Bold claim, right?

But this is the conclusion I’ve come to for myself after years of suffering. If you’ve tried everything and are already eating a whole-foods, plant-based-high-fiber-high-carb-low-fat diet and you’re still having digestive issues like constipation…

You may want to cut back on the plants and up your fat intake.

I’ve had chronic constipation my whole life with short periods of improvement.

I have been very conscious of eating only occasional limited amounts of processed foods and I cooked my own meals from scratch. I eat whole foods. I have been vegan for years at a time. 

I very rarely found relief that lasted longer than a month or two.

Laxatives started becoming a normal everyday thing.

I was eating nothing but fiber all day long by eating plant-based. I didn’t eat any processed foods. I was drinking 65 – 75 oz of water every day. I was exercising. I did yoga. I took magnesium. I cut out gluten. I took probiotics.

I tried it all.

And I’ve written a handful of articles about the things I’ve tried to help others with similar issues.

I can’t describe the frustration of doing everything “right” and following all the advice and still finding no real solution.

Nothing made a lasting difference.

Until I started reducing my fiber intake.

After having so much improvement with Dr. Myers Candida protocol I thought… why not keep going?

Do We Need Fiber?

Maybe. Maybe not.

I know we all hear how essential fiber is for healthy digestion, that it feeds the gut microbiome, and eases constipation.

It’s recommended by the American Heart Association that adults get 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. Apparently, Americans only get 15 grams of fiber or less a day and this one fact is blamed for everything from constipation to colon cancer and heart disease.

But is low fiber really the piece of the puzzle that is causing our societal health issues?

Or is it something else?

Could it be that sugar is the culprit? What about all those carbs that turn into sugar in our bodies after we eat them?

And what about all the chemicals that plants contain to defend themselves from being eaten? What kinds of effects can those have on us? Is it possible that these are what’s tearing up our guts and causing all kinds of health issues?

If you’re eating the Standard American Diet with a lot of processed foods, then upping your intake of fruits, vegetables, and beans may do your case of constipation some good.

But if you’re like me and you were already eating a very clean diet filled with nothing but whole foods and a whole lot of fiber, then increasing your fiber may have the opposite effect.

Fiber helps to “bulk up” your stool. I’m not sure why this sounds like a good idea to those who are already feeling like they need to de-bulk their colon…

Our Bodies Aren’t Designed To Handle This Much Fiber

Fiber is only found in plant foods.

We are not actually able to digest fiber at all. 

It’s our gut microbiome that feasts on it.

Our “gut” bacteria do not live in our stomachs as they do in the stomach of a cow, for example.

We have an acidic stomach meant to digest meat and animal products.

Apparently, many people are doing great without any fiber in their diets at all. There are people who have battled IBS, constipation, Crohn’s disease, and other digestive issues, that have now completely turned around since cutting out fiber completely.

Is going completely carnivore the way forward?

It’s probably not for everyone, me included.

But I will not rule trying it out if I get curious enough!

I’ve had some great results by limiting the fiber – aka plants – in my diet.

Fiber: Not As Essential As We Thought

Wait. What the hell am I reading?

I know.

What I’ve been learning lately has been seriously blowing my mind.

I’m having a hard time getting my brain around this too. But everything we’ve been taught about nutrition is based on a pretty shaky foundation and I knew that already.

Which makes this easier to accept.

Animal products are so much easier to digest.

Humans are omnivores. We can survive on a diet of just plants for a period of time. But without animal products, not only can we not thrive, we actually begin to deteriorate.

Our bodies need saturated fat and cholesterol for every cell!

Where is it going to get these essential building blocks if we are not ingesting them? From our very own tissues and cells.

This is why I was “eating perfectly” for 20 years and still had awful bumpy, cratered, rough, dry, flaky, red skin.

Against The Grain

This breakdown of the body from a vegan diet comes on much faster in some people than in others. And certain people will be more susceptible to certain health problems than others. But eventually, the stories end up sounding the same.

If you check out youtube and all the “ex-vegan” stories you will be astounded.

This is all coming to you from a former vegan who was actually ready to give it one last try recently but, fortunately, came to my senses.

And I know that if you are vegan, you think I’m just following the mainstream narrative.

But it’s actually the opposite.

I dug pretty deep to find this information. I had been in denial about what I was finding and this information is being repressed by the refined sugar and grain industries. Big Agriculture, Big Pharma, and huge corporations selling us their products are pushing the vegan agenda.

I can’t believe that phrase is even coming out of my mouth/keyboard right now because I was sooooo vegan.

I was right there with you. Trying to save the planet and the animals and I was looking at all the “scientific studies” trying to prove to others that veganism was the right way for humans to eat.

But it really isn’t.

I hope you don’t learn this the hard way. That’s why I’m writing about my experience with this.

There is a whole ethical argument where I barely scratched the surface of the topic in my ex-vegan article. I plan to write more about this in the future. And I have included a book at the bottom of this article that goes into greater depth on this topic.

Resources

If you would like to learn the history of ancestral eating and how industrial agriculture and the processed-food industry changed the way humans eat I have some resources. These industries have created all of our modern chronic health problems including the diabetes and heart disease epidemics. They are also destroying the Earth. I will be writing more about this for sure. In the meantime, here are a few books I recommend if you would like to know more:

1. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price

“An epic study demonstrating the importance of whole food nutrition, and the degeneration and destruction that comes from a diet of processed foods.
For nearly 10 years, Weston Price and his wife traveled around the world in search of the secret to health. Instead of looking at people afflicted with disease symptoms, this highly-respected dentist and dental researcher chose to focus on healthy individuals and challenged himself to understand how they achieved such amazing health.”

2. Nourishing Fats: Why We Need Animal Fats For Health And Happiness by Sally Fallon Morell

“…Nourishing Fats supports and expands upon the growing scientific consensus that a diet rich in good fats is the key to optimum health, and the basis of a sustainable, long-term diet. Sally has been giving the clarion call for these facts for many years and now the American public is finally is catching up.”

Sally Fallon Morell “shows readers why animal fats are vital for fighting infertility, depression, and chronic disease, and offers easy solutions for adding these essential fats back into readers’ diets.”

3. Vegetarianism Explained by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride

“This book is an essential read for those who are considering a plant-based lifestyle and those who are already following a vegetarian or a vegan diet. The subject of fasting is covered and will give the reader a good understanding of how to use this method for healing and health. This book will also answer questions on where our food comes from and how it is produced, how to eat in harmony with your body’s needs, and how we should introduce small children to the world of food.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is known for her ability to explain complex scientific concepts in a language easily understood by all. Vegetarianism Explained will be enjoyed by all ages of adults – from young teenagers to mature professionals. For those who are scientifically minded the book is fully referenced.”

4. The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith 

“Part memoir, nutritional primer, and political manifesto, this controversial examination exposes the destructive history of agriculture—causing the devastation of prairies and forests, driving countless species extinct, altering the climate, and destroying the topsoil—and asserts that, in order to save the planet, food must come from within living communities. In order for this to happen, the argument champions eating locally and sustainably and encourages those with the resources to grow their own food. Further examining the question of what to eat from the perspective of both human and environmental health, the account goes beyond health choices and discusses potential moral issues from eating—or not eating—animals. Through the deeply personal narrative of someone who practiced veganism for 20 years, this unique exploration also discusses alternatives to industrial farming, reveals the risks of a vegan diet, and explains why animals belong on ecologically sound farms.”

I will be writing reviews of these books in future posts and I will be updating you on my health progress as I continue to experiment and explore this new world of eating in a more ancestral way!

Do you get a lot of fiber in your diet? Have you ever considered cutting back? Have you tried veganism, vegetarianism, keto, carnivore, paleo, or ancestral eating? Let me know in the comments, I’m very curious how these diets have helped or hurt you.

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