Fiber and IBD
The American Heart Association recommends 25 to 38 grams of dietary fiber from food sources each day to help achieve a healthful diet pattern1. However, the most recently publicly available National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data suggests Americans consume an average of 16 grams of fiber daily2.
Not long ago, a low fiber diet was often recommended for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It was once thought that consuming foods high in fiber could worsen IBD symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain; for this reason patients were told to avoid high fiber foods. However, recent investigation into the role of fiber in IBD has provided evidence that dietary fiber is beneficial for patients with IBD and should be consumed in adequate amounts.
