For decades, we have known that there’s a difference in the diseases that people get when they eat a diet high in fiber compared to one low in fiber. Some of this information came from Dr. Weston Price, DDS, who investigated different cultures from around the world and saw big differences in health.

The British physician Dr. Denis Burkitt, reported that Africans eating their traditional diet had anywhere from one to three big bowel movements daily. The amount of time it took for food to go through their system was 24 hours or less.

Cultures that depended on their natural diet rarely, if ever, suffered from gastrointestinal (GI) disorders such as Crohn’s disease, constipation, ulcers, and other GI maladies. However, cultures that ate a diet low in fiber and high in processed foods saw an increase in GI diseases within a generation.

Known Roles of Fiber

This information has been confirmed with modern day research. Some of the known roles of fiber are:
• Acts as fuel for gut microbiome
• Promotes food to move through the intestinal tract
• Affects immunity status
• Lowers cholesterol levels
• Slows the absorption of sugars from food, thus helping stabilize blood sugar
• Softens the stool
• Brings water into the intestine
• Allows the bacteria in the gut to thrive
• Prevention of hemorrhoids

How to Get More Fiber in Your Diet

Recommended fiber intake is set at 25 grams for women between the ages of 19 and 50 and 38 grams of fiber per day for men. Over the age of 50, the recommendations are lowered to 21 grams for women and 30 grams for men. However, most American adults only eat about half that amount, according to Harvard Health.

Fiber in the diet may easily be increased by making different food choices on a daily and weekly basis. For example, eating an apple daily can offer you an extra 4+ grams of fiber. A half cup of beans could add another 5.5 to 7.5 grams of fiber. A half cup of oats can give you another 2 grams of fiber. One ounce of chia seeds will add another 10 grams of fiber to your total for the day. A cup of raspberries with heavy cream on top gives you 8 grams of fiber.

Vegetables such as green peas will provide 9 grams of fiber in a cup, and one cup of chopped broccoli or Brussels sprouts offer 4.5 to 5 grams. Three cups of air-popped popcorn and one cup of brown rice give you 3.5 grams of fiber, and ½ cup of lentils provide 7.8 grams of fiber. There are so many choices!

So, if you have been suffering from constipation, which may be defined as less than one bowel movement daily, changing your diet is by far the easiest way to overcome it.

Fiber Does More Than Help the GI System

One of the latest areas of research on fiber is that there is a connection between the microbiota and gut and brain, called the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The connection acts as a conduit for the effects of nutrition on the brain from dietary fiber. The three areas “talk” to each other daily about what is needed and direct functions that need to be accomplished.

Fiber provides the material for specific bacteria to provide short chain fatty acids that then promote health. Studies even show correlations to better mental health from healthy amounts of fiber in the diet.