book war: Fiber Fueled vs Fiber Menace

Fiber Fueled is written by a plant-based gastroenterologist, Fiber Menace, by a forensic nutritionist. Both hold diametrically opposed views on fiber recommendations. While Fiber Fueled praises including ever greater quantities of fiber in the diet, Fiber Menace pull no punches as to why fiver is overrated and potentially detrimental to overall health. Despite their differences, they both agree on one thing… “it is easier for our body to digest and process meat.” This is a quote from Fiber Fueled, which doesn’t give much credence to his plant-based argument, but that is a discussion for another day.

The thing everyone wants to know… how will I shit without fiber in my diet? Well, if we understand that nutrition is based on our ability to breakdown and assimilate nutrients, the simple fact that human don’t posses the digestive enzymes necessary to breakdown fiber should counter the idea that we need large amounts of fiber for regularity. 

Gut motility is influenced by the content and composition of a meal, not its volume. Dense meals with high-fat content increase motility — carbs and protein have no effect. How much FIBROUS BULK you eat makes no difference because fat initiates the release of bile from the gallbladder, which then stimulates peristalsis. Pounding more fiber in hopes that it will make you shit is akin to there being traffic on the highway and thinking sending more cars down the onramp will help get things going. 

That said, it is necessary for us to feed the microbes in our gut. And that is a good thing. More fiber = more diversity, but does more diversity mean better health? Fiber Fueled says yes, while Fiber Menace makes no mention (and as a fan of ancestral health, all signs point to more being better, however, I am not convinced). To get greater diversity, we need more fiber but an excess of fiber can cause greater acidity in your colon due to fermentation, which has the ability to kill off microbes. 

Both books make compelling arguments fo their side, but it would be foolish to blinding accept what is being said in either, just because you want it to be true. A bit of self-experimentation is necessary to figure out where on the spectrum of fiber intake you need to be. A very simply place to start to see if you dietary plan is working or not is by utilizing the Bristol Stool Scale. If you aren’t shitting a “4” consistently, try adding or taking away some fiber for 2 weeks, depending on where you fall on the scale. Adjust accordingly.

Personally, Fiber Fueled was a waste of time because it just parrots everything you’ve already heard. “More plants, less meat.” This is dogma, and it WILL NOT work for everyone. Over the years I have ramped down my vegetable intake and have seen a rise in the quality of my digestion. When I was juicing everyday and eating grains, my body was falling apart. Fiber Fueled gets a 1 out of 5. On the other hand, Fiber Menace swings the complete opposite direction and is very refreshing to read something counterintuitive the common advice, and somehow have it vindicate my approach to a lowered fiber intake. Fiber Menace gets a 4 out of 5, and is a must read for anyone who thinks fiber is the only way to solve their digestive issues.