Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Is this just conventional wisdom?

flag	asked Jul 14 at 14:29 HuntingBears 5,499●3●15●40

MiMintzer · Answer 1 · 2012-07-14 14:54:32Z UTC

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Fiber absorbs water and the increase in water in the stool causes it to be softer and easier to pass.

answered Jul 14 at 14:54

MiMintzer
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Rowan · Answer 2 · 2012-07-14 14:38:53Z UTC

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Half the dry weight of stools is dead bacteria/etc. The more dead bacteria your stools contain the softer they'll be. Most of the bacteria in your gut feed on soluble fibre (The "Good" kind that is). So when you eat more fibre your gut bacteria can multiply and more dead weight comes out the other end.

That's how I understand it anyway.

answered Jul 14 at 14:38

Rowan
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Wouldn't this imply that consuming soluble fiber kills bacteria? – BoneBrothFast Jul 14 at 16:44

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It means that the population of bacteria increases and therefore the number of dead bacteria increase proportionately. – Karen Jul 14 at 22:32

Chinaeskimo · Answer 3 · 2012-07-14 16:07:15Z UTC

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I eat a lot of fiber, and if I take pain medicine, it doesn't matter how much fiber I eat, I get hard dry painful stool and need to take a stool softener. So this makes me wonder how much fiber actually softens stools and why the stool softener contains no fiber?

answered Jul 14 at 16:07

Chinaeskimo
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You need to make sure that you are drinking plenty of fluids for the fiber to absorb. In your case, Chinaeskimo, if you are taking opiate pain meds then fiber may not be your best choice for constipation. You might want to try something like senakot, which is a stimulant laxitive and see if that helps. – MiMintzer Jul 14 at 16:14

What kind of fiber are you eating? You need both insoluble and soluble. Insoluble is the undigestible, stringy tough stuff, like lettuce and the skins of many veg. Soluble is the kind that absorbs water. Examples are starchy veg, bananas and white rice. – Renee Jul 14 at 17:04

@MiMintzer: senakot didn't work by itself, I had to take that plus colace, and you are 100 percent right about the water. @Renee I eat both, but more insoluble. – Chinaeskimo Jul 14 at 22:31

Why does fiber soften stool?

3 Answers