too much fiber?

can you eat too much fiber?  i have added a lot to my diet in the past week and i feel soooo sick to my stomach today.  really, really, really bad cramping.  ugh.

haha yes Fiber One is so yummy but DANGEROUS! i personally eat loads of fiber everyday. it's not really intentional, just a natural result of eating lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains. i think you should eat as much fiber as your body feels comfortable with. as long as you are regular and don't have cramps or anything i wouldn't worry too much about it.

btw i have had days where i have eaten 90-100 grams of fiber! now THAT is something i do NOT exactly recommend!

Oh, I have to add to this one too. I have a very low-fat diet so I absolutely NEED fiber in order for things to keep moving. I have been eating Fiber One everyday for the past few years & I must say I have never had cramps from it. Its the perfect food- sugar free, low calorie, low fat but yes high in carbs so I eat it before I do any excersise the next day to burn off all those carbs. I guess it depends on one's individual diet too. I actually came on this forum tonight because I ate half the box tonight- I couldnt stop, it was just SO good. If you want to make a treat out it, try heating up a cup of it in Soy Milk with a sprinkle of Splenda & Cinnamon. It comes out like porridge. :)

Okay, so I'm cracking up here reading all of these posts!  I see that it's been a while since it was originally started.  But just like Sratner, I had to post on this one!  Fitnessforever, thank you for saying you hav eaten 90-100 grams of fiber before in one day.  this made me feel sooo much better that I'm not going to die from eating my (at least) 64 grams of fiber today.  I was starting to feel pretty dumb after I realized that maybe I ate WAY too much, lol!  Here I think I'm doing really good and eating extra healthy!  All the while my stomach is extremely bloated right now and my hands are quite swollen.  I suppose it's due to too much fiber?  I'm just hoping I haven't really depleted other nutrients that I've eaten today, as other people seem to believe will happen if you eat too much fiber?  Anyone know if that really happens if you eat a lot of fiber?  I sure hope I lose some weight from this!  I'm going to go drink a bunch of water right now and I hope that this will decrease my water retention right now and allow my system to get "cleared up" a little bit!

This is too funny!

Oh, so yes you must drink a lot of water when you are eating a lot of fiber- eating a lot of fiber can dehydrate you a little because it's soaking up the fluids in your body to get things moving. Also, I take a multivitamin everyday to make sure that I am getting the vitamins our bodies' need that may or may not have been swept away by all the fiber (makes me feel better about myself anyway). But I don't think that eating too much fiber is harmful- the only drawback to it is that it may take with it nutrients! Hence, Centrum. 

Hey!! this is a little off topic here... but I JUST recently started eatting my 30 grams of fiber a day... and I've had tummy aches and everything!! But also, i've gained like 3 pounds?? is this normal?

FYI... the Fiber One Bars in Oat and Chocoalate are sold at Costco. I was taking a chance by buying them since it was a HUGE box and I'd have never tried them before. They are great for breakfast, lunch or snacks. I love 'em

First time user for on here, but I felt as though I just had to post a reply. I signed on just now to try and find some answers/remedies for the horrible side effects of Fiber One!!!!! I usually have Kashi Go Lean every morning- but this week I decided to try Fiber One instead- I was so excited 60 cal, loads of fiber- the only problem that has been made clear to me now- is the underestimated power of portion-size!!!!! (Which I apparently failed to adhere to- and now find myself paying for it) I definitely agree that there should be a warning label.

So my question is- does water really help?? Any other suggestions??

mmmmmm fibre one....

owwwwwwwwwwwww......fibre one.....

it took about 10days for my body to adjust...now I'm getting anywhere from 35-50g fibre/day.  deffo up your water intake!  I have a big water bottle that I bought at Walmart, it holds 10cups of water (2.5L), once I started drinking that much water (and more when I workout), the cramps and bloat went away.  I can't believe how much BETTER I feel. 

Yes, Fiber One is incredible and I'm addicted to it as well. Unfortunately, I figured out WHY I'm addicted to it. it contains the amino acid phenylalanine, which is found in many artificial sweeteners. I am also very addicted to diet sodas, and I'm pretty sure its because of this chemical.

I always thought phenyalanine was bad for me, since I was addicted to diet soda, and always craved it. When i gave up soda, i noticed I was munching on certs compulsively, I looked at the label, and sure enough, phenylalanine. Some sources say its good for you and essential in your diet, which is true... to some extent. But be careful, and be sure to notice if you are consuming an excessive amount of this. I tend to... and I doubt its very good for me.

XDDDD!!!!! ive been trying to figure out this fiber thing...and then i found this blog!!! why does fiber one have to be so delicious???=D

Fiber One by itself tastes like a bunch of dusty old sticks! Mix it with another more tasty but fairly low-cal cereal to make your own super-healthy blend. 1 cup cheerios plus 1/4 cup fiber one contains 10 grams of fiber, which is plenty for one meal... then you can have a fiber one bar for a snack, or another 1/4 cup fiber one later in the day if you must. I can't imagine eating that much at one sitting!

Oh My gosh,  when I read this,  I thought it is not just me.  I have been in so much stomach pain for the past week.  I have wished I would just blow up.  I have had severe gas,  which is so embarassing.  good thing my husband has a great sense of humor.  I am eating fiber one cereal with cheerios in the morning and then a fiber one bar mid morning.  I thought the other day,  I would die.  My bowel movements are so off,  terribly constipated,  even taking M. o. M. to try to get relief.  which helped some.  I have noticed that the color is really dark.   I think I have turned my gut into a concrete factory.  I know one of the main problems is water,  I try  but apparently not drinking nearly enough,  I am a hair away from calling a dr for an appointment,  even though I just had a colonoscopy in November,  I don't know if I can wait this out,  even though fiber is so important.   

Hey bloatqueen,

Hang in there.  It will get better.  Try flavor packs for your water and it will be easier to drink on a consistent basis.  I have to admit that I had the highest fiber count today---82..  That's crazy but the fiber one got to me.  It was delicious.  I hope that I lose the weight that I am going for.  I basically replaced 2 meals with fiber one cereal, had 2 fiber one bars as snacks, an apple and a salad as a meal.  It seems healthy but I feel so bloated.  Is this crazy? 

This is a really great thread!

I just wanted to point out in response to wwoodhull (I know you posted months ago, but I still wanted to say this!), there is nothing at all wrong with phenylalanine.  It is used all over the body, and it is broken down into other important amino acids, including those that form very important neurotransmitters like dopamine and adrenaline.  It's an extremely ubiquitous amino acid - the building blocks of proteins - and there are high levels of it in all meats, nuts, beans, and dairy, and significant levels in breads and starches like potatoes and corn.

The reason it's explicitly pointed out on food labels (reading "Warning Phenylketonurics, this product contains Phenylalanine"), is because there is a rare genetic disorder called Phenylketonuria, or PKU, where there is a defect in the enzyme that breaks down this amino acid.  PKU is part of a very large group of very rare disorders that involve defective enzymes in nutrient processing (there are ones for other amino acids, fats, and carbohydrates). 

In people with PKU, starting at birth if untreated, phenylalanine will build up in their body and cause severe mental retardation, seizures, and other neurological complications.  The notice is added to labels because things like cola or certs might be mistaken as phenylalanine free.  Even small exposures to phenylalanine for someone with PKU will have irreversible consequences.

Those affected basically can only eat an extremely limited diet with essentially NO protein at all (since almost all foods known to contain protein have phenylalanine), and then must supplement every day with protein formula that contains all of the other amino acids, but no phenylalanine.  It's a very tough diet, but they are very fortunate that it is one of the sever genetic disorders that can be completely treated by diet alone.

Anyway, because of the labeling of this amino acid on food, people have gotten confused and it has gotten a bad rap (if there is a warning label, it must be bad!).  Everyone eats a ton of it everyday without noticing, and they have been since the dawn of humanity.

Hope that clarifies things a bit!

I actually just experienced this myself last night and this morning. We try to keep a decent amount of fiber in our diet and I just purchased the Fiber One bars. Well that did it. Very upset stomach, gas, bloating and cramping. Thanks for the suggestion of drinking water to balance it out. I will try that. But for the record, the Fiber One bars are delicious and well worth it. I think they just may take some getting used to.

Sometimes I get as much as 100g fiber and I'm just fine.  Not much change in gas either.  I just get trouble passing stools when I have less than 30g.

Did you loose any weight being on the fiber diet?

I thought I read something the other day that said you should eat 14g of fiber per 1000 calories you take in.

Then I went on to read that there is a difference between soluable and non-soluable fiber.  I've been taking 10g fiber in AllBran drink mix... adding it to my water bottle to get extra fiber and I've not felt so well but not too poorly.  I've probably gotten up to double the fiber I normally would take but ok other than a less-than-100% feeling in my tummy.

My question is, is this type of fiber intake ok or should I be limiting it to half my intake and being sure to use non-soluable fiber as well?

 

 

OMG...reading these posts was just cracking me up (and I'm not feeling good today, so this is a good thing).  I tried a Fiber One bar ONCE....I was soooo gassy from it, I couldn't have anymore.

 

On Friday (6/5) I took one scoop of Colonix, and I drank about 100 ounces of water that day. On Saturday, I drank another 100 ounces of water, and took another tablespoon of Colonix (system-clearing fiber powder) and still, no effect. So I drank closer to a gallon of water on Sunday, surely expecting some result, and still nothing. Any ideas why a larger than normal dose of fiber wouldn't effect me? Each scoop/tablespoon was 8grams of fiber, so it's only an addition of 16 grams in 24 hours...

 

thanks