Dietary Fibre

Recently, I sat down with an old friend from my college days who is currently working as a flight paramedic and looking at working towards a vocation as Physician’s Assistant. Matt has a vested interest, as we all do, in keeping himself healthy, and admirably wishes to extend that interest to a circle of care as a medical practitioner. Being the son of a paramedic that was for all intents and purposes, burnt out by the field, I whole-heartedly hope he’s able to make the transition in order to maintain that wholesome approach to his work. A large part of his approach is studying holistic health practices and how they can be adopted by western medicine and western culture as a whole.

A large portion of our chat revolved around western culture’s reliance on pharmaceuticals and the “treating the symptom” approach to healthcare, while downplaying preventative medicine and treating holistic remedies as hoaxes or less effective overall. We were very much in agreement that there has to be a middle-ground. There’s no denying the efficacy of western medicine in solving a large variety of illnesses and diseases. Vaccinations, improved communal hygiene, and of course pharmaceutical advancements have been overwhelmingly positive introductions to the overall health of our communities among other technological and medicinal improvements. However, we discussed the aversion of the average citizen to dietary improvements, how most people opt for supplements and assume that to be the cure-all they so desperately desire. The truth is, there is no cure-all, and proper health is something to be maintained, not fixed.

Cue Matt’s recent exploration into the depths of gut health and dietary fibre. He informed me that on average, an average human being in our society intakes only 10% of the recommended daily fibre they need to maintain a healthy system. According to medicalnewstoday.com, roughly 5% of the US population meet adequate (not optimal) dietary fibre intake. As far as easy-to-complete preventative measures go for improving your health, upping your dietary fibre just seems like a no-brainer.

The benefits of attaining an optimal intake of dietary fibre is overwhelming. You can expect to normalize your bowel movements, (Which in itself might seem insignificant but the peace of mind that comes from it is incredible) reduces the risk of diverticular disease, colorectal cancer, and reduces your cholesterol levels that may contribute to cardiovascular disease or degeneration. In those suffering from diabetes, it has been shown to aid in controlling blood sugar levels, reducing variation. It can also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes overall.

After our chat, it became apparent to me that I needed to increase my own fiber intake, stat. I assumed I had been doing alright already but with the diet I maintained, after a few rough and tumble calculations, I was only consuming about 50% of the adequate amount of dietary fibre. Roasted almonds became a grocery staple, I made a point of adding vegetables en masse to every meal no matter what it was, I even started eating a carrot every morning. In short, I became absolutely obsessed and no, I’m not sorry about it.

I’ve been noticing a marked improvement in my overall health, especially feeling energized in the mornings. I wake up at 6am every day besides Sundays or after nights out. This was behaviour I adopted before the change but after improving my diet, I’ve noticed getting up is a million times easier and I waste less time laying around in bed.

Most of the research I was able to dig up on dietary fiber is in agreement, and it’s all rather well-established information at this point. However, it does tie in very tightly with cutting-edge research being done on gut health in general. More specifically, how your gut health affects your mental health. A fairly recent discovery in 2010 by neuroscientist Diego Bohórquez of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina pinpointed a new neural pathway from cells lining your gut, directly to your brain via the vagus nerve. This is called the brain-gut axis. The information surrounding this new pathway is relatively young, and highly contested undergoing rigorous study. It’s a bit over my own head in terms of offering a breakdown in this article, but it does bear mentioning for one specific reason related to my own interests; early intervention of depression.

Please don’t misunderstand my interest, I’m not heralding dietary fibre as some mystical cure to depression but as someone that has struggled with depression from a young age, it’s exciting for me to see such a simple yet effective method of mitigating the development of depression. This information is garnered specifically from a scientific study published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. If you’re interested, it’s in Volume 170, 15 February 2021, Pages 336-342. Long story short, the microbial environment in your gut has a profound effect on your mental health, via the gut-brain axis I mentioned earlier. The study I read indicated there is a very real connection between inadequate dietary fibre intake and the development of depression.

With that information in mind, it makes perfect sense to me that we’ve seen an increase in mental illnesses on a global scale in recent years. Of course, it’s only one of many factors. The world stage is fraught with fear-mongering and anxiety-inducing global crises, all of which seem to have a profound effect on the mental well-being of every average layman. However, if I had been told 10 years ago that I could stymie the effects of depression by simply ensuring I was meeting adequate amounts of dietary fibre, I likely wouldn’t have encountered some of the most harrowing experiences of my past.

I genuinely hope Matt is successful in his pursuit and is able to spread this knowledge far and wide. I look forward to following his progress and the advancement of this area of science as a whole. The collective intelligence of the human race is astounding, and while we are capable of and have done horrible things, we are also capable of wondrous feats. People like Matt keep my hopes high, and scientific discoveries like the Gut-Brain axis keep my curious spirit alive.