Ancient human populations ate A LOT of fiber. The average person got something like 100 grams per day, which is more than most modern people get in a week. Here's what you can expect if you add more fiber to your diet.
By Team Savant
We eat less today, mainly because of the refining of food. White flour, sugar, and oil contain little to no natural fiber whatsoever, radically changing the diet's composition. Plus, we're eating more animal products, and roughage only comes from plants.
However, many people are finding that the modern diet no longer makes sense for them. It's draining their energy, causing them to gain weight, and leaving them depleted of critical nutrients. For that reason, they're switching to a higher fiber regimen containing more fruits, veggies, beans, and whole grains.
Most dieters experience a bunch of metabolic benefits from making the switch. Their cholesterol goes down, and their energy levels rise, leading to overall well being. But there are some pretty weird side-effects of an ultra-high-fiber diet on the stomach worth knowing in advance.
Less Indigestion
Chemists sell heartburn tablets to people who have occasional indigestion from eating the wrong foods. But the standard American diet can cause the condition to persist over the long-term for some people. And when that happens, it is vital to find solutions.
Eating a high-fiber diet is one of the most potent ways to reduce indigestion and acid reflux because it changes the shape of the stomach. The lower section of the bowel and the intestines find it easier to push high fiber food along because there's more roughage to act as ballast.
When you eat a fiber-depleted diet, though, your muscles have to work harder, which puts upward pressure on the stomach. Over time, the sphincter at the top of the stomach can move through the diaphragm, constricting the valve and making it easier for stomach acid to escape into the esophagus. When that happens, a large number of people experience the symptoms of acid reflux — something that can be rather painful. Eating a lot of fiber, however, can reduce this pressure and return everything to normal.
More Frequent Visits to the Bathroom
Image: Ella Olsson on Unsplash
Scientists first started wondering about the benefits of fiber on digestion in the 1970s after observing regular toilet visits of African natives. Since then, studies on western populations showed that people went to the lavatory about three to six times less than populations eating traditional diets.
When you eat fiber, you naturally make more visits to the bathroom. Some experts think that three toilet trips per day are the biological norm and something we should all aspire to.
Different Gut Bacteria
Gut bacteria are a primary determinant of a person's state of health. When you have good bacteria, you feel great. When you don't, you feel awful and bloated.
Fiber feeds the good bacteria. So when you eat a lot of it, you shift your gut microbiome decisively in the direction of health. Changing the composition of microbes in your stomach can take as little as two weeks with the right foods.