I recently started tracking my nutrition and it turns out my fiber intake is much higher than I thought it was. My average per day for the past month is 50g, sometimes going much higher than that. But I also noticed that probably around 1/3 or 1/2 of that is from added fiber to processed food (like cereal or protein bars).
I just read your article on fiber about fermentability and how different sources are beneficial in different ways. With that said, can you eat too much fiber? And how much does it matter if the fiber is from processed food? Thanks for your time.
Howdy,
I don’t think you can eat toomuch fiber, and 50g a day is fine and well within what plenty of high-fiber diets would result in. Any real ceiling is more personalized based on how you feel. If you push fiber “too high”, especially quickly, you’ll often notice gas, bloating, or changes in bowel habits, and that’s the sign it’s probably too high/was increased too quickly.
As far as your fiber sources go, we think that most of the benefit tied to high-fiber diets comes from intact sources like legumes, whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, which bring the whole food matrix and a diversity of fiber types that feed a more varied gut microbiome. A single isolated fiber added to a protein bar doesn’t typically do the same work, so I suspect less of a benefit from processed foods with added fiber. I’d favor more whole foods.
Further reading
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Ah yes, the articles are particularly helpful when you actually read all the way to the end, where both of my questions are answered 
. Appreciate the info!
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