Transitioning off a low-residue (low-fibre) diet

April 28, 2023 3:13 PM

Have you ever been on a low-residue or low-fibre diet for colitis, IBS or other illness? What was your process for successfully transitioning to a diet that contained a normal amount of fibre? (For this question, assume that asking one's doctor has not resulted in any guidance at all.)
posted by rednikki to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

Best answer: I have twice had to go low/no fiber while experiencing and recovering from diverticulitis. In both cases I had to transition back to regular fiber, but then I also had to keep going past that into a very high fiber diet. (For me that's definitely 25 grams per day, hoping for 30-40 grams; I'm an adult woman.)

My doctors haven't been super helpful about the transition, but in both instances their vague advice worked just fine: start slow, add a little bit, then a little more, stop if symptoms resume, etc.

While I don't have any specific guidance for you, I'd say it took me about a week to go from extremely low or no fiber to around 20g per day. Once I saw that that was okay, I jumped straight up to 25g per day.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:10 PM on April 28, 2023

Best answer: I was on a low fiber diet for years due to IBD and multiple abdominal surgeries and am currently eating a gigantic salad of raw kale while typing this. Perhaps too obvious but just take it slow -- try small portions of previously verboten foods one at a time, chew them very well, and monitor yourself for symptoms before progressing to more or different ones. Be prepared for small setbacks and idiosyncratic reactions; for example, I have no issues eating this kale bowl and many other fibrous things, but I still avoid winter squash and sweet potato in any significant quantity because I know they'll cause issues.
posted by telegraph at 8:09 PM on April 28, 2023