Fiber Findings

Interesting article in the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/science/food-fiber-microbiome-inflammation.html

Adding my dos centavos, personal experience with my mother shows that more fiber isn't always the answer. I cured her IBS, was it?, by putting her on a "low bulk" diet.

I also propose that all the benefits of fiber might be accidental, not so much evolution. As we probably evolved with cooked meat and fats being the preferred foods, tubers and other plant matter - certainly not kale and greens - filling in between kills.

Oh, Happy New Year and all that rot! Been away, very busy with family and my (scrapple loving!) fiance'. Love is grand.

I like the last paragraph:
"It point to the boring thing we all know and no one does.
...If you eat more green veggies and less fries and sweets, you'll probably be better off in the long run."

Here is the definitive argument against fiber: https://www.gutsense.org/fiber-menace/about-fiber-menace-book.html

You can read most of the book content by poking around on the site. It's what convinced me to put mom on a low fiber diet. There are dozens of people who have benefited by going low fiber with many success stories after lifetimes of gastric issues.

Why some people and not others? We probably will never know.

From what I understand - there is a certain body type that benefits from fiber.
And there is 1 type that fiber really hurts.
I can really bloat with fiber, but I also can eat nearly 2lb of un genetically messed with greens (AKA - weeds) in 1 sitting and wake up like a balloon the next day, then deflate over many hours and feel like bliss.
I think I am in neither camp - or I am eating too much because commercial veggies are much lower in fiber than dandelions and curly dock and plantano. So 1lb of spinach and kale isn't the same as 1 lb of those.

Very interesting... I am not sure what to make of it though.

I have had the extremely unfortunate experience of getting an abscess from straining. Not once, but twice this has happened to me. The second time I needed surgery and it was the most painful experience of my life. It happened only 7 weeks after I had my daughter and the pain of the abscess made my 43 hours of back labor feel like floating on a cloud. Seriously. I cannot every describe how painful that was.

After the surgery the surgeon suggested I try a fiber supplement. So, I did. I use one scoop of soluble fiber in my coffee everyday and it made a huge difference for me. I've tried stopping and when I do, the straining returns and I nearly got another infection/abscess. I cannot risk that happening again, ever. So, I don't honestly know what to do about my issues. The 3 grams of soluble fiber seems to make a huge difference. It's been over 2 years since I started taking it and I haven't increased the dose at all.

nikitakolata wrote:Very interesting... I am not sure what to make of it though.  

I have had the extremely unfortunate experience of getting an abscess from straining.  Not once, but twice this has happened to me.  The second time I needed surgery and it was the most painful experience of my life.  It happened only 7 weeks after I had my daughter and the pain of the abscess made my 43 hours of back labor feel like floating on a cloud.  Seriously.  I cannot every describe how painful that was.  

After the surgery the surgeon suggested I try a fiber supplement.  So, I did.  I use one scoop of soluble fiber in my coffee everyday and it made a huge difference for me.  I've tried stopping and when I do, the straining returns and I nearly got another infection/abscess.  I cannot risk that happening again, ever.  So, I don't honestly know what to do about my issues.  The 3 grams of soluble fiber seems to make a huge difference.  It's been over 2 years since I started taking it and I haven't increased the dose at all.  

A perfect example of one size does not fit all. What is an "abscess from straining," exactly? Can the intestinal wall rupture?

OnTheBayou wrote:A perfect example of one size does not fit all.  What is an "abscess from straining," exactly?  Can the intestinal wall rupture?  

Yes, although it was much farther down the line than that. It was near the anus; a peri-anal abscess. The surgeon explained that it happens when your stools are both too soft and require straining, which is a common thing for me for some reason. The stool sticks to one of the glands, it becomes infected, and your body creates an abscess to protect against infection. It's the most miserable thing you can ever imagine. When I was at the hospital they were giving me fentanyl, dilaudid, norco and morphine (switching around between them) and they didn't make even a slight difference in the pain. All they did was mentally cause me to be so tired I would pass out. I honestly wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

For the surgery they put in a drain, which had to stay in for 2 weeks. Then they removed that and it could finally heal. The pain for that month was pretty intense; movement hurt, but so did sitting. I ended up figuring out how to breastfeed my daughter while laying down, which was no small feat. Of course, due to the breastfeeding I couldn't take any painkillers, either. So, yeah, I never want to experience that ever again. I wish I knew how to fix my gut so I didn't need a fiber supplement, but since that is working for me, I am sticking with it.