Women's Health July 28, 2026 0 Comments

The Surprising Truth About Fiber: Why Most Women Are Falling Short and How One Simple Change Could Transform Your Health Fast

You ever notice how protein gets all the spotlight, like it’s the only nutrient that deserves a standing ovation? Protein shakes, powders, and cottage cheese popping up everywhere—heck, it’s like the macro has its own PR team working overtime. But here’s the kicker: while we’re all busy chasing that protein goal, there’s a powerhouse nutrient quietly getting ignored—fiber. Yeah, fiber might not be the flashiest player on the field, and sure, it’s famous for keeping your bathroom trips on point, but trust me, it’s doing a heck of a lot more behind the scenes. With over 90 percent of women missing their daily fiber marks, it’s high time we shed some light on why fiber deserves a major upgrade in your diet game. So, are you ready to find out why this humble macro could be your gut’s best friend and a secret weapon for your overall health? Let’s dive in. LEARN MORE

5 min read

PROTEIN’S PR TEAM has been working overtime lately, and it’s paying off. It feels like everyone has a protein goal, cottage cheese is being added to random recipes, and shelves are lined with brand-new products engineered to have more of the macro. But where protein is the hero and carbs are unfairly demonized, there’s another nutrient that people are sleeping on altogether: fiber.

“In America, unless you’re food-compromised, you are probably getting enough protein,” says Vanessa Rissetto, RD, the co-founder and CEO of Culina Health. “You need to get more fiber.”

Fiber, admittedly, isn’t the sexiest macro—it’s best known for helping you go to the bathroom—but it is super important. As of 2025, over 90 percent of women aren’t meeting their daily fiber goals, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The National Academy of Medicine recommends that women under 50 years old should consume 25 grams of fiber per day.

It’s important to close that gap by incorporating more high-fiber foods into your diet because it has a bunch of benefits. Yes, fiber can help you go to the bathroom, but it also lowers your risk of cancer and supports gut health.

Meet the experts: Vanessa Rissetto, RD, is the co-founder and CEO of Culina Health. Dana White, RD, is a sports nutritionist and trainer.

Fiber Health Benefits

1. It helps keep you regular.

This is probably one thing you do know about fiber: it helps you go to the bathroom. There are two types of fiber—soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water, forming a gel-like consistency and softening your stool, says Rissetto. Think: chia seeds, oats, broccoli, and berries. If you’re having trouble getting things moving, try increasing your soluble fiber intake. Psyllium, a common soluble fiber supplement, was found to increase bowel movements by three times per week compared to laxatives, which increased them by 2.5 times, according to a 2022 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Meanwhile, insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stool. Examples of insoluble fiber are whole wheat flour, beans, nuts, and potatoes. If you’re having trouble going to the bathroom regularly, a balance of soluble and insoluble fiber should help.

2. It might lower your cholesterol.

You know how Cheerios claim to help with cholesterol? That’s because they’re a source of soluble fiber, says Dana White, RD, a sports nutritionist and trainer. Fiber is non-digestible, meaning it travels throughout your GI tract without getting broken down—and that’s where a lot of its benefits come from. Soluble fiber sticks around and ferments in the gut, which alters the microbiome and helps lower your cholesterol. It also helps absorb cholesterol and promote its exit from the body, says Rissetto.

In a randomized controlled trial, researchers found that increasing fiber intake significantly reduced LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), according to a 2023 study in Advances in Nutrition.

3. It keeps you full.

Like protein, fiber can help keep you full. There are a few reasons for this. First, it slows nutrient absorption, according to a 2022 review in Nature. Second, it affects gastric emptying, blood sugar spikes, and the secretion of the often-discussed hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), per a 2022 review in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. (GLP-1 is the hormone that weight loss drugs like Ozempic mimic that helps signal to your body that you’re full.)

For this reason, it’s sometimes used to help with weight management, says Rissetto. And while it can help keep you full, fibermaxxing—the trend in which people try to overload on fiber to help with weight loss—is not necessarily the way to go, she says. Contrary to what the internet says, fiber is not the “poor man’s Ozempic.”

4. It supports gut health.

Eating diverse sources of fiber helps fuel a healthier gut microbiome. Your microbiome renews every 60 days, and many factors—from stress to your environment to your diet—can affect it. Fiber is one of those factors. “The more fiber you have, the healthier your GI tract will be,” says Rissetto.

Fiber is a prebiotic, meaning it serves as food so that the probiotics (the good bacteria in your gut) can do their thing. “When you’re eating enough fiber, you are healthier, your immunity is higher when it’s coupled with vitamin D, and so your body can do better work,” Rissetto says. But fiber isn’t the end-all-be-all of a healthy gut. You’ll want to make sure you eat probiotic foods like yogurt and kimchi too.

5. It reduces your cancer risk.

Another good reason to take your fiber intake seriously is that it’s associated with a lower risk of many types of cancer, including esophageal, gastric, colon, rectal, breast, endometrial, ovarian, and pancreatic, according to a 2023 review in Nutrients.

As for why, exactly, there’s still more research to be done. But, at its simplest, since fiber helps increase the bulk of your stool and decrease transit time, it can dilute the amount of carcinogens in your colon and reduce your exposure to them, the review explains.

It also might indicate other healthy habits that reduce cancer risk. “It’s about the behavior,” says Rissetto. “People who are eating adequate amounts of fiber are eating vegetables and fruits; they’re getting the benefits of the vitamins, the minerals, the antioxidants, and the diversification of the gut microbiome.”

Are You Eating Fiber Correctly?

If you’re one of the many people who don’t eat enough fiber right now, don’t go from zero to 30 grams right off the bat. You’re going to want to gradually increase your fiber intake, mainly to prevent gastrointestinal side effects.

Then, it’s about identifying the fiber-full foods you already eat and seeing if you can either increase the number of servings you have throughout the week or up the portion size when you do have them, says White. (Of course, you can always add new foods to your diet too.)

Pro tip: If you’re increasing your fiber intake, you also need to increase your water intake, says Rissetto. Shoot for 90 ounces of water per day, she says.

You’ll also want to make sure you have multiple sources of fiber. “You really need to have a plentiful amount of fiber-rich foods spread out throughout the entire day,” says White. “It’s very rare that you’re going to have one meal with 25 grams of fiber, so it’s really more about a consistent intake.”

One time you probably don’t want to eat fiber, though? Right before a workout. Since it’s non-digestible, it might not sit well in your stomach before physical activity.

Overall, if you’re part of the majority of people who don’t get enough fiber, consider this your sign to eat more—but don’t stress. “What I don’t want to see as a nutrition professional is what we’ve been seeing with protein, which is that people are overdoing it,” says White. “The message is that most people don’t get enough fiber and we should probably get more.”