3 ms·

Can fiber impact absorption? Yes. Can fiber be absorbed (and digested)? No. Which was my point one comment ago. Are your macros important to health and good bo

Can fiber impact absorption? Yes. Can fiber be absorbed (and digested)? No. Which was my point one comment ago. Are your macros important to health and good body composition? Yes. I usually skip that part because someone inevitably jumps in and explains how sugar is metabolized differently than fat, and then try to use that to "prove" that sugar will make you gain weight no matter what your caloric intake.

tracker1 11y ago
I never meant to suggest that.. I'm only stating that there's a lot more to it than calories alone. Though, in general if you are having enough protein in your diet (either via combined, or combinations of foods), and your macros are reasonable, most people will maintain or adjust their weight accordingly when you raise/reduce the overall calories. Unfortunately calorie restriction that goes too far may have other negative affects... and most people don't track their diets closely enough to really tell how many calories they take in on any given day. I've gotten really good at estimating, and as long as I stay below 2500-3000/day and get at least 100g of protein, I tend to do okay as far as staying in the range I am in. On the down side, when I try to make too much of a shift it winds up badly in one way or another (experiencing ketoacidosis is something I never want to experience again). Eating once a day a couple days a week (roughly 23.5 hrs between meals) I feel pretty good with. Eating too close to bed and I get an upset stomach. It's funny, but my own body has been a pretty big experiment in terms of trying different things to see what works, and what doesn't. I tend to either have every negative affect to medications, or my body stops responding to them after a while. Byetta lasted about 6 months before my body stopped responding to it, Victoza about 2. Invokana is the first diabetes medication that doesn't make me incredibly ill, and actually keeps my blood sugars stable (though I've been a little more sensitive to light, and more headaches). I truly wish I could go back a couple decades knowing what I do now. I also wish I could smack whoever started the "low fat" fad in the 70-80s, or the people behind the food pyramid. It's not that hard, really... * Get enough protein * don't eat too much * avoid too many refined foods/ingredients * Have some raw fruits and veggies * Avoid too many sweet fruits and candy Unfortunately we are genetically motivated by sweet, salty, savory foods and a lot of them. We also don't have to work as hard to get food. So, we fall into our own nature, or fight against it. Commercial interests are to maximize sales, scale, impact and that means feeding the problem. Taken farther is introducing more refinement in sweetness and saltiness of foods. Which feeds the problem more. I don't know what the solution is, I do no that limiting personal freedom and choice isn't a good answer. Improving education and reducing religious-like or commercial interests as such would be a good start though.
credit_guy 11y ago
Per wikipedia [1], fiber does actually provide calories: "Fiber contributes less energy than sugars and starches because it cannot be fully absorbed by the body. [...] Dietitians have not reached a consensus on how much energy is actually absorbed, but some approximate 8 kJ/g (1.9 kcal/g). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber#Fiber_and_calories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber#Fiber_and_calori...
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  No kidding, that's news to me. More money quotes: Insoluble fiber does not change inside the body, so the body cannot absorb it and it provides no energy. Soluble fiber is partially fermented, with the degree of fermentability varying with the type of fiber, and contributes some energy In the US, soluble fiber must be counted as 4 kcal/g (17 kJ/g), but insoluble fiber may be (and usually is) treated as not providing energy and not mentioned on the label. So it's technically accurate that the human body cannot digest fiber, but bacteria in the gut can break soluble fiber down allowing us to extract some small amount of energy.

tracker1 11y ago

I never meant to suggest that.. I'm only stating that there's a lot more to it than calories alone. Though, in general if you are having enough protein in your diet (either via combined, or combinations of foods), and your macros are reasonable, most people will maintain or adjust their weight accordingly when you raise/reduce the overall calories. Unfortunately calorie restriction that goes too far may have other negative affects... and most people don't track their diets closely enough to really tell how many calories they take in on any given day. I've gotten really good at estimating, and as long as I stay below 2500-3000/day and get at least 100g of protein, I tend to do okay as far as staying in the range I am in. On the down side, when I try to make too much of a shift it winds up badly in one way or another (experiencing ketoacidosis is something I never want to experience again). Eating once a day a couple days a week (roughly 23.5 hrs between meals) I feel pretty good with. Eating too close to bed and I get an upset stomach. It's funny, but my own body has been a pretty big experiment in terms of trying different things to see what works, and what doesn't. I tend to either have every negative affect to medications, or my body stops responding to them after a while. Byetta lasted about 6 months before my body stopped responding to it, Victoza about 2. Invokana is the first diabetes medication that doesn't make me incredibly ill, and actually keeps my blood sugars stable (though I've been a little more sensitive to light, and more headaches). I truly wish I could go back a couple decades knowing what I do now. I also wish I could smack whoever started the "low fat" fad in the 70-80s, or the people behind the food pyramid. It's not that hard, really... * Get enough protein * don't eat too much * avoid too many refined foods/ingredients * Have some raw fruits and veggies * Avoid too many sweet fruits and candy Unfortunately we are genetically motivated by sweet, salty, savory foods and a lot of them. We also don't have to work as hard to get food. So, we fall into our own nature, or fight against it. Commercial interests are to maximize sales, scale, impact and that means feeding the problem. Taken farther is introducing more refinement in sweetness and saltiness of foods. Which feeds the problem more. I don't know what the solution is, I do no that limiting personal freedom and choice isn't a good answer. Improving education and reducing religious-like or commercial interests as such would be a good start though.

credit_guy 11y ago

Per wikipedia [1], fiber does actually provide calories: "Fiber contributes less energy than sugars and starches because it cannot be fully absorbed by the body. [...] Dietitians have not reached a consensus on how much energy is actually absorbed, but some approximate 8 kJ/g (1.9 kcal/g). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber#Fiber_and_calories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber#Fiber_and_calori...

sliverstorm 11y ago
No kidding, that's news to me. More money quotes: Insoluble fiber does not change inside the body, so the body cannot absorb it and it provides no energy. Soluble fiber is partially fermented, with the degree of fermentability varying with the type of fiber, and contributes some energy In the US, soluble fiber must be counted as 4 kcal/g (17 kJ/g), but insoluble fiber may be (and usually is) treated as not providing energy and not mentioned on the label. So it's technically accurate that the human body cannot digest fiber, but bacteria in the gut can break soluble fiber down allowing us to extract some small amount of energy.