And while you may experience less-than-desirable effects of increased fiber if you up your daily intake drastically (it’s better to ease into fiber additions), it’s worth noting that most Americans are far more likely to miss the mark on their recommended dosage. In fact, a 2017 scientific review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine3 found that the average American only eats about 16 grams of fiber a day—less than the recommended amount for a one to three-year-old.
In general, Cording says it’s very rare that she recommends people have more than 40 grams of fiber a day. Still, some people may be able to tolerate 50 grams of fiber without any issues, Gans says—but beyond that is really pushing it. For example, “100 grams per day is definitely a lot of fiber and I would guess that, for the majority of people, it would be too much for their bodies to digest on a daily basis,” Gans explains.
If you’re concerned you’re not getting enough fiber in your diet, Cording suggests “making it a point to incorporate one high-fiber food into each meal.” That includes wonderfully colorful plants like leafy greens (spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens), cruciferous vegetables (kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower), carrots, raspberries, apples, pears, whole grains, beans, lentils, or avocados.
“If you find it hard to meet your needs through food (maybe those are foods that you don’t really like that much, or they don’t fit into your day-to-day routine), fiber supplements can be useful,” Cording says. “Supplements can also be useful if you find your needs have increased for whatever reason—like you’re dealing with irregularity that’s backing you up.”
If you decide to leverage a high-quality fiber supplement to meet your daily fiber goals, consider mindbodygreen’s organic fiber potency+. It offers six grams of soluble, insoluble, and prebiotic fiber in each scoop from advanced fiber sources (organic guar bean, organic kiwifruit, and a trio of organic mushrooms) to promote satiety4, regularity5holistic gut health, and more.*