The Standard American Diet (SAD) is a diet based on processed foods and animal bi-products, therefor, it is a diet lacking in fiber. And yes, this is incredibly sad. To make things worse, fad diets have been antagonizing carbohydrates for some time now. While a high-carb diet is not necessarily high in fiber, since it could be based on processed foods where the fiber is removed, a low-carb diet is a low-fiber diet.
We need to eat whole plants to get the fiber we need, but over 90% of Americans are not getting nearly enough. This is why constipation is so common in our society! But the consequences go far beyond that. Without fiber, we are starving our good gut bacteria. At the same time, a diet rich in animal-based foods, processed foods, and processed sugars feeds bacteria that often leads to inflammation and multiple health issues including heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.
As we start to add more fiber into our diet, the first thing we notice is that our constipation is gone and our digestive system works like clockwork. This is great! But it is just one among many other benefits that we’ll enjoy.
Most fiber benefits come indirectly through short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), a bi-product of the interaction between our gut bacteria and fiber. See, fiber is a prebiotic that feeds the good little guys in our gut or probiotics. SCFAs are what we get from this interaction or, simply put, the postbiotics. You will be amazed when you learn how much of our health depends on them! SCFAs have a strong influence in our heart, our brain, our immunity, our metabolism, and more. While bad bacteria and their compounds lead to disease, good bacteria and SCFAs help prevent it.
Explore our interactive page below to learn more fascinating details.
Top Whole-Food, Plant-Based Sources of Fiber
If you’re eating whole plants, you’re eating fiber. In fact, one of the top problems with food processing is the removal of fiber. All fiber is not the same, though, so be sure to eat a diversity of foods from the top groups below to ensure you’re getting all the varieties that your gut flora needs to thrive.
Click on each food group’s picture to visit its page with links to specific foods’ interactive pages. Each of these pages offers a personalized calculator that shows you the food’s top nutrients and how much of your RDA can be found in one portion. Plus, we share useful tips, information on how these foods support your body, and some interesting facts.
Fiber Personalized Calculator
This calculator is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. Their recommendations are based on levels that reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. However, there are studies that strongly recommend aiming at 50 g per day to significantly reduce the risk of colon cancer, and to better support our gut microbiota which in return supports other health areas including diabetes prevention, brain health, and immunity.
Please think of your calculator results as your minimum requirement. 90% of women and 97% of men in the U.S. are not even reaching these amounts! Keep adding whole-food plants into your diet until most of your diet (if not all) is whole-foods, plant-based. At this point, you will easily be getting 50 g a day or more.
Terminology:
- Daily Value (DV): The recommended amount of nutrients to consume each day for individuals who are 4 years old or older.
- Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA): The recommended amount of nutrients to consume each day according to the individual’s age, gender, and whether a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Upper Intake Level (UL): The highest amount of nutrient intake that will not pose adverse health effects on most individuals.
How Our Body Uses Fiber
Fiber is a key nutrient for our digestion, but it also plays an important role in other health areas through short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by our good gut bacteria. Hover over each pointer below for more details. Click on the pointer to visit the specific body part’s interactive page to discover what other nutrients support it, the best sources to find them, and other interesting facts. This website is still under construction, come back soon if the health page you were looking for isn’t live yet.
Our Digestion – Colon
A high-fiber, low-fat diet helps prevent colorectal cancer. SCFAs make our colon more acidic, preventing growth of bad, inflammatory bacteria and their production of pro-inflammatory TMAO. The recommended daily intake to prevent colorectal cancer is 50 g of fiber a day, twice the amount recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.Our Immunity
70% of our immune system resides in our gut! Fiber has a direct effect on strengthening our immune cells, as well as an indirect effect of promoting the growth of our good bacteria over bad bacteria which can lead to an inflammatory response. SCFAs help prevent allergies and make our immune cells more tolerable of our gut bacteria in general. They may also help prevent cancer by eliminating cells that could turn cancerous and by preventing multiplication.Our Digestion – Gut Bacteria
Fiber feeds our good bacteria while sugar feeds our bad bacteria. When we eat fiber, we increase our population of good bacteria. This leads to the production of more SCFAs. Also, the more good bacteria we have, the less bad bacteria we have. Bacteria from the ingestion of red meat or choline from animal sources produces unhealthy inflammatory compounds like TMAO which lead to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer. Basically, TMAO causes the same problems that SCFAs help prevent.Our Brain
The health of our brain depends on our good gut bacteria. It modulates neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, enhancing our mood and brain function. SCFAs (produced by our gut bacteria) help improve learning and memory. They may also interfere with the production of amyloid plaques that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, and they may protect the brain against developing Parkinson’s disease. A high-fiber diet also reduces the risk of stroke by lowering total and LDL cholesterol, and by lowering blood pressure.Our Metabolism
Fiber reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, one of the most common metabolic disorders in the world. SCFAs improve blood sugar regulation, help protect against glucose intolerance, and improves insulin response in the pancreas.Our Heart
Fiber lowers total and LDL cholesterol, as well as blood pressure. SCFAs control the critical enzyme in cholesterol formation and increases the excretion of cholesterol in bile. A high-fiber diet significantly reduces mortality due to heart disease, as well as the incidence of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease.Important Things to Know About Fiber
Comparison of Fiber Sources
You may be wondering about other potential sources of fiber aside from whole-food, plant-based sources. Below, we make a quick and simple comparison between the three choices you could be considering: whole food plants, supplements, or animal-based products. For fiber, it’s a no-brainer!