Who Wouldn’t Benefit From Eating More Fiber?
By Kevin Kolodziejski
If you saw the Tour de France this July and paid special attention to the bikes, you’re aware that 100 percent of them were made of carbon fiber. If you know anything at all about the trickle-down effect in consumerism, you know that’s as good a stat as any to illustrate the ubiquity of carbon fiber bikes at every level of road riding.
If you saw the Journal of the American College of Cardiology this September and paid special attention to its 2026 Scientific Statement, you’re aware that 94 percent of American adults don’t eat enough dietary fiber. If you know anything at all about the potential adverse effects from such a deficiency, you know that’s as good a stat as any to illustrate the need for you to think long and hard about your diet.
As well as a pretty good reason for me to suddenly sound like a seven-year-old and not just dare, but double dare you. But this dare doesn’t involve balancing a book on your head or a spoon on your nose, licking your elbow while standing on one leg, or even ringing the mean neighbor’s doorbell. It’s a dietary double dare and sure to help your health.
The Dietary Double Dare
To consume 1 pound of steamed Brussels sprouts in a single sitting as part or all of a single dinner and afterward experience no bloating or intestinal discomfort. So why issue such an odd challenge?
It’s not because some Belgian biker temporarily living in Texas, homesick for the motherland and a health fanatic at that suggested it. It’s for two reasons really, the first being when the average American reads about it, they see it as ridiculous, something suitable for only the Joey Chestnuts of the world once they tire of speed-eating hot dogs. Yet if the veggies’s changed to 1 pound of French fries and served up at a fast food restaurant . . . then, my friend, for too many Americans it’s game on.
But I digress. The point of the challenge is to point out and repair something else that’s truly an example of American dietary ridiculousness.
The Amount of Fiber the Average Adult Consumes
Throughout the course of a day, it’s estimated to be 15 to 17 grams, which is way off the 25 to 38 grams per day both the National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend. It’s even further off the 60 grams per day fitness and nutrition expert Dr. Layne Norton aims for or the 90 grams per day preventive cardiologist Dr. Danielle Belardo regularly gets.
Now I didn’t select Brussels sprouts as the contest vegetable because you probably have less than fond memories of eating them as a child or because many people associate eating them with getting gas, and foul-smelling gas at that. I did so because 1 pound of steamed sprouts — possibly with a few added dashes of garlic powder to bring out the sprouts’ subtly sweet savoriness — contains just about the same amount of fiber that the average American consumes over the course of an entire day.
The challenge’s added proviso — to eat the sprouts and not experience any bloating or intestinal discomfort — is the second and far more important reason for the double dare. For to be able to do that is a reliable indicator that you’re no longer (or maybe were never) part of the 94 percent American adults who fall short of the RDA for fiber.
As Belardo explains in a Chuck Carroll “Exam Room” podcast from August 2025, fiber doesn’t cause bloating and intestinal discomfort per se; both result from increasing the ingestion of it too dramatically. To remedy that, Belardo has her patients make small periodic bumps to reach the 40 grams per day she suggests to most patients. When Carroll mentions that’s a bit above the RDA he asks how much is too much.
How Much Is Too Much Fiber?
Belardo says there’s really no upper limit to how much fiber you consume daily if you continually increase the amount gradually.
While Belardo doesn’t mention this, proof of that fact is alive and well in Tanzania. The Hadza, a tribe of hunter-gatherers, live there and have ingested between 100 to 150 grams of fiber a day for tens of thousands of years. And in the last three decades or so, as I’ve mentioned more than once in my weekly health and fitness newspaper column, my diet’s been a bit of proof too. For during that time, I’ve averaged about the same amount of fiber per day as the Hazdas with no adverse effects — unless you call clockwork bowel movements and the need to eat and eat and eat to maintain a healthy body weight adverse.
If the Double Dare Is Not Right for You
If the Brussels sprouts double dare is not right for you, consider other ways to bump up your daily amount of fiber.
One option with broader appeal is to replace typical pasta with one that’s legume- or bean-based, which is the way Belardo gets a good deal of hers. Expect to get between 6 and 12 grams of fiber per serving from these. Or you could select a pasta designed to be high in fiber, such as Fiber Gourmet’s Light Elbows. A suggested serving, two dry ounces, contains 24 grams of fiber, yet only 110 calories.
Other possibilities are to add beans and lentils to the soups, salads, and sauces you already eat and to eat more fruits that have fibrous peels, like apples, kiwis, peaches, pears, and maybe even mangoes, without peeling them.
To Round Things Out
To round things out, here are four reasons why you should make sure you’re getting at least the daily recommended amount of fiber, compliments of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.
- Fiber can’t be broken down and used by the body for energy. That means eating it doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar the way other carbohydrates can.
- Fiber prevents your body from absorbing some dietary fat and cholesterol. That lowers your triglyceride and cholesterol levels, which generally reduces your risk of heart disease.
- Fiber acts like a scrub brush and cleans your digestive tract. That reduces your risk of colon cancer and improves gut health.
- Since fiber can’t be broken down and digested, it moves slowly through the stomach, making you feel fuller for longer. This can help you lose or maintain your weight.
Kevin Kolodziejski began his writing career in earnest in 1989. Since then he’s written a weekly health and fitness column and his articles have appeared in magazines such as “MuscleMag,” “Ironman,” “Vegetarian Times,” and “Bicycle Guide.” He has Bachelor and Masters degrees in English from DeSales and Kutztown Universities.
A competitive cyclist for more than 30 years, Kevin won two Pennsylvania State Time Trial championships in his 30’s, the aptly named Pain Mountain Time Trial 4 out of 5 times in his 40s, two more state TT’s in his 50’s, and the season-long Pennsylvania 40+ BAR championship at 43.
