Why Adding More Fibre Isn’t the Answer to Your Gut Problems

If you struggle with digestive issues like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, pain or nausea, you’ve likely heard many people, or maybe your doctor, say “just add a fibre supplement, that will help”. Fibre is extremely important for digestive, cardiovascular and metabolic health. It helps support healthy cholesterol levels, stabilize blood sugar and aids in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. But just like other areas of your health, fibre intake is not one-size-fits-all.

First, let’s break down the 2 types of fibre:

1. Soluble Fibre

2. Insoluble Fibre

Soluble Fibre

Soluble fibre is the type of fibre that helps draw water into the colon, creating a gel-like consistency in the GI tract. This type helps slow digestion, keeping you fuller longer and supports elimination. Soluble fibre is easily fermentable and acts as a prebiotic, providing fuel for our good gut bacteria, which help us break it down. It’s generally more helpful for loose stools or diarrhea and is found in foods like flaxseeds, chia seeds, blueberries, psyllium husk and avocado.

Insoluble Fibre

Insoluble fibre cannot be fully broken down and helps bulk up the stool to be passed more easily. It also speeds transit time, making it especially helpful for those dealing with constipation. Insoluble fibre is found in beans, oats, whole grains and vegetables. Something to note though, is that beans may contribute to digestive disturbances.

Each type of fibre has its benefits and we need both!

Why Fibre Can Cause Issues

If adding a fibre supplement like metamucil or loading up on grains and vegetables only seem to make your gas, bloat and irritation worse, we need to take a deeper look into the balance of bacteria in your gut.

Again, fibre is important, but for some people dealing with excess bacteria (even good bacteria), certain types of carbohydrates called FODMAPs may be irritating. For someone in an acute IBD flare, fibre may not be your best friend until the inflammation has settled down. If your gut has been inflamed and irritated chronically or severely, you may want to stick to softer, cooked vegetables, meat, fats and bone broth to reduce irritation for a time. 

Fibre shouldn’t be something we fear, but it’s important that we work on removing inflammatory foods, soothe the digestive tract, remove excess bacteria, parasites and fungi contributing to the irritation, while using an anti-inflammatory diet and targeted supplementation.

So Is Fibre Good or Bad?

Overall, replacing excess sugars, processed foods and refined carbohydrates with natural, whole foods is always going to be beneficial (even if it doesn’t feel like it). But depending on the issues you’re dealing with, you’ll need to find your happy medium with fibre while working on rebalancing your gut bacteria with a practitioner. 

Reducing dietary fibre initially may help to sooth inflammation and can be increased overtime as the gut settles down and heals. Ultimately the function of your digestive system and the microbial balance in your gut are essential to healing gut issues!

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Asher Kleiber

Registered Holistic Nutritionist™

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