Can fiber bind you up?

Question

I thought salads and so forth where suppose to help the bowels loosen up. I find when I eat a salad, the next 24 to 48 hrs I seem to run into constipation. Is this an allergy reaction? Or my body rejecting fiber?

Answer 1

It sure can, that's why you have to drink lots of water with your fiber. Fiber pulls water from your body into the intestine to keep things going, if there is not enough water in your body, then the fiber basically turns into cement (not literally) and binds you up big time.

Answer 2

I guess it depends what kind of things you're eating. Perhaps you need to start by eating a salad of just leafy greens, then gradually introduce other salad foods - Try a few days of just lettuce, and really monitor what else you're eating (keep a diary - it may not be the salads.) Tomato has a high level of salicylates which can cause allergies, so introduce that one first after a few days of just leafy greens.

Then start introducing other veg till you get a reaction. If you do, go and see your doc!

Or of course, you can always try Fybogel or similar.

Answer 3

Fiber is a dietary material containing substance such as cellulose, lignin and pectin which are resistance to the action of the digestive enzymes, its normal for a person to go through that bloaty feeling after eating anything that's high in fiber or raisin bran for instance, if you have quite a bit that should send you of to the bathroom but you should not worry about it to much.

Answer 4

fiber's suposed to fill ya up and make ya go. maybe somethin else made you cnstipated