Quote:
Originally posted by Shadow01
Rosebud - I am curious as to why low carbers don't need as much fiber. In PPLP (or it could've been PP), they recommended a minimum of 25 gms/day. TIA
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In PP (1995), page 389 - 391 "The Truth About Fiber", the Eades discuss fiber and what it can and cannot do for health. They do recommend aiming for 25g fiber per day, in defense of accusations by nutrition experts that carb-restricted diets are low in fiber.
It's worth noting that those nutrition "experts" who tell us we must have 25 - 35g fiber per day are the same folks who tell us we must have 6 - 12 servings of bread and cereal every day
You might find Barry Groves' (author of Eat Fat, Get Thin) essay,
The Bran Wagon to be illuminating.
Fiber intake greater than 30g per day can interfere with absorption of important nutrients, in particular calcium, iron and magnesium.
IMO, when you're eating all kinds of refined starch carbs such as white bread, rice krispies, white rice, twinkies, cake etc etc etc ... you need 25g or more fiber to keep all that gluey sludge moving along. A hundred years ago, white bread was a folk remedy for diarrhea because of its well-known ability to plug you up.
Meats and fats leave little residue when properly digested. Vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-carb fruits provide plenty of fiber, although it's true your intake will be limited while eating very low carbs, such as Atkins Induction. A fiber supplement might be helpful, such as psyllium husks. Ground flax seeds are excellent too. Make sure you're drinking lots of water; dehydration can lead to constipatioin no matter how much fiber you eat.
If you're eating a carb-controlled diet of natural, minimally processed proteins and fats, along with plenty of leafy greens and other vegetables, then a fiber intake around 15g per day is quite adequate.
Doreen