Why you should focus on eating more fiber.🌱 Not more protein.🍗

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Hi Friends,🙋‍♂️

Over the past few weeks, while I was doing my grocery shopping and walking around Budapest, I noticed something interesting.

Nearly every product proudly advertises itself as "HIGH PROTEIN."

Protein yogurts. Protein snacks. Protein pasta. Protein everything.

But here's the surprising truth from a scientific standpoint:

Most people already get enough protein, but almost no one gets enough fiber.🌱

So let's break this down!

Oh, wait, before we dive in: Do you know exactly how much protein you actually need?🤔

The majority of people need only about 0.8–1.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day(!).

Which means that if I weigh 70 kg, I need between 56 and 82 g of protein per day. (If somebody is an athlete and does heavy loads of training, that's another story)

And for most people, this amount is relatively easy to reach.

To make sure I illustrate it somehow, if you eat these on an average day you already consumed almost sufficient amount of protein for a day: 1 bowl of oatmeal, (~10 g) 1 handful of nuts = (~5 g) 1 cup of lentil soup (~17 g) 1 cup of pasta (~13 g) 2 slices of whole-grain bread = (~10 g). Altogether, that is roughly ~55g, and most people eat well beyond that. 

Without even trying, the average person effortlessly hits their daily protein target.

Yet, many still worry that they "need more."

But here's the part no one talks about: Too much protein isn't beneficial. Actually, it can do more harm than good. Huge amounts of animal protein may: raise IGF-1 levels (linked to higher cancer risk), increase the workload on your kidneys, promote cellular overgrowth, elevate inflammation markers, etc. (We will dig deeper into these mechanisms in another newsletter later)

For now, here's the key thing:❗️

Protein deficiency is extremely rare. Fiber deficiency is almost universal.

And here comes the magical micronutrient: FIBER

Fiber is the most underrated, most beneficial, and most lacking nutrient in the modern diet.

Around 90% of us do not eat enough fiber.

(Yes, you heard that right, nine out of ten!)

But what actually is fiber?🔎

Fiber is the part of plants that we can't digest, so it goes forward to our colon.

And that's precisely why it's magical.

Fiber travels down to your colon, and once it arrives, your microbiome throws a feast.🦠

Your bacteria thrive on fiber, and in return, they create wonderful compounds for us, for example:

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyrate, reduce inflammation, protect our colon, improve metabolic health, strengthen our immune system, and support healthy blood sugar levels. They even have anti-tumor effects. (We are going to talk about this later as well.)

Your microbes produce these only when we feed them with enough fiber-rich foods.🥗

How different foods affect our microbiome, especially fiber and processed foods. This figure has been modified by me. See original in Nature 472, 57-63 (2011).

This diagram also explains why eating processed and ultra-processed foods is extremely bad for you, because you could have chosen to put something more nourishing into your body.

Are there any downsides to eating fiber?

Not really, unless you count the need to be near a bathroom for the first few days. (I am not kidding😅.)

The key here is to increase it gradually and drink enough water, since fiber absorbs water.💧

So what should you eat more of?😋

Your goldmine is the bottom-left corner of the diet spectrum:

Whole, unprocessed, plant-based foods

Best sources of fiber include: legumes (beans🫘, lentils, chickpeas), whole grains (oats🥣, barley, brown rice, quinoa), leafy greens (kale🥬, spinach, lettuce), vegetables of all kinds, fruits (berries🫐, apples🍎, pears), nuts🌰, and seeds.

When in doubt, remember this simple rule:

Eat more plants. Eat more plant-based whole foods. Eat more fiber.

Your microbiome and your future self will thank you.🤭

A small tip for the end:
A very easy and quick way to start eating more fiber is to eat oatmeal for breakfast, or swap your white bread, white pasta for a whole wheat one! Or you can try to eat chia pudding as well, it's amazing!

Let me add one more thing. Your body and your microbiome need to adapt. In the first couple of weeks, maybe you feel bloated, think 1 hour has passed, and are so hungry again. 🍽️ Let me tell you: this is normal. You need at least a couple of months for your microbiome to change, but after a couple of weeks, you will feel more energy, be more satiated, and feel better overall.

That's all for this week's newsletter. Thank you for joining!🙏

I hope you enjoyed.😄 Don't forget to share this with one of your friends!🌱

I'd love to hear your feedback and also what the following newsletter should be about!✍️

Feel free to email me or message me!🧑‍💻

See you in the next one,

Cheers,
Bazil