Do you have experience with adding fiber to your diet?

Just eat more fresh fruits and veggies. Eat bran cereals, oatmeal, cherries, plums, apples, raisins, prunes, avocados, oranges, melons, cabbage, beans, etc.

Done properly, it help things move along without a mess.

I did eat 100% All-Bran one time after I had read that diets high in fiber were healthy. Made for horrible stomach cramps, way too strong for me.

I eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables and fruits, so fiber is not an issue for me.

Either the drinkable type or the pill type isn’t quite what you might think. In the construction of the poo train in the bowels, it’s important to get fiber throughout the construct.
Take so many of the pills before or after each meal, but try to eat more natural fiber, too, with each meal. Have oatmeal for breakfast.
The average person get about 10 to 15 grams of fiber a day, and you should have 20 to 30 grams, if I recall correctly. The main thing here is, there is no such thing as too much fiber.

Yes—but not a good one. After 6 months on a high fiber diet recommended for my pre-diabetic symptoms, I developed colon problems which took months to get under control.

I watched a commercial on Total cereal and it said that I had to eat 16 bowls of my all-bran to match the fiber in the cereal. SO I DID . I ended in the hospital curled up in pain. I had to stay a whole week in the hospital until I crapped three times . This happened three times as a teenager.

Be careful; increase your intake gradually to avoid painful consequences.

@almost all in this thread

I did not ask for dietary advice. I have spoken to my doctor, and we have made a decision.

The OP specifically asks for experience of people who have added fiber. No where do I ask how I might add more fiber. You do not know what my current diet is, and I’m not going to justify myself here. I don’t have to. You also don’t know what the problem is.

I have successfully been using Psyllium husks, available dirt cheap over Internet or health food store. I stir a few tsps. into orange or tomato juice.

I’ve also used Metamucil which is Psyllium powder but didn’t prefer it.

I have a lot of trouble swallowing pills so this works for me and only requires a small glass of juice to get down. But I also follow it with lots of fluid during the day.

I increased my fiber substantially a few years ago and it was a painful start….

I wish I had known what many of the people are saying here.

I started focusing on fiber almost 40 years ago.

It wasn’t at all painful for me, because I already enjoyed eating lots of salad, cooked veggies, beans, nuts, and fresh fruit.

I developed an addiction to stone fruit, especially during the summer.

Speaking of stone fruit, I know of a jelly who usually swallows the pit after eating the cherry. ;-o Speaking of cherries, I usually eat about a pound of them in one sitting, with some pit intake.

In 1977, I read a book claiming that maximizing one’s fiber intake, was the single best dietary way to a healthy weight.

So I started increasing the fiber portion of my diet, and discovering other such foods beyond what I was already eating.

I added a lot more fresh veggies for a few weeks years ago. I had to give it up. The upside was I lost weight without counting or measuring. The downside was I bled almost every time I went to the bathroom. I have a history of colon cancer in my family, and I’ve had a small couple of polyps since my 30’s. I ignore bleeding when I’m eating a lot of roughage, and if I ever did had colon cancer I definitely would probably dismiss early signs because of what fiber can do to me.

Not to mention I already have to take a bunch of iron to keep my numbers up. Especially, the hard veggies like carrots and celery are brutal.

When I add more veggies that are soft, like cooked in soup, and a piece of fruit a day, then I’m good. I try to eat beans for protein, and soups like minestrone, lentil, and split pea. I have a salad every other day more or less. I try to until I have a mal effect, and then I need to lay off a few weeks.

Been thinking about this more. The two alternatives I have tried over the years have been Metamucil, and Fiber-con chewable tablets.

For me, the Metamucil worked much better, consistent, not overwhelming. That was while recovering from an appendectomy.

I started using Fibercon occasionally while traveling, because it seemed the side effect to long plane rides was a bit of getting stuck, partly because of dehydration. The fiber con worked, but not at all on a timely basis. If I started on a Sunday night before flying Monday, it wouldn’t kick in until Tuesday afternoon. And, you have to drink a lot of water, more liquid the you drink with Metamucil.

But (and this is anecdotal, I do not know for sure) one’s system can become dependent on Metamucil.

Overall, extra fiber in the shortNterm is one thing, but for long term Heath, consider eating some live culture yogurt or kefir or other probiotics to keep the gut flora healthy.

Can I ask why you are adding fiber? I only ask, because that might affect which fiber to eat. Weight, constipation, glucose levels, etc?

For constipation the hard vegetable make things worse for me. A handful of raisins a day cures the problem. For glucose levels you would not want to eat a lot of fruit.

As far as things like colon cancer concerns, there was a big study basically discrediting the notion fiber helps avoid this cancer; doctors are still mixed on the belief though. I think the fiber for colon cancer prevention is wrong, I have always thought that, even before the big recent study.

@zenvelo

The types of laxatives which medical people worry about someone’s system becoming dependent upon are those which have a chemical component which stimulates bowel action.

Metamucil is basically powdered Psyllium (as opposed to Psyllium husks) with perhaps some added flavorings and sweetener so it’s not in the same category as artificial bowel stimulants.

So, the only way that ones system could become dependent upon it would be in exactly the same way as one could become dependent upon extra veggies and whole grains.

I think the fact that Metamucil is much more highly processed than plain old Psyllium and available in a drugstore leads to some people associating it with the negative effects of chemical laxatives. But thats not accurate.

Metamucil is made with the exact same Psyllium as can be found in health food stores.

So, anecdotal doesn’t really matter. It is what it is.

And of course if one stops eating their veggies fruits and whole grains, they’ll become constipated, like wise with Psyllium. But that’s not artificial dependency. Thats just simple cause and effect. :)
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyllium_seed_husks
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This is the brand I use. It’s a big container and a whole lot cheaper than the pills.
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http://www.walmart.com/ip/43938581?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222228032015871&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=59969661032&wl4=pla-122982372272&wl5=9016988&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=43938581&wl13=&veh=sem

@Buttonstc Thank you for the link to the psyllium, but I would rather bathe in lava than buy anything from WalMart. It’s just a personal choice. I will look elsewhere.

@JLeslie I have too many experiences here and elsewhere of explaining my specifics only to have others tell me everything I’m doing wrong. I will not go into details here.

^^Thats fine. I gave some examples for various ailments, maybe one helps you.

@Hawaii_Jake

Ha ha. I understand. I don’t get mine from Walmart either. That was just the first link that popped up in images to illustrate the specific brand I use. It’s not a Walmart brand either; they’re just one of many many places which carry it.

Yerba Prima is a reputable brand and can be found in practically any health food store. That’s where I get mine since it’s a buck cheaper even than Walmart.

In sure you’ll have little trouble finding it where you are. Just call around to a few health food stores. I’d be amazed if one (or even all) didn’t carry it.

Here’s an internet site that I order a lot of stuff from. Really decent prices. They carry Yerba Prima.
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http://m.vitacost.com/products/yerba-prima-psyllium-whole-husks-12-oz
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