Fibre Target Sheet
The target is a RATE — 14 g per 1,000 calories. Everything else is that rate in disguise.
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The numbers
- THE RECOMMENDATION
- about 14 g fibre per 1,000 kcal
- YOUR TARGET
- your daily calories ÷ 1000 x 14
- At 2,000 kcal
- 28 g a day
- The '25 g for women' figure
- = the rate at about 1,786 kcal
- The '38 g for men' figure
- = the rate at about 2,714 kcal
- US average 2017-18
- 8.1 g per 1,000 kcal — 58% of target
- Falling short
- 90% of women, 97% of men
- ⚠ Increase GRADUALLY
- a few grams every few days, with fluid
- ⚠ IBS, IBD, diverticular disease
- different advice — ask a clinician
Where the fibre comes from
| Food | Portion | Fibre g | Running total | Swap idea | New total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This week
- Name
- Week beginning
- Daily calories
- TARGET FIBRE
- Current fibre
- GAP
- My rate per 1,000 kcal
- Two swaps I will make
- Water intake
- How it settled after a week
Closing the gap without regretting it
- Target worked out from CALORIES, not from a per-sex table
- Increase planned at a few grams every few days, not in one step
- Fluid increased alongside the fibre
- Swaps chosen from ordinary food before considering a supplement
- Variety of sources rather than one item repeated
- Bowel condition checked — several change this advice entirely
- Symptoms or bleeding taken to a clinician, not treated with fibre
- Reassessed after a week or two rather than judged on day three
25 and 38 are not about sex
They are 14 g per 1,000 calories applied to two assumed energy intakes — roughly 1,786 and 2,714 kcal. Sex is standing in for appetite. If you eat more than the assumption behind your figure your target is higher, and if you eat less it is lower, which is why working from your own calorie intake is more honest than the table.
Speed is what makes fibre unpleasant
Going from a low intake to target in one step reliably causes bloating and wind, and that experience is the main reason people decide fibre disagrees with them. The problem is almost always the speed rather than the fibre. A few grams every few days, with more water — because fibre holds water, and adding it without fluid can worsen constipation rather than relieve it.