Health Update: Fibremaxxing: Trend for eating more fibre has surprising benefits – What Experts Say

Last year, many of us went protein-mad in the hopes of boosting our strength and fitness. But over the past few months, fibre – something very few of us get enough of every day – has become the hot topic on social media.

Posts with the hashtags #fibremaxxing and #fibermaxxing have been viewed more than 150m times on TikTok, and videos of chia seeds being sprinkled on porridge and nutritionists lauding the benefits of red kidney beans and chickpeas are all over people’s feeds.

The NHS recommends adults eat 30g of fibre a day, but 96% of us in the UK are not hitting that benchmark – and we aren’t even close. Average daily consumption is around 16.4g, external, with women eating less than men.

Many nutritionists say the buzz over fibre isn’t a bad thing.

According to dietitian Kate Hilton, fibre has long been viewed as an “unsexy nutrient” due to its associations with digestion and flatulence, in contrast with protein’s longstanding link to fitness and exercise.

“When I first saw all the posts on fibre, I was pretty thrilled,” says nutritionist Kristen Stavridis. “It feels like the messages around gut health are finally getting through to people.”

As well as benefitting your gut, eating more fibrous food – like brown rice and jacket potatoes – has other benefits too.

“People who have a higher fibre intake, external will live longer, have less cardiovascular disease, fewer cancers and are at a lower risk of conditions like diabetes,” says Kevin Whelan, professor of Dietetics at King’s College London. He adds that some studies suggest it can help our mental health, too.