Chapter 1. Fiber Carnage
“Many patients starting [out on] fiber complain of flatulence, distention, bloating, poor taste, and are unwilling to continue.”
Rome II: The Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders; Ch. 7, Constipation [1]
Fiber‘s Role in Disease:
A Lifelong Demolition Derby
If you consume minor quantities of fiber from natural, unprocessed food, there isn‘t anything wrong with it, because (a) small amounts of natural fiber (which is mostly soluble) will not obstruct your intestines or cause diarrhea, (b) most of it will get fermented in the large intestine, and (c) the remainder will not bulk up the volume of stool high enough to cause any damage from “roughage.” But that‘s not what most Americans do or are urged to do:
Average recommended fiber intake (grams per day)[2]
| Age | Children | Boys | Girls | Men | Women | Pregnant |
| 1-3 | 19 g | |||||
| 4-8 | 25 g | |||||
| 9-13 | 31 g | 26 g | ||||
| 14-18 | 38 g | 26 g | ||||
| 19-30 | 38 g | 25 g | 28 g | |||
| 31-50 | 38 g | 25 g | 28 g | |||
| 51-70 | 30 g | 21 g | ||||
| Over 70 | 21 g | 21 g |
These are the standing recommendations from the Food and Nutrition Board, a division of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, which is the body that establishes the nutritional policy guidelines of the U.S. Government. Let‘s analyze these recommendations:
- Children from one to eight: The recommended amount is sky-high even by the standards of the American Dietetic Association.[3] It isn‘t based on the actual need, but on the fact that up to 25% of children in this age group suffer from constipation related to the abuse of antibiotics, lack of breastfeeding, poor toilet training, inadequate nutrition, frequent diarrhea, and other factors. In this case, fiber is used as a hard laxative instead of correcting the primary causes of constipation. The large intestine of a one-year-old is about one-tenth the size of a fully-grown adult‘s, but the recommended dose is half of the adult‘s (19 g vs. 38 g or 0.7 vs. 1.3 oz). With that much fiber in the diet, the child will be irritable from abdominal pain, bloated from the large volume of stools, flatulent from gases, prickly with food because eating causes cramps, and prone to frequent bouts of diarrhea alternating with constipation from all of the above. That‘s a direct path to malnutrition, stunted growth, poor development, and academic mediocrity.
- Teenagers and adults: Similar amounts of fiber are recommended for teenagers and adults—from 26 to 38 g (0.9–1.3 oz) daily. If you consume that much fiber, it means large stools, inevitable anorectal damage, and eventual dependence on fiber to move the bowels.
- The elderly: As people get older, less fiber is recommended (not more, as one may think) because the digestive organs are no longer as agile and healthy. Unfortunately, this is not what most constipated elderly patients hear from medical professionals. The majority urge seniors to increase fiber consumption in order to relieve constipation. Even so, 20 to 30 g (0.7–1.0 oz) of fiber for people over 50, half of whom already suffer from hemorrhoidal disease (and from diverticular disease by the age of 60) is a prescription for trouble.
As the dynamics of a “broken telephone” transform already bad advice, it gets worse, much worse. Here are the “enhanced” recommendations from what is considered one of the best medical and research institutions in the nation, The Mayo Clinic. The article is entitled “Fiber—A Good Carb”:
Fiber—A Good Carb
The June issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource suggests ways to increase fiber in your diet:
— Eat a high-fiber cereal or add a few spoonfuls of unprocessed wheat bran to your cereal.
— Add bran cereal or unprocessed bran when making foods such as meatloaf, breads, muffins, cakes, and cookies.
— Choose whole-grain bread instead of white bread. Look for breads made with 100 percent whole-wheat flour.
— Substitute whole-wheat flour for half or all of the white flour when baking.
— Experiment with whole grains and whole-grain products such as brown rice, barley, whole-wheat pasta, and bulgur.
— Try adding canned kidney beans, garbanzos and other beans to canned soups or salads.
— Eat snacks that are high in fiber, such as fresh and dried fruits, raw vegetables, low-fat popcorn, and whole-grain crackers.
— Add barley to soups and stews.
— Eat generous quantities of vegetables and fruits.[4]
Mayo Clinic Women‘s HealthSource
If you follow this advice, just one cup (60 g/2 oz) of Kellogg‘s® All-Bran® With Extra Fiber[5] cereal gives you 30 g of fiber, already the daily amount recommended for adults, and many more times for children. And that‘s just for breakfast, before adding in the recommended breads, salads, soups, stews, and “generous quantities of vegetables and fruits” throughout the rest of the day.
Think about it—just one cup of fiber-fortified cereal contains three times more fiber than the maximum recommended daily dose for fiber laxatives, such as Metamucil® (3.0 g up to three times daily[6]). Even that little, just under 12 g of fiber in Metamucil, may cause severe side effects: