The Ying and Yang of Fiber

Ann Childers, MD

Guest Author

Name: Ann Childers, MD
Twitter: @AnnChildersMD
Website: http://ann.childers.com/default.html/
Blog: http://annchilders.blogspot.com/
Email: nutripsych@gmail.com

Americans are obsessed with their digestive systems (little wonder, since the Standard American Diet—SAD–gives them so much grief!). Now, entire industries arise fueled by our quests for gastrointestinal health. Many of us believe ourselves vulnerable to colonic autointoxication, from bacterial waste accumulating in a lazy colon. Some are convinced they can offload as much as 20 pounds of accumulated stool with one or more high colonics, while others believe parasites live to ravage the unclean digestive tract. As a result we engage in everything from laxatives to suppositories to high colonics in our efforts to correct real and imagined gastrointestinal shortfalls, without lasting results. Of all the approaches we take to colon health, the best known and most generally accepted is dietary fiber.

Most Americans are unaware that vegetable fiber is not necessary for human health. The carnivorous Arctic-living Inuit never see a plant in winter, yet do not perish from constipation. In contrast to cooked and pasteurized animal foods, raw meats and dairy feed probiotic bacteria that regulate elimination. These raw animal products possess colloidal properties that draw water into digesting foods, aiding their transit through the digestive system. The Masai diet consists primarily of raw blood, some raw meat, and cultured milk. Raw blood, meat and dairy possess the colloidal properties previously mentioned, and raw cultured milk is teeming with probiotic bacteria.

Soluble Fiber

Like anything in life, fiber has its yin and yang. Many types of fiber contribute to short bowel transit times, resulting in the regularity of at least one healthy bowel movement per day. For example, soluble fibers known as fructooligosaccharides feed beneficial bacteria, which ensure healthy intestines and bolster our immune systems. Colloidal fruit and vegetable pectins and fiber withstand high heats; when cooked they draw water from the body into food to aid digestion and shorten transit from stomach to rectum.

Insoluble Fiber

Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, can contribute to constipation and malnutrition over time. Studies show that, while such fiber is likely to help a small subgroup of constipated people, it is more likely to aggravate constipation in those most afflicted. Fiber does bind water, but this property is lost when it is split, or absorbed. All too often commercial fiber sold to correct constipation is neither split nor absorbed; in fact, a common side effect of fiber promoted to prevent constipation is worsening constipation. Bran, for example, is an insoluble fiber widely promoted for colon health. Poorly digested by bacteria, bran retains its ability to absorb water and may (or may not!) shorten transit times through the digestive system. However, along with other fibers common to seeds, nuts, beans and legumes, bran fiber bears a significant shortcoming: phytates. Phytates bind minerals such as iron, magnesium and zinc, preventing them from being absorbed by the body, resulting in deficiencies.

My advice: eat a healthy diet low in processed foods. If you suffer from constipation or other bowel distress do not assume fiber deficiency is the villain. Medical conditions, such as thyroid disease, may underlie your difficulties. Undergo a medical examination to find the root of the problem, then take steps to correct it. Learn all you can about your condition. Your body will thank you.

About the Author

Dr. Ann Childers joined the military in 1989 and served her internship and residency in General Psychiatry in the Wright Patterson Air Force Base/Wright State University combined military and civilian program in Dayton, Ohio. She was later trained at Tripler Army Medical Center, where she became the first Air Force physician to complete an Army child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship. She was a Major in year 2000 when she completed her military duties and returned to the United States. Dr. Childers is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. She is an Associate Editor for News for Women In Psychiatry and has written two child psychiatry textbook chapters (in publication). Dr. Childers currently serves as a staff psychiatrist at Trillium Family Services. She is also CEO of Life Balance Northwest LLC and evaluates and treats children, adolescents and adults at Clackamas County Community Mental Health in Oregon City, Oregon.