on gut health again….and again….and again.
Once again…..moral of the story….eat your fruits and vegetables, stay away from processed foods and don’t believe the marketing hype of manufacturer’s trying to make their food “healthy”…as it usually has more disadvantages than advantages. If you are eating meats, vegetables, fruits, health fats, avoiding sugars, not taking antibiotics (or taking probiotics), controlling stress, limiting toxin exposure…then you don’t need any more fiber do you? Keep your gut healthy, keep your foods natural, and live an enjoyable low stress lifestyle….chances are that you will live long and happy. If you want more bowel movements….take some probiotics and enjoy!
This makes me laugh so hard! I once went on a psyllium kick for more fiber!! Yeah it made me so darn constipated!! Had a reverse effect on me!
Sarena - so true….psyllium may help you “feel” full, but it’s not going to speed up waste removal. Funny how constipation is also due to being dehydrated as the body removes water from the stool to use…and psyllium being water soluble contributes to increasing dehydration….ergo constipation. That and if fiber was the only way to remove wastes then cultures who’s diets are high in fat and protein would of been dead long ago from colon cancer and other supposedly self toxicity based illnesses. I was reading something today about how important it was to get more and more fiber…and it set me off to do this. I don’t have a high diet in fiber by the so called experts “healthy” standards…and I go to the bathroom plenty! Of course there is more to health than just fiber….whole body environment as I would imagine in great times of stress are when people have the most issues.
Read The Fiber Menace Book!!!!! And from what i have read…even eating the so called good fiber in fruits and veggies arent’t that good for you…i would keep those in moderation! Cook your veggies, break down the cell wall and fiber so we can digest them…we don’t have a rumen like herbavores! Eat plenty of animal fat and some protien!!!
I am not knowledgeable about probiotics. What exactly do they do and could you recommend a good source for them?
Troy - not going to argue about fat and protein…although too much protein can be bad also with increased oxidation (not too mention the strain it puts on the digestive system). I would say enough protein for muscle maintaining (or gaining if that is your goal for now). Most people hardly eat enough fruits and vegetables so pretty sure no one is going to overdo on those anyways. (I know I don’t) As for cooking…depends on the veggies as you can kill of plant enzymes that aid in digestion with high heat…however i am not going to eat broccoli raw…so I steam my veggies. I’ll have to read that book as I am not familiar with it. Fruits and Vegetables pack alot of other great things like anti-oxidants, phytonutrients. Another role of insoluble fiber is to also feed the good bacteria in our gut…helping to keep digestion and gut health optimal. But like you say, more is not always better….and if we eat our normal balance of fruits and vegetables we will probably get the right amount!
JBennet - “PRO”biotics are the “Good”biotics. Our gut has a balance of bacteria of good and bad….if the bad take over, then all hell breaks loose. Good bacteria aids in digestion and gut health which is key to any absorption of vitamins and minerals from our foods (why we eat food…for nutrition). Antibiotics (that people take too much of) kill off ALL bacteria (good and bad). Bad bacteria can easily repopulate from the wrong foods and other things like sugar/yeast that can cause bad to grow. You can find good bacteria in things like cabbage, fermented vegetables, kefir, yogurt, etc. You can also take them in supplement form too. As for “brands” to recommend, there are so many out there…and I am sure the quality is so varied from one to the next. Just because it is more expensive, doesn’t mean it also is better. You want “live cultures”. I know a ND who recommends this brand http://www.essentialformulas.com/ . Along with any supplement I would also suggest trying to get it through food as well as real unprocessed food is ALWAYS going to optimal delivery system for any vitamin, mineral or nutrient (in this case good bacteria).
Mike,
What are your thoughts on flax seed? I believe it’s about half and half in terms of fiber type.
A combination of stress and a removed appendix (now shown to harbor and regulate good bacteria in the gut) has left me with digestive difficulties for a couple of years. A healthy paleo diet, probiotics, and flax seed seem to keep things going, and I notice I never have problems during vacation - go figure.
Great post - keep ‘em coming!
Keenan - Flax is predominantly insoluble…where as psyllium is more soluble. People esp with inflammatory disease have found flaxseeds (grounded) to be helpful as an omega 3 (of course I would say Fish Oil is a better solution because it is in EPA/DHA form and it takes alot of sloppy downconversion for flaxseeds to get there…and in the end you get very little EPA/DHA to use). Omega 3s are also good for improving the health of the gut as well. In the end I have recommended flaxseeds to people because they do seem to help. Granted most people probably take like a tablespoon a day and that is like 4grams of fiber…so in the end it really isn’t much to add on and does seem to have some beneficial properties. Good point on the appendix….as DRs seem so happy to remove them in the past…only to find out now it had a purpose…go figure, the design of the human body isn’t flawed afterall. (why I still have my wisdom teeth and tonsils…good luck pulling anything out of me!)
I’ll try to keep the posts coming (sarcastically speaking)…but pretty soon everyone will get sick of the same underlying message of me saying eat fruits, veg, protein and fats for optimal health! That and relax, smile, de-stress, have dinner with friends, turn off the tv, enjoy life and live in the present moment…..I guess I’ll either piss people off or send them on their way to a better lifestyle.
Off Topic:
Lyle McDonald as usual has a thought provoking post on steady state cardio which doesn’t support the superiority of interval training.
“This study compared improvements in fat oxidation and insulin sensitivity for obese males either performing 30-60 minutes of steady state cardio (at an intensity set to elicit maximal fat oxidation) or an equal calorically burning interval session. Steady state exercise was superior in all parameters. Let’s see if the folks claiming to use ’science’ to support interval training cite this one.”
Thanks for your response regarding Probiotics. I need to eat more cabbage.
JB - Intervals can work….steady state can work. They all work….but the best is just what you do consistently! Keep in mind his clients are also doing resistance training plus cardio…so anaerobic training is needed. Not too mention they are probably taking in 3000-4000 calories a day to support activity level as well….something we know that is not part of the whole longevity science. As for doing sprints vs jogging? I pick sprints 100% of the time! I enjoy it more and developing fast twitch muscles is more in line with my sports and performance needs. Cardio is termed as “aerobic”…and you are in an aerobic state all day long including sleep….so the best long term health solution is to focus on burning fat all day with the right hormonal signatures from eating and living an active lifestyle of some sort…like going hiking, biking…what you enjoy. What I personally will not do is go sit on a treadmill in a gym or attach any HR monitor looking for a fat burning zone…that is a waste of time in my life…and time is the most important thing I have to give. I guarantee you people who live long and functional live active lifestyles, still do some sort of physical work, probably walk alot, play recreational activities (tennis, other lower intensity sports), have low levels of stress, are happy because of what they do and you will not find them inside a gym on a mechanical machine to raise their HR. So go lift something heavy…go do activities you enjoy doing…eat right…get sleep and don’t worry about the rest…it will come full circle…but that’s just my philospohy for maximum enjoyment in life.
Thanks Mike. That’s great advice.
As if I hadnt tested this out myself and found it true!!
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/pdf/1743-7075-5-9.pdf
And I have been using the Essential Formulas Probiotics on the recommendation of the same ND (I suspect), but he recommends the professional formula as it has more strains….
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=the+great+cholesterol+con
MOD have you seen/read these books? I know the evidence etc for myself but the reads may be good for my knowledge base in sharing with others!
Sarena - Yes it is the same ND that I got that recommendation off…however I would still say eat more real “fermented” foods as the delivery system is probably more efficient. As for cholesterol….don’t even get me started. I haven’t read those particular books but through plenty of info on Eades’ blog (which probably has more than you will ever need to know about cholesterol over hyped and what really matter) and other sources….I would never ever take cholesterol medications as it is a scam. Eat right, exercise and your body will take care of the rest. Diet is more a factor….not talking about avoiding foods with cholesterol…but eating healthy foods over all that are not processed, high carb and loaded with sugar. I am sure I will go into detail at some point, but anyone that wants more info on cholesterol and the scam of statins can read so much on Dr Eades’ blog as he is more the authority on it. But to keep it simple…..cholesterol is needed by the body (for hormones, cell structure, brain function), LDL is not the bad guy as people say it is, eating a “paleo” diet may elevate LDL but it also elevates HDL and lowers triglycerides (the real bad guy), particle size is also important of cholesterol (big is good, small is bad…no matter what the total number is), your body makes 80% of the total cholesterol…so even if you avoid it in your diet your body will just make more so dietary cholesterol doesn’t matter, people who take statins have waaaay too many side effects that can completely ruin their health (Eades had a reader story on that was very scary), people on statins typically get “dumber” or clouded brain….as the brain likes cholesterol and now is being deprived of it (hence why as we get older our body makes more, self preservation?…but now all people older are on statins….and the rise of Alzhemeirs is going up and up…coincidence?). Ok….guess I did rant a little.
Well I just prepped a huge tub of red cabbage, daikon and carrot for kimchi! ALso jarred 2 jars of kirbys and 1 jar of sliced zucchini to pickling! Gotta be prepared for Passover when I am not permitted to use my supplements! Real food for real people!
Hey Mike, i met a lady a while back who said she gets really bad constipation if she doesn’t eat enough fibre. Like, really bad consiptation that on one occasion the pain was so bad she needed to go to hospital.
So everyday she takes medimusal and has oats for breakfast. I suggested she try and eat more high fibourous veggies, like the stem of broccoli, and nuts instead, but she said she tried a diet high in high fibre veggies and it didn’t help. I dont know how many veggies she was eating, but she claimed it was ‘a lot’.
So in this case, would her problem be that she basically needs more good bacteria and not fibre? I remember mentioning probiotics to her, not specifically for bowel movement. But i don’t think she ever acted upon it.
Nikki - We both know bacteria is what really is the factor, and sounds like her gut is messed up (bet she has taken antibiotics in the past). In the end, she is convinced fiber is the answer (which is what most people think anyways)…so first try and get her gut healthy and then see what happens. She can get plenty of fiber in fruits and vegetables…but if the gut environment is not healthy, then there are bigger issues to fix…as autoimmune disorders is not something fun to deal with down the road. Also make sure she drinks enough water, as dehydration can also aggravate the constipation.
[...] that you don’t need fiber, but it’s more a gut environment issue as discussed in the Fiber Overhyped post). What your body could be telling you is that your bacteria balance is all messed up (as in [...]
[...] Is my experience unusual or is the professed wisdom on how to heal the gut based on the same kind of science which recommends low fat and low cholesterol for heart health? IE - something somebody dreamed up and has never really been substantiated but everyone jumped on board. Seems like it. [...]