I had a couple people in the last few weeks grill me about my fiber consumption (I'm on a carnivore diet, and eat only animal products containing zero fiber).
"Don't you get constipated?"
"But everybody needs lots of fiber!"
This is some of what I heard. I tried to tell my questioners about the research, and my personal experience after having gone carnivore, but I don't think it sank in. All the "fiber is healthy and we must eat it" propaganda has been drilled into us so deep, and so long, that my counterarguments really just bounce off.
And certainly, I thought the same, 2 years ago.
But here's what I know now, from personal experience eating carnivore for the past...I guess it's been 18 months or so.
- bowel movements diminish drastically with zero fiber, from lots, daily, to very small, and once every 4 or 5 days. That doesn't bother me at all, I prefer it.
- You do need to adjust at the beginning. People starting carnivore abruptly, switching from one day to the next - they can get diarrhea or constipation. That settles after a while, though.
- You get a LOT less gas. Some people say no gas, for me me I'd say much less.
- Other than that - digestion is absolutely fine, better than before. No issues whatsoever.
So, I'm perfectly happy on my zero fiber diet.
AND...there's lots of evidence, not just that you don't NEED fiber, but that it can actively be bad for you. Check out this video with Dr. Paul Mason - 'From fibre to the microbiome: low carb gut health' - on the channel Low Carb Down Under. He provides some very good evidence in it.
Here's a "blast from the past" comment from me, about a year and a half ago, when I was first thinking seriously about fiber. #341697
Along these lines - I've been thinking recently about the concept "whole grains are good for you". I pretty much accepted that refined grains aren't that great, but thought my big bowl of steel cut oats every morning was the greatest thing ever. With all my "superfood" add-ins, like peanut butter, blueberries, chia seeds, etc. But is this actually true? Yes, whole grains are less addictive and thus healthier than refined grains. You're less likely to overeat them. Still...are they healthier than animal products like meat, dairy, etc.? Should we actually eat them at all, are they in any way useful except for being cheap? When you really dig down, all the claims seem to evaporate. Fiber seems to be an anti-nutrient as well. Now, darn it, I'm reconsidering my morning breakfast routine that I've had for decades. I may have to ditch it entirely.