How Important Is Fiber? page

[Mick812]

Haven't heard much talk about it and was just wondering how important fiber is in your diet. Obviously I don't eat grains, which are always advertised to be a great source of fiber. I rarely eat more than 10 grams of fiber in my diet, which I think comes mostly from vegetables.

I don't have any digestive problems or anything. Is it that important?

[Viking]

There are lots of threads and articles about fiber; have you tried the Search facility for this? I would start there, and come back with questions. You might also look into Robb Wolf's blog and search for fiber. I remember seeing some discussion of gut bacteria and the importance of fiber.

And yes fiber is important, but there are drawbacks, like the blocking of nutrient absorption, and you don't want too much.

Here's an article by Mark.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fiber/

[js290]

The Human Colon in Evolution: Part 2, Fiber Follies | Hunt.Gather.Love.

[Stabby]

And here's Melissa's 4th post in the series about how fiber, particularly the highly-fermentable kind is very beneficial, backed by much evidence. The Human Colon in Evolution: Part 4, The Secrets of Butyrate | Hunt.Gather.Love. Indeed the 150g thing was a bit erroneous. I don't think that we can use anthropology to figure out how much we want. Some is very beneficial, it certainly helps people lose weight, overcome insulin resistance and it improved my energy levels.

Quality of fiber is probably most important as illustrated in the chart. Too much can interfere with vitamin d utilization, my arbitrary guess is 20g, a good chunk of it as good forms like sweet potato and inulin from chicory root, jicama and whatnot. I eat plain chicory root, many people won't want to do that! Yuck.