Best Fiber Supplement for Keto

There are plenty of supplements available that benefit those who are on a low-carb or keto diet. Supplements are meant to be used to complement your diet and to help with any nutritional deficiencies you may have as a result of changing your diet.

For those on a keto diet, a fiber supplement can be a beneficial nutritional supplement. We will look at why you might need a fiber supplement, how it helps you when on a keto diet, what to look for in a good fiber supplement and tell you the best fiber supplements for ketogenic diets.

Do You Need a Fiber Supplement when on the Keto Diet?

Do you really need a keto fiber supplement when on the keto diet? Fiber is essential for a healthy gut and bowel. A high fiber diet is well known for reducing the risk of a number of diseases including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

For most people, the main source of fiber in their diet is grains. A keto diet eliminates all grains from the diet, so many may wonder where their fiber will come from. While some vegetables have fiber, for some it may not be enough to meet their daily needs.

Women need 25 grams of fiber daily and men need 38 grams a day.

Some keto-friendly foods that contain fiber are:

• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Carrots
• Avocados
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Artichokes
• Brussel sprouts
• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds

If you think you are not getting enough, you can get a keto-friendly fiber supplement to boost your intake.

How Do Fiber Supplements Help You While on the Keto Diet?

There are two types of fiber – soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and is fermented by bacteria in our colon.

Soluble fiber helps to pass unnecessary things out of your body, like cholesterol and bile. When digested, soluble fiber forms a sticky substance and has a gel-like consistency. It helps you feel full after a meal by slowing down digestion. This, in turn, helps you to maintain your desired healthy body weight. Soluble fiber also sticks to cholesterol particles in your body while lowering the risk of heart disease for those people who have high cholesterol.

Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. It actually absorbs water to help add bulk to your waste product and help reduce constipation. Insoluble fiber absorbs some of the water content in your body. It helps to bulk up your waste product to ensure you do not get constipated after a meal. Insoluble fiber is also a food source for our stomach bacteria!

Along with fiber also comes starch. The main use of starch in a ketogenic diet fiber supplement is for digestion resistance and gut health. Beneficial bacteria use starch as a substrate after it passes through the digestive tract into the colon.

Some examples of starchy foods are bread, cereals, pasta, corn, potatoes, rice, and beans. While all these foods are a good source of starch, they are also high in carbs!

The most important thing about doing the ketogenic diet is to extremely limit your carb intake. So, you can imagine how hard is it to maintain your ketogenic diet when you have only a limited selection of starchy foods to consume.

On the plus side, resistant starch actually comes with a lot of benefits. Resistant starch helps with the stimulation of colonic blood flow, the stimulation of fluid and electrolyte uptake, and the production of short chain fatty acids. Resistant starch is broken down by stomach bacteria to form short-chain fatty acids which consist mainly of acetate, propionate, and butyrate.

Butyrate plays a large role in the body when in ketosis and is an energy source for epithelial cells (otherwise known as gut lining cells). It helps to reduce inflammation problems or eliminate them entirely. It also plays a part in intestinal permeability, which is the control of materials and substances passing from inside the gastrointestinal tract through the cells lining the gut wall into the rest of the body. Gut walls function as a barrier to keep potentially harmful substances, such as antigens, from leaving the intestine and migrating to the body more widely.

So, if you cannot get enough fiber and starch from your foods, the next best thing is to use a fiber supplement.

What to Look for in a Keto Diet Fiber Supplement?

Like with most supplements, there are a few things to consider when choosing the best one.

1. We like supplements that are natural, without any fillers or unnecessary ingredients.
2. For the keto diet, we also need to consider the number of carbs in each serving so that it fits in with our daily macros and we keep under our carb limit.
3. For a fiber supplement, we want something that is as close to the original source of the fiber as possible.
4. How you want to take the supplement is also a factor. Do you want quick and easy? Or do you want the versatility of adding it to drinks and baking?

The Best Fiber Supplement for Keto

One of the best fiber supplements for the ketogenic diet is Now Psyllium Husk Capsules. This is made from the seed husks of the Plantago ovate plant. It is not soluble in water but rather swallowed like regular pills. For many, this is a convenient way to get your fiber, particularly if you don’t drink smoothies or protein drinks.

This is a natural soluble fiber supplement that is vegan and gluten-free and has only 1.3g carbs per serving.

The benefits of taking this fiber supplement regularly include healthy bowel movements, relief from constipation problems, helps you feel full and improves your gastrointestinal health.

Another great option is to use a powdered form. We like the Healthworks Psyllium Husk Powder. It is raw and organic and can be added to smoothies, juices, nut milk, or even just water. The great thing about psyllium husk powder is that it can be used in baking for some great low-carb bread, rolls, and tortillas.

Ground flaxseed is also a great way to boost your fiber intake. With the Viva Naturals Organic Ground Flax Seed you get a pure organic flaxseed product with 3g of fiber per serve and only 1g net carbs. Just like with the psyllium powder you can add this to drinks and baking.

There are a couple of additional things to look at when taking a fiber supplement on the keto diet.

The first is to make sure you drink plenty of water, two or three liters a day is good.

You should also increase your electrolyte intake. The keto diet can result in a loss of electrolytes like potassium, sodium, and magnesium that are necessary for maintaining proper digestion. A good electrolyte supplement will help with this.

You should also increase your activity. Exercise is great for digestion and helps to get everything moving properly. If you are not used to exercising you can start with short walks to get you going.

Avoid consuming too much fiber as this will have a negative impact on your keto diet and your digestion.

If you want a quick and easy solution, we think the best fiber supplement for keto dieters is the Now Psyllium Husk Capsules. Take the recommended dose a couple of times a day and it will improve your digestive health and help your keto dieting efforts. Consider taking some other keto supplements to aid your diet as well.