Experts always urge us to eat more fiber-rich diet, but getting too many of good things can be bad. It’s always possible for us to have too much fiber intake. It is recommended that we get between 25 and 35 grams of dietary fiber each day. Unfortunately, many people never get half this much each day. We surely can’t afford to avoid fiber, but there are people who think that they should get as much as good things in their daily diet. This belief is often untrue and excessive intake of dietary fiber can bring some unexpected consequences.
There’s a possibility that large presence of dietary fiber in the digestive system could bind certain minerals and nutrients which prevents their absorption. Meaning, mineral deficiencies may occur on people with regular intake of very high fiber diets. It is a bit unlikely to get too much fiber from our normal daily diet. Instead, fiber-fortified foods and fiber supplements are likely sources which we could ingest an excessive amount of fiber. If we read labels of high-fiber cereals and powders, there are warnings that it is necessary to consume enough fluids while taking these. There are reports on obstructions, either in the intestines and the stomach when people consume that much higher the recommended amount.
It is possible to prevent problems by only reading labels and using common sense. Whole grain products may provide 3 -7 grams of dietary fiber in each suggested serving size. So, it may be necessary to be rather wary after consuming a significant amount of high-fiber amount of foods or supplements that contain 15 grams of dietary fiber for each serving.
Our body doesn’t digest fiber and it simply sweeps any waste products to keep our digestion system clean. Because dietary fiber has a laxative effect, people may suffer from troublesome bouts of diarrhea if they increase fiber intake greatly. It’s necessary to scale back and increase fiber intake gradually to prepare our body for the changes.
Build up of intestinal gas is another drawback of adding too much dietary fiber. While not particularly harmful, this could bring uncomfortable consequences during our daily activities. People could suffer from severe abdominal pain hours after eating high-fiber food. Flatulence won’t have permanent consequences, but it can ruin our social activities during the day.
Fiber is definitely beneficial, but we should aim to achieve only the recommended amounts each day.