are you eating too much fiber while we rarely seem to hear anything negative about fiber
eating too much can actually have side effects which aren't often spoken about
and while fiber definitely has benefits such as helping
to regulate blood sugar and contributing to satiety it actually isn't an essential nutrient
our bodies do not actually need any fiber in order to function properly not even for bowel movements
now i'm not saying to stop eating fiber entirely what i am saying is that we might be placing more
importance on it than we should low or no fiber diets also known as low residue diets are actually
commonly prescribed to patients with chronic constipation ulcerative colitis and ibs and these
diets are extremely effective at reducing symptoms and inflammation in these conditions but even if
you do not have a severe digestive disorder if you're experiencing any of the symptoms
we're going to talk about in this video today it might be a sign to cut back on your fiber intake
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is kaIT and i'm a certified health
and nutrition coach i post videos twice a week here on youtube talking about insulin resistance
blood sugar management weight loss sleep and more so if you want to take control of your
metabolic health make sure to click that subscribe button and you can also find me on tick tock and
instagram where i share new posts every single day as mentioned at the start of this video fiber is
actually a non-essential nutrient by definition because it is impossible to be fiber deficient
it isn't considered to be essential now again i'm not saying to cut fiber out of your diet entirely
although that can be beneficial in certain situations but from my research and my experience
working with clients i find that most people do best eating less fiber than what traditional
dietary recommendations recommend fiber seems to be more beneficial for people who consume a diet
high in processed food versus one based around whole foods with enough quality protein and fat
and this is where i think the recommendations for higher fiber and the obsession with fiber
in general stem from if you're eating a poor diet then yeah adding fiber can help now it
is important to note that there are two main types of fiber soluble and insoluble
soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance it is found in foods such
as beans oats citrus fruit and some vegetables insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and
it adds bulk to your stool it is found in foods such as whole grains potatoes and leafy greens
and we will get into how these two different types of fiber impact the body differently
as we go through this video but anyways enough chit chat let's get into the four signs that
you're eating too much fiber number one you're bloated after eating if you find that you are
always bloated after you eat a meal this can be a sign that you're eating too much fiber soluble
fiber in particular as we just spoke about when it joins with water it forms a gel-like substance
and it actually expands in our stomach so right away you can see how this could lead to bloating
and there seems to be this trend all over the internet over the last couple of years
to normalize extreme bloating let me just tell you this is absolutely not normal
a little bit of bloating yes that's fine but extreme bloating like this sun things up
it could number one simply be too much fiber or number two it could be an indicator that something
is up with your gut either way adjustments to your diet should be made number two excessive gas if
you are frequently gassy this can be another indicator that you're eating too much fiber
fiber is actually indigestible our bodies are not able to break it down so it essentially goes
through our digestive system untouched until it comes out the other side but during this journey
gas can occur when the bacteria in the intestines is processing it so again if you're experiencing
excessive gas this could be a sign that you need to cut back on your fiber intake
number three stomach cramps especially for people with conditions affecting their digestive system
such as ibs eating too much fiber can cause abdominal pain and stomach cramps and these
cramps again are caused by the intestines trying to process the fiber number four constipation now
as i mentioned earlier when we think of fiber we often associate it with a better digestion
and yes it can help digestion but too much fiber and too much insoluble fiber especially
can really back things up so much so that zero fiber diets are sometimes prescribed to people
with chronic constipation there was one study done on 63 people over six months where they compared a
high fiber diet a moderate fiber diet and a zero fiber diet in those with chronic constipation
the groups that reduced and eliminated the fiber saw improvements across the board
but those who ate the high fiber diet did not in fact the no fiber group saw a 100
reversal in their symptoms 100 reversal that is insane so if you are often constipated and
you're currently eating a high fiber diet that's a good indicator to cut back and those are the four
signs that you're eating too much fiber now as i mentioned earlier i find that there is a sweet
spot for most people it's lower than what general recommendations suggest but it is higher than zero
and when you hit that sweet spot assuming that you don't have any underlying gut issues going on
you're not going to experience any of these side effects after you eat anyways guys that's all i
have for you today thank you so much for watching let me know in the comment section down below how
many of these symptoms you have have you tried a low fiber diet or a zero fiber diet and what
were your results i personally have tried eating a zero fiber diet for six weeks and let me tell
you the results were pretty shocking honestly that was the best my digestion has ever been
which is the total opposite of what you would expect but anyways let me know your experience
down below and thank you again for watching if you did enjoy this video you might enjoy my video on
four hacks to lower your blood sugar fast you can check it out here if you want to catch up
on my most recent upload you can find it here and if you want to check out my keto diet and
carnivore diet coaching programs you can find them here thanks guys i'll see you next time bye