#HealthTok has struck again, folks, and this time, it’s fiber’s turn to step into the limelight. Meet fibermaxxing, the viral trend involving eating enough fiber to meet (or even eclipse) the daily fiber intake recommendations of 25 to 28 grams for women and 28 to 34 grams daily for men. Claiming benefits ranging from easier weight loss to better gut health and lowered disease risk, it’s time for a good ‘ol fact-check.

We sat down with two registered dietitians to get their take on fibermaxxing, whether its advertised benefits have merit, and how to safely boost your fiber intake. 

The Experts

• Karen Grecea, MS, RD, CDN, IFNCP, Registered Dietitian at Health By Habit
• Gabby Zeagler, MS, RD, CDN, CDCES, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist at Gabby Nutrition

Why Do We Need Dietary Fiber?

Before examining the fibermaxxing trend, let’s get a clear picture of why our diets require fiber in the first place. 

“Fiber falls under the macronutrient of carbohydrates (carbs). There are two types: soluble and insoluble. Both provide crucial but different benefits in a balanced diet,” says Zeagler. 

• “Soluble fiber, found in cooked oatmeal, black beans, and brussels sprouts just to name a few, dissolves in water, meaning it creates a viscous, gel-like substance that assists with slowing digestion so you feel more full, helps to lower LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels.
• Insoluble fiber does not dissolve, but helps to add to the bulk of stool and keep bowel movements moving along so you can stay regular and prevent constipation. Some good sources of insoluble fiber include raspberries, apples, green peas, and bananas,” says Zeagler. 

Grecea adds that fiber wears many hats as an essential nutrient, helping with:

• Blood sugar regulation
• Satiety (feeling full and satisfied after eating)
• Metabolic health
• Gastrointestinal health

“Over time, the research has shown that diets higher in fiber are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality,” says Grecea. 

What is Fibermaxxing, Anyway?

“Fibermaxxing is a social media-derived term that focuses on total fiber intake of at least 40 to 75+ grams daily. The goal of this trend is to exceed the recommended daily intake, which per the DGA, is 25 to 28 grams daily for women and 28 to 34 grams daily for men,” says Grecea. “While the name may be trendy, as a dietitian, I love the underlying concept because it has strong scientific support.” 

We’ll take that seal of approval as a promising sign that fibermaxxing is more than just a viral idea—it could actually help improve your health. But does it deliver on its promises? Let’s find out. 

Can Fibermaxxing Help with Weight Loss?

Fibermaxxing believers claim it can help you reach (and stay at) a healthy weight. Is it true? According to our experts, it sure is: “Fiber intake alone can independently predict both adherence to calorie-restricted diets and successful weight loss. In fact, research shows that higher fiber intake is one of the strongest predictors of long-term weight loss success,” says Grecea.

Zeagler agrees: “Fibermaxxing can be a part of a sustainable weight loss plan because it involves adding nutrient-dense, high-fiber foods, rather than focusing on what to cut out. What better weight loss plan have you heard of that actually wants you to eat more of something rather than focus on cutting things out?”

Here are the main mechanisms through which upping your fiber intake may help with sustainable weight loss, according to our experts:

• Physical fullness: “Dietary fiber absorbs water in your stomach and expands, thus making you feel physically full by increasing stomach volume. This means you naturally eat less of the higher-calorie foods, because there’s literally less room in your stomach,” says Grecea.
• Slower digestion and blood sugar stability: “Fiber slows down how quickly food leaves your stomach (gastric emptying) and how fast your body breaks down carbohydrates. When digestion is slower, your blood sugar rises more gradually instead of spiking quickly and dropping quickly. Those rapid blood sugar spikes are typically followed by crashes that trigger intense hunger and cravings. By stabilizing blood sugar, fiber helps avoid becoming hungry soon after eating,” says Grecea.
•  Hormones that help regulate appetite: “When soluble fiber (the type that dissolves in water; found in oats, beans, and apples) reaches your intestines, it triggers the release of special hormones that tell your brain, ‘I’m full, stop eating’. The main hormones that cause this are GLP-1, PYY, and cholecystokinin; these are your body’s natural appetite suppressants,” says Grecea. 

Fiber and Disease Risk: What Are the Facts?

Some HealthTokers allege that fibermaxxing may help lower disease risk. No shade to the influencer community, but that’s a pretty major claim, so we wanted our registered dietitians’ takes. Thankfully, they gave this benefit a big thumbs up, with scientific evidence to boot. 

“Research on fiber intake and improved health outcomes is robust. This study, which encompasses 33 meta-analyses (including over 17 million participants), found that individuals who consumed more dietary fiber, had lower rates of disease risk covering 38 health outcomes. The most profound effects were observed for lowering the risk of pancreatic cancer, diverticular disease, and cardiovascular mortality,” says Grecea. 

Gut Health Benefits 

Fiber also supports a reduced disease risk in the context of gut health. “Another benefit of fiber for our gut health is its ability to reduce inflammation by the production of short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, propionate, acetate), which are produced from increased fiber fermentation,” says Grecea. 

“Once your body is used to a higher amount of fiber, after increasing slowly over time, someone can have very regular bowel movements and a diverse gut microbiome from all of the prebiotic fiber it's been fed,” adds Zeagler. “And getting enough fiber is one of the best ways to help reduce risk for colon cancer. High-fiber diets significantly lower the risk of colon cancer, with evidence suggesting that for every 10 grams of fiber you eat daily, it reduces your colorectal cancer risk by 7%.” 

Cardiovascular Health Support

Given that close to half of Americans have cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association, we could all stand to prioritize heart-healthy nutrients. And fiber is one of them!

“Fiber [has the] ability to alter bile and cholesterol metabolism, which helps as a protective mechanism against cardiovascular disease. Our liver makes bile acids from cholesterol, this is released to your intestines to help digest fat. The majority of bile acids get reabsorbed in the intestines and sent back to the liver to be used again. Think of it like an efficient recycling system,” says Grecea.

“Soluble fiber changes this process in a good way by acting like a sponge in your gut that traps bile acids by binding to them. Instead of being recycled, it gets carried out of your body via stool. Now, how does this help the heart? When the liver loses bile acids, it needs to make more…so it pulls cholesterol out of your bloodstream. The result? Decreased blood cholesterol levels,” says Grecea. 

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

As part of a balanced diet, fiber can also help ward off type 2 diabetes, which impacts 90 to 95% of the 40 million Americans with diabetes.

“Fiber can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes because it can help slow the absorption of sugar, [meaning] it can help regulate blood sugar levels, rather than leave someone with a large blood sugar spike and subsequent drop,” says Zeagler. 

Is Fibermaxxing Safe?

We have to say, we’re pretty impressed by the research-backed benefits of adding more fiber to your diet. But is fibermaxxing, which calls for a pretty dramatic upswing, a safe way to reap those benefits? Our experts say it can be, as long as you avoid:

Too Much Too Soon

If your fiber intake jumps up without giving your digestive system enough time to catch up, gastrointestinal discomfort may follow. “A very rapid increase in dietary fiber can cause gastrointestinal discomfort (like gas, cramping, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea). For instance, if you regularly consume 15 grams of fiber daily, jumping to 40 to 75+ grams overnight can cause more stress than benefit to your digestive system,” says Grecea.

The solution? Patience. “Slowly increase your fiber intake over a few weeks. If you aren’t sure how much you’re eating right now, try to recall what you ate the last day or two and estimate how much fiber you ate. Let’s say that you’re getting about 13 grams of fiber right now, aim for 18 grams of fiber over the next few days to a week. If you feel okay, slowly add another five grams or so, and so on. Monitor how you feel, checking that your bowel movements are still regular to ensure you are not becoming constipated,” says Zeagler. 

Not Enough Hydration

Our experts both stressed that when fiber goes up, so should your water intake. 

“Fiber absorbs water in your digestive tract, so increasing fiber intake without increasing daily fluids may likely worsen gastrointestinal discomfort in addition to dehydration. In very rare cases, this may lead to a bowel obstruction,” says Grecea. 

“Now, there is no specific universal recommendation for fiber-to-water ratio, although the American Gastroenterological Association and American College of Gastroenterology recommend that ‘adequate hydration should be encouraged with the use of fiber,’ to promote softer stools,” adds Grecea. 

“I usually recommend clients drink about half their body weight in ounces,” says Zeaglar. “For example, if someone weighs 150 pounds, then aim for 75 ounces of water daily. Of course, adjust for activity, climate, and any health conditions that might limit water intake. If you follow these steps, most people can reach around 40 grams of fiber daily and maintain this amount without any real issues.”

Grecea says that to mitigate the risks discussed above, you shouldn’t avoid fiber: You should increase it strategically. “When we gradually increase fiber and pair it with adequate hydration, it allows for your digestive system and gut bacteria time to adapt with minimal digestive discomfort.”

How to Try Fibermaxxing, the Safe and Effective Way

Try these tips to bring the spirit of fibermaxxing to your daily routine, minus the bloating:

• Increase gradually and strategically. “Increase by approximately 5 grams of dietary fiber per week to first achieve the DGA’s recommendations of 25 to 28 grams daily for women and 28 to 34 grams daily. This increase should be individualized and based on symptoms of GI adaptation. Once [you] reach the DGA recommended amount, then you can increase slowly to your desired ‘fibermaxxing’ goal,” says Grecea.
• “Listen to your body if it’s telling you to slow down. If you start to experience abdominal bloating, pain, or cramping, you could have increased your fiber too quickly and have caused some constipation. When in doubt, always talk to your doctor, especially if you have any major pre-existing GI issues like IBS, Crohn's disease, or other bowel issues,” says Zeagler. 
• “Whole foods first. I’m a firm believer in food over supplements when clinically appropriate. Start by increasing the variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes before considering a supplement…If you find foods aren’t enough, pure psyllium husk powder is a fantastic option without all those extra additives that other fiber supplements may have,” says Grecea. 
• Choose the right type of fiber for your goals.
  
  • Constipation relief: “Choose insoluble fibers (examples include: wheat bran, whole grains, fruit skins, and vegetables like cauliflower, green beans) as their main job is to add stool bulk and keep things moving,” says Grecea.
  • Bloating relief: “Stick to soluble fibers (oats, oat bran, legumes, peas, nuts, seeds, apples, etc.) over insoluble fibers, as these help soften the stool and tend to cause less gas/bloating,” says Grecea. 
• Try the 5-to-1 rule. “Try to choose foods that have at least 1 gram of fiber for every 5 grams of total carbohydrates. This is a great shortcut for identifying crackers, pretzels, cereals, and other snacks that are actually high in fiber rather than just a good marketing tactic,” suggests Zeagler. 
• Stay hydrated “to reduce gastrointestinal symptoms and/or discomfort and monitor for side effects (gas, bloating, abdominal cramping, constipation, diarrhea),” adds Grecea. 

So, overall, we’re thrilled to report that fibermaxxing is more fact than fluff. And after adding more whole-food fiber sources to your diet, if you need a little help to reach recommended levels, consider these options from the Stridekick Shop:

• Super Greens Fiber Gummies, with enough fiber (from chicory inulin) to equal 20 cups of spinach in a few tangerine-flavored gummies, plus vitamins B2, B5, and B6
• Grüns Original, superfood gummy bears with 6 grams of prebiotic fiber per serving, with low-sugar and sugar-free options available 
• Hum’s Flatter Me Fiber, a vegan, third-party-validated supplement formulated with clinically tested fiber to reduce cravings and promote regularity