Eat more fiber for better health!  How many times have you heard this statement before by so called “health experts?”  In fact, the first recommendation that is given to patients suffering from digestive problems it to consume more fiber.

Unfortunately, no one questions how these foods are beneficial to body and why we need to consume them in copious amounts in order to be healthy.  In fact, up until the agriculture revolution, diets would have consisted of only small amounts of fiber coming from seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.  Yet, we are told that fiber is a necessity for healthy bowel movements and plays an important role in digestive health.

However, consuming a diet high in fiber rich foods may pose health problems.  In fact, it could even be harming our digestive system!  Those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) will typically be most negatively affected by high fiber diets.

Luckily, we’ve covered everything you need to know about high fiber diets and how they can have a negative impact on digestive health.

The Fiber Myth

It wasn’t up until recently that experts began advocating high fiber diets for optimal health.  In fact, before the boom of agriculture, consuming high amounts of fiber in the from of grains would have been an almost impossible.  As mentioned before, most fiber that was consumed by our ancestors was in the form of wild seeds, wild grasses, seasonal vegetables, and seasonal fruits.

In fact, our ancestors would have received a whole host different fibers which would have been seasonally rotated.  We can still see this today in Native American cultures still living a traditional way of life.  These people primal rely on animal foods as their staples and will gather wild nuts, seeds, fruits, and tubers as supplemental items. However, most fiber that these people obtain typically comes from starchy tubers.

Yet, despite being on a fairly low fiber diet, these people experience near perfect health.  Interestingly, there have been several different Native American cultures discovered who lived on primarily animal foods and little to no fiber.

The most notably would be the Eskimos.  The early Eskimo survived on a diet of fish and fat; fiber was completely absent from the diet.  Despite the absence of fiber, all Eskimos living their traditional way of life experienced extremely good health.

How Fiber can Damage the Gut

It’s important to understand that fiber cannot be digested by the body.  We do not have the necessary bacteria in order to properly break down the cell wall of plants.  As a result, fiber rich foods pass through the intestines undigested and are said to help trigger bowel movements.

With that said, those with digestive disorders such as IBS are often suffering from severe intestinal inflammation. Unfortunately, this fiber can contribute further to intestinal inflammation.  When the intestines become overly inflamed, conditions such as IBD arise. 

In fact, constipation is extremely common in those with severely inflamed intestines.  As a result, those with IBD and IBS often experience constipation rather than bowel movements after high amounts of fiber rich foods are consumed.  In fact, research has shown that patients with IBS show significant improvements in their condition when put a low carbohydrate diet (1).

Anti-Nutrients and Fiber

Another problem that occurs with high fiber diets is the abundant intake of anti-nutrients.  It should be understood that all plant foods contain anti-nutrients.  These anti-nutrients are the plants way of protecting itself from being eaten, and punishing the predator or human who eats them raw.

Although cooking can reduce anti-nutrient content, it typically is not enough for those with IBD.  Anti-nutrients in the form of lectins, saponins, oxalates, tannins, phytic acid, and gluten can all cause significant inflammation in the gut.  In fact, research has shown that phytic acid present in most grains and wheat products can contribute to intestinal inflammation and binds to minerals in the body (2).

Those suffering from IBD will almost always struggle with plant foods.  In fact, the consumption of too many plant foods is most likely the whole reason their digestive system is in shambles.  As mentioned before, the human body was not designed to consume copious amounts of fiber; it’s completely indigestible by our body.

Interestingly, when traditional cultures are looked at around the world, we can see that they always used special preparation methods before consuming plant foods.  Soaking, fermenting, cooking, baking, and boiling were all methods used to reduce the anti-nutrient content found in plant foods.  These special preparation methods also altered the plants structure making it more digestible by the body.

IBD and Fiber – Should You Eat it?

As mentioned before, almost every single culture living a traditional way of life consumed some form of fiber (except Eskimos).  In fact, when the gut is healthy, fiber is typically well tolerated and can be part of a healthy diet.  However, those with IBD and IBS should work on healing their intestines before consuming high amounts of fiber.

The only foods which will properly heal the digestive tract are high quality animal foods.  Animal foods contain no anti-nutrients, will not irritate the gut, and contain all the nutrients the body needs in order to assist in repair of the intestines.  For those interested, we created a whole diet outline of the best foods to eat for those with conditions such as IBD and IBS.

Overtime, you may feel the need to consume more fiber rich foods.  However, these foods should be introduced slowly so that you can properly gauge how your body reacts.  If you experience negative symptoms, you should back off and allow further time for the gut to properly heal.

The Importance of Avoiding Sugar

Sugar is even worse than fiber when it comes to chronic intestinal inflammation.  Those suffering from any type of digestive disorder need to remove all forms of sugar from their diet.  Sugar is the primary fuel source of several different bacteria, yeast, and fungal pathogens in the gut such as candida.

When an individual consumes high amounts of sugar, he/she will be more prone to developing pathogenic overgrowth’s such as candida.  For those unaware, candida causes high amounts of intestinal inflammation.  In fact, this fungal pathogen will actually burrow into the digestive lining of the gut which can lead to chronic intestinal inflammation.  It also releases several different toxic byproducts which can all have a negative impact on the health of the gut.

In our experience, raw local honey seems to be well tolerated in those with digestive disorders.  Despite being a sugar, raw honey contains both anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.  Research has shown that raw honey can inhibit the growth of several different species of candida (3).

Low Fiber Recipe Ideas

As you begin to eat more foods that can help improve the health of gut, you may find that you are lacking variety in your diet.  It’s for this reason that we created our Intestinal Health Cookbook.  The recipes in our Cook Book are low in carbohydrates and can be great for those with digestive disorders.

Also, for those worried about sticking to a proper gut healing diet, consider trying out our cook book for inspiration.  We’ve included over 20 different healthy recipes that will give your body the variety it wants and will leave you satisfied!

Craving Fiber? Try this Instead!

It’s not uncommon to go through fiber withdrawals when removing it initially from the diet.  In order to help combat these withdrawal symptoms, try using the following food below.

Raw Fermented Vegetables

Raw fermented vegetables are great for those suffering from IBD, but craving fiber.  Raw fermented vegetables can contain upwards to 6 billion live microorganisms which can help increase the amount of good bacteria in the gut.

Also, many find fermented vegetables help with symptoms such as constipation and can make a significantly marked difference in bowel movements.  However, it’s important that your fermented foods are raw and not pasteurized.  Pasteurization kills off all the bacteria and makes fermented food useless.  If possible, learn how to make your own fermented vegetables at home!

It should be mentioned that almost every single culture found living a traditional way of life consumed some form of fermented food or beverage.  These types of foods were consumed frequently in the diets of our ancestors and play a significant role in the shaping of our gut microbiome. 

Be sure to go slow when first introducing fermented foods into your diet; more is not always better!  Start with a teaspoon and slowly work yourself up to a comfortable intake.