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What is a High Fiber Drink?

Tara Barnett
Tara Barnett

A high fiber drink is a beverage intended for use as a nutritional supplement and sometimes as a food item. While some of these drinks come premixed and ready to drink, others come as powders that need preparation. Dietary fiber is desired in a human diet for a variety of reasons, including relieving constipation and aiding weight loss. High fiber beverages are manufactured to meet this dietary need for fiber quickly without ingesting large amounts of foods containing fiber.

There are varying recommended daily dosages of fiber, most above 20 grams per day. People who eat mainly processed foods and not a balanced diet will often end up eating much less than this amount. A high fiber drink can supplement an unhealthy diet, but it is often thought to be less successful than eating fiber in foods. This could be due to a general dietary trend towards eating unhealthy food on the part of the consumer, or because the concentrated fiber found in a high fiber drink is less effective by its nature. Still, natural fibers in foods are thought to digest better than those taken as an independent supplement.

A high fiber drink may be prepared from a powder.
A high fiber drink may be prepared from a powder.

Dietary fiber is divided into two types: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber forms a gel when combined with water and is fermented by bacteria during digestion. Insoluble fiber passes through the digestive tract relatively unchanged and absorbs water. These fiber types aid digestion and change how nutrients are absorbed in the body. Both types of fiber should be present in a healthy diet, and both are available as supplements in high fiber beverages.

A green smoothie may feature kale or other green vegetables with a high fiber content.
A green smoothie may feature kale or other green vegetables with a high fiber content.

The dosage and type of fiber available in a high fiber drink vary depending on the brand. Many fiber drinks come as powders, and adding more powder to the liquid can change the amount of fiber consumed per drink. Fiber drinks can contain fiber from several sources, such as phyllium or wheat bran. How the consumer uses the product determines how much and what kind of fiber is generally contained in these types of drinks.

Fruit and green smoothies contain all the soluble and insoluble fiber that was originally in the whole fruit.
Fruit and green smoothies contain all the soluble and insoluble fiber that was originally in the whole fruit.

While many high fiber drink companies boast the products' ability to dissolve clearly and tastelessly in water, high fiber drink mixes are also available flavored. When the drink comes prepared, it is available in a variety of flavors and textures. As a powder, it can be used in many different drinks, such as fruit smoothies and juices. Many brands offer drink recipes along with their product, which can inform consumers of different ways to use the fiber drink mix.

Discussion Comments

TheGraham

Hi there, everybody. I wanted to comment on here and share this really cool thing I learned about this week -- an easy method for making high fiber drinks without any huge expense, and completely sugar-free!

Most people suggest either grains or prunes when you say you need more fiber. So what do you do i you're following a strict diet, like Somersizing's protein and fats side? I follow this diet, and it means zero sugar and zero refined or grain carbohydrates for most meals.

Anyway, I figured out that they make a fiber supplement version of Splenda, my favorite brand of the sucralose non-sugar sweetener. Splenda with fiber can be just added to any drink and suddenly it's a high fiber drink. I think that's awesome!

I just add a packet of fiber Splenda to my morning coffee and I'm set. If you want a way to get a high fiber drink without setting off any allergies or having to eat prunes, this is the way, people.

gimbell

@Hawthorne - SkittisH's advice is good for whole eaten foods. If you're really set on making a high fiber drink that'll work for you, consider the following yummy option: raspberries!

Yep, raspberries. Eat just one cup of raspberries and you'll be munching a whopping eight grams of dietary fiber in a very healthy way. Whirr them up in your blender with some ice, and you'll get the same amount of fiber, but it'll feel more like you're having a luxury dessert!

Raspberries aren't the only option available to you, either. Any kind of berries will do equally well, because they all are very high fiber, and they convert to drink form nicely with a little blending. Try mixing and matching a few different kinds of berries until you find a flavor you like best.

Another interesting fruit option is pears. Did you know that ear have more dietary fiber in them than prunes or dates? One average-sized pear have five grams, and they're very juicy fruits, so try making a pear drink sometime. Maybe pear-berry would be good?

SkittisH

@Hawthorne - One of the best natural foods that you can take to add fiber to your diet is dates. Eating prunes and drinking prune juice are remedies for constipation that many people swear by, but each prune contains about half a gram of fiber -- a dried date contains three times that much.

Dates also taste way better than prunes, in my humble opinion. Eat just three dates in the morning and three at night and there's nine grams of fiber -- almost half of the daily twenty grams you're supposed to have!

I don't advise whirring dates up into any high fiber drinks, because they are dried and not very juicy, but if you eat a few dates you shouldn't need to drink your fiber. Get into the habit of munching dates with breakfast and munching dates as a snack before bed, and your constipation should go away quick -- without taking any wheat at all. Good luck!

Hawthorne

I'm in a bind -- maybe somebody on this site can help me out. Okay, I'm extremely allergic to wheat and gluten anything, but my diet also really lacks in fiber. I also struggle with constipation -- and when I ask anybody what to do about it, after the old "drink more water" line they will next say to take fiber supplements.

I drink four bottles of water every day. Water is not my problem -- fiber is, or lack thereof. As the article says, though, most fiber supplements are made from grains, including wheat. Some of these supplements don't tell you which grain the active ingredient is made from, either. What am I supposed to do?

Is there any way to make a high fiber drink using high fiber foods instead of fiber supplements, maybe? It would be some kind of smoothie you could whirl up, I'd imagine, but I'm not sure what to put in it. Help!

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    • A high fiber drink may be prepared from a powder.
      By: Orlando Bellini
      A high fiber drink may be prepared from a powder.
    • A green smoothie may feature kale or other green vegetables with a high fiber content.
      By: Johan Larson
      A green smoothie may feature kale or other green vegetables with a high fiber content.
    • Fruit and green smoothies contain all the soluble and insoluble fiber that was originally in the whole fruit.
      By: Pixelbliss
      Fruit and green smoothies contain all the soluble and insoluble fiber that was originally in the whole fruit.
    • Diets high in fiber may aid in weight loss.
      By: jedi-master
      Diets high in fiber may aid in weight loss.
    • Many high fiber drink companies boast the products' ability to dissolve clearly and tastelessly in water.
      By: ZINQ Stock
      Many high fiber drink companies boast the products' ability to dissolve clearly and tastelessly in water.
    • Nuts, fruits and vegetables are all natural sources of dietary fiber.
      By: millefloreimages
      Nuts, fruits and vegetables are all natural sources of dietary fiber.