Eating enough fiber every day is crucial to support our bodies as we age, as it aids healthy digestion, can help with weight loss and prevents heart disease, just to name a few benefits. Many of us wonder if we are eating enough, and how to listen to our bodies and be able to tell if we need to incorporate more into our diets.
With that said, we reached out to health experts to help determine signs that your body might need more fiber and why. Read on for tips from registered dietitians Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, and Trista Best, MPH, RD, LD and common telltale signs of a low-fiber diet.
Sign 1— You're Frequently Constipated
Fiber plays many important roles in the body including lowering cholesterol, keeping the gut healthy, preventing constipation, and even weight loss, Best explains. It is one of those nutrients that is "often not consumed enough" by the general population, she says, which can cause a lot of issues, although eating "too much" fiber can cause others. The daily recommended amount of fiber according to WebMD is roughly 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men, therefore eating less than that and experiencing constipation is often linked.
"Not getting enough fiber in your diet can lead to constipation as fiber helps to keep the gut and gastrointestinal tract working efficiently," Best says. "Lacking fiber in your diet can cause constipation, blood sugar irregularities, and overeating." Hunnes agrees, and adds that when we don’t eat enough fiber, our gut microbiome is less healthy.
"In a standard American diet, which is high in animal products and low in fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, we do not get enough fiber," she says. "This can lead to constipation, cramping, inflammation, indigestion, colon polyps, and an overall sense of just not feeling so great." If you are feeling constipated, both experts stress taking this seriously, and visiting a doctor if it happens often to figure out what foods and potential supplements you may need for more fiber.
Sign 2— You're Feeling More Cramps Than Usual
While menstrual cramps are inevitable for many of us, additional cramping (not just around that time) could be due to a lack of fiber, Hunnes says, and explains how this happens. "Diverticulosis is actually a fairly common result of a low fiber diet, and can eventually lead to diverticulitis which is an inflammation of the diverticula in the intestinal tract," Hunnes says. This, she adds, "can lead to pain and cramping."
In general, Hunnes reiterates that "most people would feel constipation as their initial indication that they are not getting enough fiber in their diet," and that this can be fixed over time with a balanced diet, ample hydration, other advice from your doctor and supplementation.
