Torwen:
Hello, and welcome back to episode 229 of the Ideal Nutrition Podcast. Today, we’re going to be talking about fibermaxxing and whether there’s such a thing as going too high with your fibre intake. Just for some context, fibermaxxing is a bit of a trend at the moment. And it refers to intentionally increasing your fibre intake beyond the standard recommendations. So, ideally, looking at any chance to increase your fibre intake.
Aidan:
So, I’ve been seeing this on TikTok and on Instagram. More on TikTok just from general people talking about how they’ve been implementing and stuff. And then on Instagram, oddly enough, even more through like the evidence-based community.
Through specifically like gut health, dietitians and nutritionists are where I’m seeing it the most often. We’re going to start by talking about if you were to do it, what are some practical ways to do it?
Torwen:
Yeah, so I guess if we jump straight into that, then there are a few ways to help increase fibre intake generally. And then also, I guess the last little component that we didn’t mention of this fibermaxxing is looking at increasing diversity. So, not just increasing one type of fibre. But increasing all different types of plant foods, generally. An easy thing to do is switch the staples that you use. Like switching from normal white bread to multigrain or seeded breads. Swapping to multiple sources of grains like brown rice, quinoa. That sort of thing. And using wholegrain cereals.
Aidan:
Yes, for sure. So, I’m even seeing on TikTok people doing like snack plates where they’ve just got like all these different things that have different vegetables and stuff like that. Certain snacks that people go with, for example, edamame beans, just as another one to chuck in there. Chia pudding, roasted chickpeas. Some people are making homemade energy balls where they’ll have like dates, oats, flax seeds and nuts. All of which are fibre-rich and are different sources. Adding legumes to regular meals and stuff like that.
Torwen:
Yeah, those exactly the sort of ones that I’ve been seeing as well. And then also people talking about swapping the staples that they use generally. So, I mentioned breads before. But even just looking at different salads, different mixes, using different varieties of salad mixes. Or even frozen veg where there are a lot more varieties of different plants in there.
Aidan:
Incredible. Now we’re going to talk about benefits. So, there can be a ton of potential benefits. There’s even, I’ve spoken about this before, but there are even charts I’ve seen where they’ve literally just plotted people’s fibre intake. And then their risk of chronic disease. And the higher the fibre goes, the lower the risk of chronic disease.
So, setting off with some general benefits. Obviously improved digestive regularity, potentially reducing constipation. Complex topic there, but in general, people do go to the bathroom more frequently. We know all of the benefits from the gut microbiome perspective. Such as increasing beneficial bacterial activity. Promoting satiety and helping with appetite control.
Low-key, this is actually the main thing I’ve been seeing on TikTok. Where it’s like usually a woman being like, why did nobody tell me that if I like had super high fibre. I would just be full all the way through until lunch. And, then potential for supporting blood sugar regulation. Cholesterol lowering. And all the other potential benefits with the long-term chronic disease prevention stuff as well.
Torwen:
Yeah. And those are exactly the same things that I agree with you there. Generally high fibre intake is just associated with positive health outcomes. The question then is, what are the general fibre recommendations? We know that for women it is 25 grams a day and men is 30 grams a day according to the Australian Nutrient Reference Values. Is there such thing as going too high? And that’s kind what we want to talk about today. So there are definitely a few things to consider.
We know that first off, rapidly increasing your fibre intake can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms. Like being blocked up, constipation, bloating, that sort of thing. And often people who don’t have a high fibre intake to start with can end up going over or high. Or above their tolerance levels here.
Aidan:
Other things could be if somebody’s not having enough water alongside that. Although like from my end, I’m always just being on everyone being well hydrated all the time. So I’m going to encourage that regardless of what you’re doing. Potentially displacing other nutrients simply by focusing too much on this. I have heard other people talking about how it could reduce the absorption of nutrients and that is kind of relevant.
I wouldn’t focus on that too much just because if you’re focusing on a really high fibre diet through a variety of foods. You’re also probably gonna have a really good nutrient intake in general as well. Then, from that satiety perspective, some people might get too full and not eat enough total calories. Like this is a rare one, but I might see it amongst athletes who have really high calorie needs. And if they’re pushing high fibre, they might not be able to get everything in.
Torwen:
Yeah, for sure. Should we chat about some considerations then or how we would recommend to implement these things? Or is there anything else you wanted to add onto that?
Aidan:
Not heaps. I think people, if they are jumping straight to this. Like if they’re going from let’s say a standard diet to intentionally trying to fibermax. The most common thing would be that quick increase. I think you have to build up to this over time.
Torwen:
For sure. There are a few other things I think to consider in there as well. If we’re looking at bowel movements, we know the type of fibre matters as well. So if you’re just adding insoluble fibre, so just straight veggies, legumes, that sort of thing. This can be a bit of an issue. Therefore, we want to make sure that there are soluble fibres in there as well.
So making sure that you’re adding things like chia seeds, flax seeds, again, sweet potato, that sort of thing, pumpkin. Making sure that there is a bit of soluble fibre to help balance the two types of fibre. And then, yeah, making sure that, like you say, going slowly. If we want to put a number on that, maybe it is incrementally increasing it week by week.
Aidan:
Yeah. And it’s not something I think people need to track, but I do think having some level of awareness. Like if you’re ever curious. Even just like putting into Google or something like that and seeing how much fibre in X food or Y amount of X food or whatever. But yeah, those are the main things I’d be focusing on.
Torwen:
Yeah, for sure.
Aidan:
So, as a quick summary, I do think overall, the concept of fibermaxxing is a positive trend. There are very few trends out there that you’re like, if you do this, this likely reduces your risk of chronic disease outcomes. I’m pretty on board with that. I just think if doing this, one, go slowly and then two, don’t take it to an extreme.
Extremes aren’t a huge risk here. I wish I had stats here, but…it statistically a massive percentage of people do not consume enough fibre. I don’t think we’re at risk of many people going too extreme with this, but I figured I’d put that out there too.
Torwen:
Yes, last thing I wanted to add is another way to think of it is if you’re wanting to track the amount of fibre you’re eating. You could also count the amount of plant foods that you’re eating. We know that when you get above that 30. That can make a positive impact on your gut bacteria. So, maybe not counting or looking at the amount of fibre in grams. But looking at the types and numbers of plant-based foods that you do include.
Aidan:
This has been episode 229 of the audio nutrition podcast. As always, thank you so much for listening. And if you could please leave a rating and review, we would massively appreciate that.