What Is Fibermaxxing? Here’s What Experts Think of the Growing Trend

No, it’s not the new protein.

November 18, 2025

a collage of fiberrich foods against a taupe background

For years, protein has been the hyperfixation of the wellness industry writ large—but there are signs that the tide may be turning. In recent months, a new trend known as fibermaxxing has thrust the titular nutrient into the spotlight, a refreshing change of pace for the experts SELF spoke to. “It’s great that people are paying a little bit more attention to their fiber intake because it’s really important for our gut health,” Janice Dada, MPH, RDN, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in California, tells SELF.

But to reduce fiber to its gut health effects underestimates the power of the nutrient. Sure, it may be best known for helping you go to the bathroom, but it wears many other hats, aiding in controlling blood sugar, managing weight, lowering harmful cholesterol, supporting immunity, preventing inflammation, and boosting cognitive performance, to name a few. What’s more, eating plenty of fiber also helps lower your risk of serious health conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancer, including the colorectal variety, which is rising rapidly among young people. In short, there are many health reasons to prioritize fiber in your diet besides the pooping perks.

Given that SELF previously reported on the high-protein trend (and not in the most positive light), we decided it was only fair to turn the same critical eye on fibermaxxing. “I’m always cautious of these trends because they can be a bit extreme, [but] I do like the attention it's brought to fiber,” Federica Amati, PhD, MPH, MSc, a medical scientist who serves as nutrition lead at Imperial College London and chief nutrition scientist at ZOE, tells SELF. Read on to learn why experts prefer the fiber focus to the protein panic—albeit with some significant reservations—and what you should keep in mind if you’re thinking about trying it yourself.

So…what exactly is fibermaxxing?

If you’re at all familiar with the Gen Z slang term maxxing, an abbreviation of maximizing, you can probably figure this one out pretty easily: Fibermaxxing refers to the practice of consuming as much fiber as possible for the perceived health benefits. If you mosey on over to TikTok, you’ll find fibermaxxing enthusiasts recommending high-fiber foods (like chia seeds, black beans, and raspberries), posting photos of their high-fiber meals (roasted salads seem to be particularly popular), and even sharing high-fiber recipes (the disgustingly named poop bread immediately springs to mind). Even coffee has been roped in, as one video of a creator scooping prebiotic fiber powder into her morning cup shows.

Many fibermaxxers cite increased “regularity”—a euphemism for pooping more often—as the primary reason to hop on the fiber train. Improved digestion may be only one of the many pros of a healthy fiber intake, but it seems to drive fibermaxxing’s entire existence. Dr. Amati believes fibermaxxing is a direct consequence of a growing interest in all things gut-related, especially since a large proportion of adults suffer from digestive issues like constipation and IBS. “When you have these kinds of symptoms every day, it does interfere with your life, so addressing gut health has become something people want to do for themselves because they know they can influence it with their diet,” she says.

Some influencers also credit fibermaxxing with less obvious health effects, like better hormone balance, increased satisfaction after eating, higher energy levels, weight loss, and clearer skin. “Fiber has honestly changed my life,” one creator said in a January 27 video. If you’re reluctant to trust a random TikTok tell-all, that’s completely fair, but Dr. Amati has heard similar anecdotes from participants in randomized clinical trials. “When you see how a high-fiber diet…influences things like skin, hair, and appetite, then it's like, Okay, actually this is not just about pooping. It’s not just about being regular. It’s hugely important for looking and feeling really good,” she says.

What do experts think of the fiber-forward approach to nutrition?

Though many wellness trends are based on shaky science, fibermaxxing actually has some serious weight behind it. “I was really happy to hear that there was a TikTok trend on fiber. Like, Oh my God, finally!” Dr. Amati says. Compared to the high-protein trend, which encourages consumers to increase their protein intake despite the fact that the vast majority of Americans eat too much protein as it is, fibermaxxing addresses a legitimate nutritional concern. “Fiber deficiency is a real problem,” Dr. Amati says. In fact, she adds, it’s a bona fide “public health crisis…driving a lot of disease and a lot of ill health.” While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 recommends 22 to 34 grams of fiber per day for adults—the exact amount depends on age and sex, as well as pregnancy and lactation status for women—more than 90% of women and 97% of men don’t hit their designated target (and by a significant margin). Because “we know in general that people are not getting enough,” Dada says, a movement that puts fiber front and center could help raise awareness, fill the gap, and, in turn, make for a healthier population overall.

But as with any nutrient, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, and fiber is no exception, so both Dada and Dr. Amati are hesitant to endorse fibermaxxing fully. Social media has a tendency to take things to extremes, but an all-or nothing, no-holds-barred approach—a.k.a. the exact ideology espoused by the concept of “maxxing”—isn’t healthy in any aspect of life: drinking, dieting, working, working out, you name it. “It can definitely have some drawbacks,” Dada says. In the case of fibermaxxing specifically, there are a few core issues to be aware of.

What happens when you take fibermaxxing too far?

First of all, upping your fiber intake from zero to 100 overnight can come with digestive side effects—gas, bloating, stomach cramps, diarrhea, the whole nine yards—as your system adjusts to the sudden spike. While these symptoms should subside with time, they still won’t make for a pleasant experience in the short term, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind. On the other end of the spectrum, consuming too much fiber can actually cause constipation—that’s right, the exact condition someone eating more fiber might be trying to prevent or treat!—if you're not leveling up on water simultaneously. Fiber absorbs water, so in the absence of adequate H₂O (defined by Kaiser Permanente as at least 64 ounces per day), it can accelerate dehydration—a major constipation risk factor. Some TikTok creators aim for as much as 50 to 70 grams of fiber daily—way more than recommended.

Besides the digestive side effects, a high fiber load may cause other issues, according to Dada. Fiber can “displace and bind other micronutrients,” especially minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium, she says, impairing your body’s ability to absorb them, so an excessive amount of fiber (more than 40 grams per day) could increase the odds of a deficiency in susceptible folks. People who are pregnant, elderly, vegan or vegetarian, or following restrictive diets may be particularly prone, for example.

Finally, not all forms of fiber are created equal, so fibermaxxing won’t have nearly as positive an effect if you’re relying on the wrong sources. To that end, you should ideally choose whole foods high in fiber over fiber supplements, according to Dada. By “fiber supplements,” we’re not only referring to pills, gummies, or powders, but also foods and drinks that contain added fiber, like that Poppi or Olipop sitting in your fridge. There are tons of studies demonstrating that fiber protects against diseases of all stripes, “but that isn't the same for artificially added fibers,” Dr. Amati says. Rather than drinking another prebiotic soda or chomping on a fiber-loaded snack bar, you’d be much better off eating a bowl of lentil stew or chia seed pudding. (And if you need a step-by-step guide to making the latter, you can find one here).

And while fibermaxxing is a more beneficial internet trend than most, relying on social media for nutrition information is hardly the best strategy in general. “There are incredible people that talk about things and help dispel myths,” Dada says. “However, there's also the flip side of that”—randos who act authoritative and trustworthy, but in reality spread misinformation. Don’t take what you see online at face value, no matter how confident or well-spoken the source may seem.

The final word on fibermaxxing

In a perfect world, fibermaxxing wouldn’t be the primary impetus for people to eat more fiber. Not because its fundamental message is bad—as we’ve covered, that’s most certainly not the case—but because ideally, we would be consuming enough of it naturally that a trend to thrust it into the spotlight wouldn’t exist in the first place.

We’ll leave you with this: Take care not to forget about fiber entirely when the next big nutrition fad hits your algorithm, as it inevitably will. It’s a familiar pattern: Something “gets the spotlight and then the spotlight shifts to something else,” Dada says. Once fibermaxxing starts to die down, there’s a chance people will wonder if they actually needed to worry about their fiber intake at all—or if all the hype was pure internet hyperbole. “Ping-ponging from one trend or another, I think what it does is muddy the waters,” Dr. Amati says. Rapidly moving from one hot-button topic to the next bestows whiplash—a sense of Okay, I now have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing.

Just remember that while fibermaxxing may have turned fiber into a trend, fiber is far from just that. It should be a priority all year round—not solely when TikTok or Instagram sees fit to nudge it into your feed.