Move over protein: eating more fibre (or fibremaxxing, as it is known on TikTok) may be the hottest new dietary trend of 2026. Extra fibre appears in everything from frozen pizza dough to unhealthy soft drinks. Are those extra grams worth chasing?
Fibre is a carbohydrate found in the cell walls of plants. It comes in many varieties, most of which are not easily digested. This has benefits: by remaining whole in the stomach and gut, fibre stops digestive enzymes
Move over protein: eating more fibre (or fibremaxxing, as it is known on TikTok) may be the hottest new dietary trend of 2026. Extra fibre appears in everything from frozen pizza dough to unhealthy soft drinks. Are those extra grams worth chasing?
Fibre is a carbohydrate found in the cell walls of plants. It comes in many varieties, most of which are not easily digested. This has benefits: by remaining whole in the stomach and gut, fibre stops digestive enzymes from reaching foodstuffs that are rapidly broken down, such as sugar and fat, preventing too much from being absorbed by the body. What’s more, some fibre is water-soluble and forms a thick gel in the gut. This gel traps some harmful compounds—such as the artery-clogging cholesterol found in bile—ensuring more ends up in the toilet than your blood. Even insoluble fibre has its uses, adding bulk to bowel movements and reducing constipation.
Further benefits occur in the colon, where various types of beneficial gut bacteria turn fibre into, among other things, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Some SCFAs provide energy to the cells that form the lining of the colon, the barrier between pathogens in the gut and the bloodstream. Growing research shows that SCFAs also help the body regulate its metabolism and appetite, and even keep the immune system from overreacting.
The net effect is wide-ranging health benefits. Studies that ask people about their diets consistently show that the more fibre they eat, up to 25-30g a day, the lower the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Whether benefits continue to accrue at higher doses is less clear.
One risk of being laser-focused on fibre intake, though, is that people may get those 30g from an imbalanced diet. Two slices of bread, for example, can have as much fibre as a serving of broccoli or spinach (about 2.5g), simply because wheat is one of the most fibre-dense crops. Half a loaf of wholemeal bread can get you close to the recommended daily amount of fibre. The bread, however, lacks many of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are present in the greens, and also contains less of the soluble kinds of fibre.
A more sensible way to increase fibre intake is eating a mix of plant-based foods. A research review by the World Health Organisation, published in 2023, found that the health benefits from eating more fruits and vegetables increase up to 800g a day, at which point they level off. (Official recommendations stick to the more realistic goal of five portions a day, or roughly 400g.) Those who consume a varied diet will easily hit 30g of fibre per day—as well as a good mix of vitamins, minerals and protein.
The research on fibre’s long-term health benefits is based on the natural kind found in whole foods. There is no comparable data for the extracted or synthetic types of fibre—such as inulin (extracted from chicory root) or cellulose (extracted from wood pulp or cotton)—commonly added to processed foods, which makes them a riskier proposition.
If you’ve ingested below 10g per day most of your life, start slowly, says Giana DiMaria, a dietitian at New York Medical College. Her advice is to increase intake by 3-5g every few days, starting with fibre that has already been partially broken down (such as that found in smoothies or cooked vegetables) which is easier to digest. Even for regular fibre-eaters, though, drinking plenty of water is a must: it helps reduce bloating and constipation.
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