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Can Fiber Actually Cause Constipation?

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#1 ukw

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Posted 09 March 2019 - 12:56 AM


As you probably know fiber is praised as something that *relieves* constipation. So my question is counterintuitive: can fiber actually *cause* constipation?

About a year ago I started a very healthy high-fiber diet. I had daily servings of beans (usually white Navy Beans), broccoli, and kale every day. For a while everything was OK. Then after about a year, I suddenly started having rock-hard stools that were immovable, with no change in diet. Bowel movements were so traumatic that I saw some doctors and their advice to me was (1) drink more water -- fiber can actually make things worse with dehydration, and (2) in the winter when people turn their heating on, dehydration can occur. In both cases, their instruction was to drink more fluids.

 

But after I followed their advice of more water I didn't see any improvement, stools were just as hard as before -- it's just that I was urinating more.

 

(Note: there was no constipation at any time; my interval was always regular, it's just that the stool itself was rock-hard, and somehow too large to pass.)

 

I only realized the cause when I stopped eating beans and broccoli. That's when the hardness went away. After I again briefly reintroduced beans into my diet, the problem reoccurred.

 

I suffered serious consequences as a result of this well-intentioned high-fiber diet. After several months of this trauma, while I still couldn't figure out the cause, I developed anorectal bleeding and an anal fissure.

 

So is it possible that the action of fiber to "bulk up" stools and extract moisture from them can actually be destructive and traumatic? I've never seen anything bad written about fiber, in fact people recommend it against bowel issues.


Edited by ukw, 09 March 2019 - 01:02 AM.


#2 osris

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Posted 23 December 2019 - 04:43 PM

I have had similar problems. Just today I passed a very hard stool, that took ages to come out, after a week of eating fiber foods. I've been eating a lot of potatoes, though, so maybe that has had an effect. 

 

 



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#3 Oakman

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Posted 23 December 2019 - 05:34 PM

If you do not take any type of probiotic, that might be something to try with a low dose of beans and broccoli. I think of probiotics in a similar vein to earthworms in the garden, they keep the soil healthy by (pre)digesting those indigestible bits your own digestive juices can't. Perhaps those bits just end of getting compacted and undigested, causing constipation? Also I would vary your fiber a lot more than those two items, there are a multitude of fruits and veggies to try that hold a lot of fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Both types are useful, especially the soluble type for better bowel movements.



#4 osris

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Posted 24 December 2019 - 05:54 PM

Thanks. I never knew that probiotics would help hard stools etc.



#5 rodentman

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Posted 18 January 2020 - 12:34 AM

That happens with me at times, but I have Crohn's disease, in which fiber can make things miserable during a flareup.



#6 Guest_Funiture2_*

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Posted 28 June 2020 - 06:36 PM

That happens with me at times, but I have Crohn's disease, in which fiber can make things miserable during a flareup.

 

What type of fiber makes your Chron's disease worse? Is it all across the board? Or do you react differently to different fibers such as soluble vs insoluble vs resistance starch vs oligosaccharides prebiotics



#7 rodentman

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Posted 28 June 2020 - 11:16 PM

What type of fiber makes your Chron's disease worse? Is it all across the board? Or do you react differently to different fibers such as soluble vs insoluble vs resistance starch vs oligosaccharides prebiotics

 

Mostly plant/fruit fiber.  it can make things miserable, especially when I'm having any type of flare-up.

 

But I've tried the soluble powder in the past, and it didn't make it better or worse... at least from what I could tell.



#8 zorba990

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Posted 29 June 2020 - 06:12 PM

You may wish to try Tributyrin or sodium butyrate as a supplement:
Butyric acid in functional constipation
https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC4027827/
Sodium butyrate works but it is unpleasant to use and may not reach the large intestine.

as well as L-Threonone (e.g. https://www.amazon.c.../dp/B00GI2SZGA)
l-Threonine improves intestinal mucin synthesis and immune function of intrauterine growth–retarded weanling piglets
https://www.scienced...89990071830916X
Conclusion
Dietary l-threonine supplementation attenuates inflammatory responses, facilitates Muc2 synthesis, and promotes goblet cell differentiation in the ileum of IUGR piglets.

#9 Guest_Funiture2_*

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Posted 23 August 2020 - 12:13 AM

Mostly plant/fruit fiber.  it can make things miserable, especially when I'm having any type of flare-up.

 

But I've tried the soluble powder in the past, and it didn't make it better or worse... at least from what I could tell.

 

What do you mean plant/fruit fiber? All fiber comes from plants.

 

There are many different types of fibers. There are soluble and insoluble fibers. There are fermentable and non-fermentable fibers. And there are viscous and non-viscous fibers.  And I believe I've read that non-viscous, insoluble fibers can be irritating for people with gut issues whereas other fibers do not cause those same problems. I was just wondering if you've experimented with different sources of fibers (whether that be supplements or foods) and if certain types make you feel worse.







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