Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate found in the cell walls of plants and contains no calories or vitamins. There are two types of fiber; soluble and insoluble with both essential for good health. Soluble fiber travels through the body until it reaches the digestive tract where it then dissolves in water to form a sticky, gel-like substance. This gel holds food in your digestive tract longer, which can help control blood sugar and ensure you get all the nutrients from your food. Insoluble fiber travels to the digestive tract where it then absorbs water and expands. This expanded mass then helps push waste products through your digestive tract, which promotes regular bowel movements and is also believed to reduce the risk of intestinal infections. Despite these many benefits, consuming too much fiber can have negative side effects. In this article I am going to discuss four of the downsides of eating too much fiber.

1) CONSTIPATION:- One of the benefits of insoluble fiber is that it promotes regular bowel movements, which in turn reduces constipation. However, both types of fiber require water to function effectively. Therefore, consuming too much fiber can cause the water in your digestive tract to dry up and your stools to be dry, hard, and difficult to pass. This can lead to constipation and difficulty excreting waste materials.

2) LOSS OF GOOD CHOLESTEROL:- One of the functions of soluble fiber is that it helps eliminate cholesterol from the blood. However, cholesterol isn’t all bad, and research has suggested that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol has a number of benefits, including heart and brain protection. Soluble fiber removes this ‘good’ cholesterol along with the less beneficial low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Therefore, consuming too much soluble fiber can lead to low levels of HDL cholesterol in the blood.

3) POOR ABSORPTION OF MINERALS: Another benefit of soluble fiber is that it retains food in the digestive tract longer so that all the nutrients can be absorbed. However, eating too much fiber can actually have the opposite effect and prevent your body from absorbing a number of minerals, including calcium, iron and zinc.

4) WIND: – As I mentioned before, both types of fiber interact with water. This process causes gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen to be produced. Therefore, eating too much fiber can cause elevated levels of these gases in the digestive tract. This can lead to a bloated stomach and gas on a regular basis.

Although fiber has a number of health benefits, you should also be aware of these potential issues. Fortunately, most of the above side effects are only associated with excessive consumption. Most people don’t get enough fiber in their diets, so increasing your intake is unlikely to cause problems unless you already have a high-fiber diet.