I agree with Julie. When you eat a lot of naturally fiber-filled foods, you don’t have enough room for processed foods. I have stocked my pantry, fridge and freezer with fruits, veggies and beans and whole grains. I’ve been having fun finding new recipes that include a lot of these. I’ll have to check to see what my fiber number actually is now. Another good one Dr. Ben!
You’re both so right. Not only are they filling at the time, but they also keep you fuller for longer, unlike ultra-processed foods that often leave you hungry again in an hour.
If you find any especially good recipes, please do share them in the comments, Jan. It makes it easier for all of us to eat healthier if we don’t have to go searching for recipes.
Ben, as a vegetarian and a regular consumer of legumes of every kind, and one who eats a lot of leafy greens and a variety of vegetables and not much processed food, I should be hitting the fiber quota, I think. I am very curious about the viscosity angle. How do soaked flax seeds, fenugreek seeds, and chia seeds compare? They all become like a gel. Do they help as well? Okra is also a very gummy vegetable. Just wondering. I read recently that soaked fenugreek seeds and okra remove a small percentage of microplastics from our bodies. Hopefully there is some truth in it.
Hi, Gita. Next week’s issue is about the different types of fibre, and the good sources for each. Hopefully, that will answer lots of your questions.
Fenugreek and okra removing microplastics sounds like speculation. I can’t imagine the kind of study needed to actually prove that it works in humans. There are plenty of reasons to eat fibre-rich foods without resorting to speculation.
I’m afraid I’ve never found a recipe for okra that I could tolerate. Whenever I’m served okra, I have to grit my teeth!
Fair enough about okra. It is very easy to spoil the okra dish! From a viscosity standpoint, do soaked and ground fenugreek seeds, chia, and flaxseed work as well? Any idea? Thank you for your feedback.
Hi Jean-Claude. Carbs gets a bad rap. There was a big study looking at 47,000 American women. Those who reached 70 in good health were eating the most carbs.
Of course, there are different types of carbs. I wouldn’t advocate refined carbs for health, things like sugar-sweetened drinks, white bread and pasta, etc.
Have you tried restricting your carbs solely to whole food sources? I’m thinking nuts, seeds, brown/red rice, quinoa, legumes, oats, wholegrain bread, etc.? There’s also psyllium fibre. There’s a good deal of evidence supporting its use as a targeted fibre source.
Another cracking job and keep banging on! (yes, I watch a fair amount of UK shows.)
One thing is how older folks really to keep up their fiber. If there is one good thing about "fiber maxxing" is calling attention to this need for fiber and a fair number of people get enough, not!
Thanks! I’ll definitely keep banging on! I’m glad to see you’re watching some quality TV.
“Fiber maxxing”… why does everything have to be a TikTok trend? Can’t we just eat healthily without making it a fad that will be briefly popular and then replaced with the next trend? This is the nonsense that makes people cynical about healthy eating advice.
The only quality TV ever produced in the UK was Monty Python's Flying Circus. :~)
Yeah, tired of this craze, protein is another one. I recently joined a local gym and their little shop (over priced athletic wear) carries everything PROTEIN! From cookies to Whey and it like they all are shouting at you.
Once again you have posted something so helpful and well explained. And yes, I plan to check how much fiber I am getting and share this article with my family. I also like to read what Tom has to say. Thank you.
That’s very kind, Julie, thank you. I’m glad you found it a worthwhile read.
I’m betting that as someone who takes their diet seriously, you’ll probably be above the average of 15-18g per day. But will you hit that 30g threshold?!
What I notice is that after getting enough fiber and protein for someone in my age group, there is just not much room for UPFs or empty calories. And as you have pointed out - beans are our friends!
That’s such a good point. When we fill our plate with healthy foods, there’s less room for the stuff that’s not so good for us - and, of course, vice versa!
Ben, the bile acid recycling mechanism is the section doing the real explanatory work, most fibre content stays at "keeps you regular" and never gets to why viscous fibre actually pulls LDL down. Good instinct flagging the short chain fatty acid evidence as weaker than commonly presented, that's a distinction most health writers blur because the microbiome framing sells better than the caveat. The dose response point matters too, treating 30g as a floor rather than a target most people plateau on is a genuinely useful reframe against the standard guideline messaging. Strong use of the psyllium versus beta-glucan trial data to separate what fibre as a category does from what specific fractions do.
Thanks, Tom. I’m glad you found it a worthwhile read. You’re right: fibre physiology is more complex than we typically think, but then all we need to do is ensure we eat sufficient, then our bodies do the complicated bit!
I agree with Julie. When you eat a lot of naturally fiber-filled foods, you don’t have enough room for processed foods. I have stocked my pantry, fridge and freezer with fruits, veggies and beans and whole grains. I’ve been having fun finding new recipes that include a lot of these. I’ll have to check to see what my fiber number actually is now. Another good one Dr. Ben!
You’re both so right. Not only are they filling at the time, but they also keep you fuller for longer, unlike ultra-processed foods that often leave you hungry again in an hour.
If you find any especially good recipes, please do share them in the comments, Jan. It makes it easier for all of us to eat healthier if we don’t have to go searching for recipes.
Ben, as a vegetarian and a regular consumer of legumes of every kind, and one who eats a lot of leafy greens and a variety of vegetables and not much processed food, I should be hitting the fiber quota, I think. I am very curious about the viscosity angle. How do soaked flax seeds, fenugreek seeds, and chia seeds compare? They all become like a gel. Do they help as well? Okra is also a very gummy vegetable. Just wondering. I read recently that soaked fenugreek seeds and okra remove a small percentage of microplastics from our bodies. Hopefully there is some truth in it.
Hi, Gita. Next week’s issue is about the different types of fibre, and the good sources for each. Hopefully, that will answer lots of your questions.
Fenugreek and okra removing microplastics sounds like speculation. I can’t imagine the kind of study needed to actually prove that it works in humans. There are plenty of reasons to eat fibre-rich foods without resorting to speculation.
I’m afraid I’ve never found a recipe for okra that I could tolerate. Whenever I’m served okra, I have to grit my teeth!
Fair enough about okra. It is very easy to spoil the okra dish! From a viscosity standpoint, do soaked and ground fenugreek seeds, chia, and flaxseed work as well? Any idea? Thank you for your feedback.
Thank you for this very informative piece.
What to do when someone is badly affected by carbs. I only feel really good when my carbs intake are below 50g a day.
Hi Jean-Claude. Carbs gets a bad rap. There was a big study looking at 47,000 American women. Those who reached 70 in good health were eating the most carbs.
Of course, there are different types of carbs. I wouldn’t advocate refined carbs for health, things like sugar-sweetened drinks, white bread and pasta, etc.
Have you tried restricting your carbs solely to whole food sources? I’m thinking nuts, seeds, brown/red rice, quinoa, legumes, oats, wholegrain bread, etc.? There’s also psyllium fibre. There’s a good deal of evidence supporting its use as a targeted fibre source.
Another cracking job and keep banging on! (yes, I watch a fair amount of UK shows.)
One thing is how older folks really to keep up their fiber. If there is one good thing about "fiber maxxing" is calling attention to this need for fiber and a fair number of people get enough, not!
Thanks! I’ll definitely keep banging on! I’m glad to see you’re watching some quality TV.
“Fiber maxxing”… why does everything have to be a TikTok trend? Can’t we just eat healthily without making it a fad that will be briefly popular and then replaced with the next trend? This is the nonsense that makes people cynical about healthy eating advice.
The only quality TV ever produced in the UK was Monty Python's Flying Circus. :~)
Yeah, tired of this craze, protein is another one. I recently joined a local gym and their little shop (over priced athletic wear) carries everything PROTEIN! From cookies to Whey and it like they all are shouting at you.
Once again you have posted something so helpful and well explained. And yes, I plan to check how much fiber I am getting and share this article with my family. I also like to read what Tom has to say. Thank you.
That’s very kind, Julie, thank you. I’m glad you found it a worthwhile read.
I’m betting that as someone who takes their diet seriously, you’ll probably be above the average of 15-18g per day. But will you hit that 30g threshold?!
What I notice is that after getting enough fiber and protein for someone in my age group, there is just not much room for UPFs or empty calories. And as you have pointed out - beans are our friends!
That’s such a good point. When we fill our plate with healthy foods, there’s less room for the stuff that’s not so good for us - and, of course, vice versa!
Ben, the bile acid recycling mechanism is the section doing the real explanatory work, most fibre content stays at "keeps you regular" and never gets to why viscous fibre actually pulls LDL down. Good instinct flagging the short chain fatty acid evidence as weaker than commonly presented, that's a distinction most health writers blur because the microbiome framing sells better than the caveat. The dose response point matters too, treating 30g as a floor rather than a target most people plateau on is a genuinely useful reframe against the standard guideline messaging. Strong use of the psyllium versus beta-glucan trial data to separate what fibre as a category does from what specific fractions do.
Dr Tom Kane
Thanks, Tom. I’m glad you found it a worthwhile read. You’re right: fibre physiology is more complex than we typically think, but then all we need to do is ensure we eat sufficient, then our bodies do the complicated bit!