Americans who have filled their shopping carts and coffee orders with more protein are now being met with a new push toward dietary fiber, as a growing number of products and social-media videos promote high- or added-fiber foods and recipes. The trend is being described as the next big food fad, with a term already spreading for people trying to meet or exceed recommended daily fiber intake.
Market research firm Mintel found a big uptick this year in new products promoted with high or added fiber in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. The story said hundreds of videos on social media celebrate dietary fiber and share recipes to help viewers get more of it, alongside the emergence of “fibermaxxing” as a label for trying to hit that goal.
PepsiCo Chief Executive Ramon Laguarta pointed to fiber as a coming consumer focus in remarks made on a recent conference call with investors. “I think fiber will be the next protein,” Laguarta said, adding, “Consumers are starting to understand that fiber is the benefit that they need.”
Unlike protein, fiber is often not marketed as a feel-good headline at the dinner table, according to nutrition experts. Debbie Petitpain, a registered dietitian nutritionist and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said, “Folks don’t want to talk about it at a dinner party.”
The benefits being cited include fiber’s role in digestion and gut health. The article described fiber as a carbohydrate found in plants that the body can’t break down, saying it helps feed gut bacteria and move food through the digestive system. It also described two main types of fiber: soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and forms a gel-like material that feeds gut bacteria, and insoluble fiber, which doesn’t dissolve in water and moves food through the digestive system. Foods listed in the report for soluble fiber included oats, peas, beans, apples and carrots, while examples for insoluble fiber included whole wheat flour, popcorn, wheat bran, nuts, green beans and potatoes.
The article said research has found fiber can lower cholesterol levels, regulate blood sugar and promote weight loss because high-fiber foods tend to make people feel fuller. It also said fiber may protect against heart disease, diabetes, diverticulitis and colon cancer, citing the American Heart Association. Petitpain linked some of the renewed attention to diet drugs as well, saying the rising use of GLP-1 weight loss medications could be one reason, since the drugs naturally slow digestion and fiber can prevent constipation. She also said fiber interest has spiked before when people wanted to alleviate symptoms from high-fat diets such as Atkins or keto.
For people trying to quantify the goal, the article pointed to U.S. Department of Agriculture guidance that adults should aim for 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories consumed. It said that works out to about 25 grams of fiber for women and 38 grams for men each day, and that Petitpain said Americans generally only get about two-thirds of that amount. The story gave examples from the USDA: 1 cup of raspberries contains 8 grams of fiber and a banana has 3.2 grams; half a cup of avocado contains 5 grams; and 1 cup of lima beans contains 13.2 grams. It also said Fiber One, a bran cereal, packs 18 grams of fiber into a 2/3-cup serving.
Experts also questioned whether “fibermaxxing” built around added fiber in packaged foods will produce the same outcomes as eating naturally fiber-rich diets. Kersten, director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, said long-term studies about fiber benefits have looked at whole foods rather than packaged products with added fiber. He warned that the way fiber is consumed as an additive and part of a low-fiber diet may be different from naturally fiber-rich eating patterns, and said it is not known if added-fiber diets confer the same benefit.
The AP story also pointed to advice from the Mayo Clinic for practical ways to increase fiber, including choosing a breakfast cereal with 5 grams or more of fiber per serving and topping it with sliced banana or berries, as well as selecting breads with at least 2 grams of fiber per serving and using other grains such as brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and quinoa. It said the recommendations also include swapping whole-grain flour for white flour when baking, adding wheat bran to muffins and cookies, and aiming for five or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily, with attention to what canned fruit and vegetables contain.
Kersten said there is no defined upper limit for fiber intake, but increasing fiber can cause painful gas and bloating, especially if it’s done quickly. Petitpain said people should increase fiber gradually and drink plenty of water, arguing that gut bacteria need time to adjust. “You’re feeding gut bacteria a food, and you can’t break it down,” Petitpain said, adding that relying on those bacteria becomes difficult if people give them “second, third and fourth servings” because there “there’s not enough of them to handle the extra load.”
The article said people with certain sensitivities should also be cautious, particularly those sensitive to gluten or allergic to ingredients that may be used in added-fiber products. Petitpain said people should read labels carefully because foods with added fiber may include ingredients such as soy, shellfish or psyllium husk.
More broadly, Kersten said consumers shouldn’t focus only on one nutrient. “We don’t eat nutrients, we eat foods,” he said, adding that the goal should be a healthy diet and choosing foods considered important as part of one.