Fiber Maxxing
January 20, 2026
Let's look at trends! If you spend a lot of time on social media, then perhaps you've come across a concept known as min-maxxing. There is sleep maxxing, protein maxxing, coffee maxxing, or even water maxxing. Right now, the popular one is fiber maxxing. Clients will often ask, "fiber is what makes us poop, right?" Yes, and what's less commonly known is how it can also cause constipation. Sounds backwards, right? The diet got popular due to fiber's benefits of decreasing blood sugar levels, improved gut health, and reducing risk of getting colon cancer. We'll get to the poop issue later. The pros and cons are supported by research in countless areas, nerd out with the links below! Some more recent dietary guidelines set forth by the government have tried to make it clearer that Americans do not meet the recommended intake of fiber. In fact, a whopping 90% of women and 97% of men do not meet the recommended daily intake of 28-35g/ 14g per 1000 calories of dietary fiber per day. If they did, maybe our nationwide cardiovascular disease and cancer incidences would be lower. If studies support, we will live longer and avoid these diseases by eating more fiber, then how hard could it be! Let's get into it.
So what is fiber?
Fiber is a carb that your body can't digest and passes through your gut to form poop. So, if your body can't even use it then why is it even there?
Fiber is responsible for softening your poop and helping it pass through your body faster. There are two types of fiber:
Insoluble fiber
Increases the bulk of your poop and pushes it out of your body faster. Great when you need that extra push in the bathroom!
Soluble fiber
Absorbs water from the body and then forms a gel that can soften your poop making it easier to push out with much less pain and it also slows food from leaving your stomach. Since food takes longer to leave, you are more likely to feel full because there's still food in your stomach and this also slows down the rate of absorption. Your blood glucose levels are lower as a result.
Both types of fiber can be found in fruits and vegetables however fruits and vegetables will have more soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is more common in whole grains and nuts.
Fiber is a Prebiotic
Prebiotics are ingredients that your body cannot fully digest, the good bacterium in your body uses them for fermentation to make byproducts. Fiber is one of the many prebiotics that bacteria use for fermentation.
Now let's use an example so that we care about this science junk…
There is a fiber called inulin, it's used to make an acid called propionic acid. It prevents your body from creating fat from excess carbs and protein. We like that! Prebiotics work together with probiotics (foods with good bacteria) that make that process of preventing fat possible! Without the bacteria propionic acid can't even be made and you could be missing out on maximizing this crucial process.
To summarize, we need prebiotics (fiber is an example) and probiotics for certain processes to work. Some examples of your probiotics are fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, natto, etc.
Is it possible to have too much fiber?
Yes! Rapidly increasing your fiber intake can cause you to have constipation, bloating, belching, vomiting, and farting. All things to be avoided if you are having a presentation at work or in any social circumstances where you rather not be having those issues in those situations!
Unfortunately, just like how bacteria can make good byproducts, it also makes byproducts such as gas as part of the process. If you rapidly increase your fiber intake, that is one of the symptoms that you may have. Another more severe one, if you were to overdose on fiber, is constipation. But wait, isn't fiber supposed to help with this?
Insoluble fibers can make already existing constipation worse by increasing the size of the poop making it much harder to pass.
Here's a few recommendations to slowly increase fiber intake to avoid these pitfalls.
- Substitute for whole wheat or whole grains products.
- Drink plenty of water at least 8oz a day.
- Add fruits to salads
- Slowly increase fiber intake by 2g-5g per day
- Add vegetables to stews.
- Fiber is not recommended for those who have severe issues with constipation and troubles eliminating waste.
Final Thoughts
With so many people not meeting the recommended daily intake, eating fiber is recommended for most people however trying to maximize or optimize fiber intake may not be the best idea for your digestive health especially given social circumstances such as suddenly feeling constipated during a presentation at work. It is recommended to slowly go at your own pace to include foods with fiber in them and drink plenty of water! If you have severe digestive issues, it is recommended to reach out to your health care provider first.
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