this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2024
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You Should Know

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Why YSK: fiber is important for optimal human health. It helps us avoid diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, obesity, and other diseases. This is particularly important in developed countries such as mine (USA) that are suffering greatly from these diseases.

The recommended daily fiber intake is 25g for women and 38g for men in the USA, and 95% of us don't meet this amount. This suggests an urgent need for us to increase our daily fiber intake, which can be achieved by swapping out ultra-processed foods and animal foods that are void of fiber with whole plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Here’s my unsolicited recipe for overnight oats, you sweet, fiber-deficient lemmies:

1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, a glob of honey, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 cup of milk, then in the morning add 1/4 cup crushed walnuts and a ton of blueberries.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

For anyone wonfering this seems to be ~8g of fiber (plus ~19440g for one ton of blueberries) based on this database, which seems to source basic data from the USDA.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I just struggle with finishing my ton of blueberries before they spoil :(

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I hate when recipes mix units. How many cups are a ton?

[–] ERPAdvocate 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I know, right? Let me help you out with that.

A ton is 907 kg approximately, and the weight of a cup of blueberries, while varying, is around 148 g or 0.148 kg.

That means the above recipe calls for around 6128 cups of blueberries. And at 3.6 g per cup of blueberries that's ~22000 g of fiber or 628 times your recommended daily intake for men, or 880 for women!

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Here's my muffin recipe, but you can really omit the applesauce and use pretty much any fruit you like for flavor. Do keep the bananas though or the texture will be really wrong. It's good with a tbsp of chia seeds added, oats added, etc. I make my own yogurt and when I make cheese out of it I replace all the liquids (except oil) with the leftover whey and they come out gloriously soft and fluffy that way. Whole Wheat flour is really high calorie though so I'm open to suggestions for something to replace it with if anyone has any ideas.

Long story short I've messed with this recipe in so many ways and it has turned out great every time except the time I didn't have bananas and uses avocado instead. It's very forgiving so do it your way.

Muffin recipe

2 ripe mashed bananas

1 chopped apple

Flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax, 2.5 tbsp water, mix and let set while you prepare the other ingredients)

1 tbsp olive or avocado oil

1/4 to 1/2 C oat or soy milk or cow milk or whey

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 C whole wheat flour

1 C wheat bran

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 tbsp chia seeds

You can sub oat bran for wheat bran if you can find anyone selling it.

  1. Preheat oven to 350 (or don't if using a convection oven)
  2. Lightly spray muffin tin with avocado oil
  3. Add banana, oil, milk, vanilla, applesauce, flax egg into mixing bowl and stir well.
  4. Add dry ingredients plus chopped apple to another bowl and mix well. Don't add walnuts at this step.
  5. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Add extra applesauce or milk if it's a little dry.
  6. Add to muffin pan in 12 equal portions. Add walnuts to the top and press them in a little or they'll fall off when the muffins are done.
  7. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
  8. Cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.
[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I can't seem to get it together to do the night before, so I make morning oats

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

I normally make a few portions at once since imo they have better texture anyway if you give them two+ days to absorb moisture. I try to make another portion every day, but since I have a few in the fridge it gives me breathing room if I’m feeling lazy any particular day.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I've been doing: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 1 cup flavored kefir 1 Tbsp chia 1 Tbsp ground flax As many blueberries as I can cram in with the rest in a 1 pint mason jar

It's... Fine. I've been considering adding half Greek yogurt and half kefir, but I'm already desperate for more sugar in the recipe.

Maybe a splash of honey will be my next step

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You should also know that there's soluble and insoluble fiber. Both are important, but what people are more likely to lack is insoluble fiber.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you know if chia seeds have insoluble fiber

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Yes, they are a great source of insoluble fiber.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago (4 children)

This is purely anecdotal, but I started meal prepping with a pile of mixed vegetables and chicken, and my bowel movements have never been smoother. Like, the difference was legitimately addicting. Haha. An effortless shit everyday is such a massive game changer.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Thing is, I never have better shits than when I eat like absolute crap.

Hotdogs or a fry up, and it just flies out like a greased otter. Draw an ace every time.

When I go on a health kick and eat vegetables, it's legit like wiping a marker pen.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Literally just mixed peas, carrots and beans from a frozen package haha

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

I've been working out more (and biking daily) and the post workout shit is always an amazing feeling.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I once had a consultation with a surgeon about hemorrhoid surgery. Her recommendation was to use fiber supplements because it's almost impossible to get enough fiber from food alone.

(I ended up getting a bidet, and now my fiber-poor garbage diet doesn't cause that particular problem anymore )

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Psyllium husk pills are awesome

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I had to start supplementing with psyllium fiber (powder) several months ago after a massive hemorrhoid attack last fall. (Surgeon gave me the identical advice.)

If I don't get at least 40 g a day of total fiber (about 20+ of which are the powder), stools get large 'n' hard. It's working, and my ass is thanking me.

What I'm having trouble squaring is I don't think we evolved eating that much fiber every day. Pre-agriculture it would have been (depending on which part of the planet) lot's of animal protein and whatever roots & berries you could find, right?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Micheal Greger in "how not to die" talks about this. He says that hunter gatherers would eat mostly plants and sometimes some meat. And all plant food was not process so with lot of fiber

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I'm up to 70g of natural fiber a day! I'm plant-based though so it's easy for me when most of my foods are whole plant foods.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago

You forgot the part where it allows you to have a normal bowel movement without straining. It’s the path to hemorrhoid reduction, possibly annihilation.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

Why so much higher for men? On an average day I eat probably somewhere between 25 and 45 g depending on what I've meal preppes D for the week and what I've decided on for snacks. I am a vegetarian who eats mostly whole foods. I can't even fathom how the average American could come anywhere even close to that. It's a LOT of beans/whole grains/vegetables/chia seeds/etc.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (1 children)

In general, American men are larger - dimensionally - so more fibre is required for a larger person.

Ideally, an individual would work with their doctor or whoever to figure out how much would be appropriate.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Because larger people need to eat more, as their body requires more energy, and so they need more fiber, I'm assuming.

I was Googling just now and found that women have a longer colon than man. I wonder if that makes any difference.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sexual dimorphism in humans

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Ok but I was curious another specific physiological reasons lol like maybe men require that much more or they don't see cardiovascular benefits or something like that.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Overall, men are significantly more massive than women, so our caloric intake is also proportionally higher. As a 6'3" 230lb man, if I were to try to stick to a 2000 calorie a day diet, I would lose weight. I need 2500 calories if I don't work out, and more like 3400 if I do.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

25 GB per day? I don't even HAVE fiber, I'm stuck with fucking Comcast, which might I add is down right now. Typical.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (7 children)

We highly recommend Benefiber for anyone. It is tasteless, doesn't change the texture of your food or drink, and can be added to almost anything.

I think many people avoid adding fiber to their diets because it requires a change in diet or a supplement that is often gross.

Edit: Here's a link. https://www.benefiber.com/fiber-supplement-products/benefiber-powder/

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

Vegetables measured in units of 120mL (because it's half of some cups) is really stupid.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] spankinspinach 4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Realistically it looks like the majority of my fiber intake is about to become oats and popcorn...

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Lol that's hilarious. I laugh so much at the crazy mixing of units we use here in the US. Similarly, it's quite common to see metric and customary units in the same sentence, as in "add 1 tablespoon to 100 mL of water".

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Eat your veggies and fruit people.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

Finally, a pro-health justification for eating the whole container of oatmeal cookies.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This also relates to jaw and gum health too. Most folks eat too soft a diet as well (fibrous foods often require more chewing).

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

As some people here already know since I talk about it endlessly, I have a weird medical condition where I have not eating solid foods in almost a year now. You have no idea how much fiber you need just to have decent bowel functions when you start at a base of zero.

I drink four cans of V8 and take 2 Metamucil capsules a day to get me up to about 30g. Still less than the recommended amount, but it's all I can manage at the moment.

Before that, there were a couple of times when the constipation was so painful that I literally started yelling, "OH FUCK! OH FUCK! OH FUCK!"

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wheat germ. It's in most stores in the cereal aisle. I take it with my orange juice or sprinkled on oatmeal.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Reading this as someone blessed with whole grain rye-wheat mix bread, heck I can even buy the flour to make my own bread.

Change to whole grain, folks!

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