08/09/2026
𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿—𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆'𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘁?
Our collective failure to eat enough fiber (a global public health concern that influences the length and quality of our lives) isn't due to a lack of awareness. Telling someone to "prioritize whole, healthy, and nutritious foods" (as the USDA does) isn't actionable when our foods systems rely on selling us highly refined grains.
Most whole grain recipes, while well-intentioned, miss the mark too. It's no wonder people think whole grains don't taste good or are complicated to prepare when recipes are unreliable, underseasoned, or require expensive ingredients and half a day to make. That's fine for the weekend but not every day.
However, daily fiber intake is precisely what you need if you're going to get the recommended amount. You may think turning to foods labeled whole grain will help, but you're actually wandering into a maze of confusion. The USDA recommends 2-4 servings of whole grains per day. What I can tell you is that:
• Serving sizes vary and are set by manufacturers
• Whole grains differ in their amount (and types) of fiber
• Whole grain foods only need to be 50% whole grain
𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?
A more precise recommendation would help. According to the Nutrition Care Manual (NCM) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), adequate fiber intake is approximately 25 g per day for women and 35-38 g per day for men. Added health benefits have been observed at intakes above those amounts.
Armed with that info, you can look at the nutrition panel on everything (even staples like flour and rice have one) and tally how many grams of fiber you're getting, and from where. It's worth noting that a diet of diverse whole food fiber is most effective at keeping your gut healthy. You may want to aim for:
• 6-8 grams/day of soluble fiber—prebiotics that feed your gut bugs
• Roughly 30 kinds of plants per week (including non-grains like fruits and vegetables).
I'm not a medical professional and none of this is medical advice (always consult your own physician). But all of this is why I'm in the process of launching a line of whole grain mixes for things like pizza, cookies, and pancakes. I want to make it easy (and tasty) to get a variety of whole grains throughout your day.
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁.𝗰𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗜'𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀.