While the average American eats about 15 grams of fiber each day, the Institute of Medicine recommends that adult men eat 38 grams of fiber each day while women should aim for 25 grams. Unfortunately, most people aren’t getting nearly enough of the stuff. These are just a handful of the many ways fiber is good for you.
Lustig says insoluble fiber also slows digestion and helps support the health of the microbiome. Robert Lustig, a metabolism researcher and professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. “Insoluble fiber acts like little scrubbies on the inside of your colon to remove old and damaged cells, thus reducing risk for colon cancer,” says Dr. Insoluble fibers, on the other hand, do not dissolve in water and so tend to pass through the digestive system largely intact.
McKeown says soluble, viscous fiber is associated with lower blood cholesterol and better control of blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber dissolves in water, and the healthiest varieties of it tend to become viscous or “gel-like” during digestion, says Nicola McKeown, a fiber researcher and associate professor at Tufts University’s School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Fiber can be broken down into two subtypes: soluble and insoluble.
