Well, it’s official. The internet found fiber and now “we” are having to take it to the MAXX.
Yes, everything is MAXXING right now. Gag. Seriously, folks, not everything has to be on trend, hashtagged or given two Xes to get a point across, does it? The health and wellness world has been sleepMAXXING, proteinMAXXING and now fiberMAXXING us, and yet many of us are still tired, sick of protein being added to everything and adult diaper sales are through the roof.
While I could go on and on and on about all the MAXXING, I am going to focus on the fiber for today.
I say “fiber,” you say “________.”
I bet you said prunes.
Fiber has notoriously been associated with prunes and grandmothers, but not in 2026. Oh no sirree. Getting your fiber on is about as on trend as you can be right now. People are adding fiber to everything, tracking their daily grams and proudly displaying their high-fiber meals on social media, and I’m not entirely convinced everyone knows why they’re doing it. If it weren’t true, I wouldn’t be laughing so hard, but my gosh, the obsession over fiber has become a literal s*** show.
So before we start MAXXING anything, let’s at least understand what the heck we’re trying to max.
Fiber is technically a carbohydrate, but unlike most carbohydrates, our bodies can’t fully digest it. Instead of being broken down and absorbed like other nutrients, fiber makes its way through our digestive system doing some pretty important work along the way. And there are two main types you should know about: soluble and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in your digestive tract. You’ll find it in foods like oats, beans, lentils, apples, blueberries, chia seeds and nuts. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and moves through the digestive tract more intact. Think whole grains, wheat bran, vegetables and plenty of fruits, nuts and seeds. Most plant foods actually contain a combination of both, which is another great reason to eat a variety of real foods instead of obsessing over one magical fiber source.
Now for the part that makes fiber worthy of some attention.
Soluble fiber slows digestion and can slow how quickly carbohydrates are absorbed into the bloodstream, helping reduce those rapid blood sugar spikes after eating. Better blood sugar control also means less demand for large insulin responses over and over again. Soluble fiber can also interfere with the absorption of cholesterol and bind with bile acids in the digestive tract. Your body then has to pull cholesterol from the blood to make more bile acids, which is one of the reasons higher fiber intake is associated with healthier cholesterol levels.
Then there’s your gut. Certain fibers serve as food for the beneficial bacteria living in your intestinal tract. That giant community of microorganisms we lovingly call the gut microbiome has become another wellness-world obsession, but this one really does matter. Those microbes interact with digestion, immune function and metabolism, and what you feed them matters.
Insoluble fiber is the one your grandmother was probably more concerned about. It adds bulk and helps move things through the digestive system, promoting regular bowel movements. So yes, Grandma and her prunes were onto something.
Now, how much do we actually need?
A good general target for adults lands somewhere around 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day, although individual needs vary based on age, sex and overall calorie intake. For perspective, the FDA uses 28 grams per day as the daily value on nutrition labels. And despite our newfound enthusiasm for fiberMAXXING, many Americans are still nowhere close to that target.
This is also where I need everyone to resist the urge to turn fiber into a competitive sport.
If you currently eat 10 or 15 grams of fiber a day, tomorrow is not the day to dump chia seeds, flaxseed, psyllium husk, lentils, bran cereal and three cups of broccoli into your body and shoot for 50 grams. Your digestive system will notice. Your spouse will notice. Depending on the size of your house, your neighbors may notice.
Increase fiber gradually, drink enough water and let your digestive system adjust. Add some berries to breakfast. Eat an apple. Throw beans into your salad. Choose whole grains. Snack on nuts. Eat more vegetables. None of this requires a supplement, a subscription, an influencer discount code or the word MAXX.
And maybe that’s the funniest part about this whole trend.
The internet didn’t discover some revolutionary new wellness hack. It discovered fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
So yes, eat more fiber. Your blood sugar will appreciate it. Your cholesterol may appreciate it. Your gut microbes will appreciate it. And your grandmother, sitting somewhere with a bag of prunes wondering what took us so damn long, will absolutely appreciate it.
Just please, for the love of your gastrointestinal tract, you do not need to MAXX it.
