Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23% • Hacker News Board

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#31

Post by tanseydavid » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:29 PM UTC

jimkri wrote: post #12

Super interesting to read! I have noticed a huge benefit from just adding Metamucil to my diet. The following lines from the article really resonate. >Insoluble fibers have fecal-bulking characteristics that may promote regular bowel movements and avoid constipation. >"Specifically, soluble fiber binds to bile acids in the intestine" I have started to take Metamucil more frequently because I was taking an algae suppl…

I avoided Metamucil for a long time, because "only old people use that."

Contempt without prior investigation and denial of my mortality is the true reason.

But once I started taking it I was sorely disappointed in myself that I did not start at least 10 years sooner.

Perhaps un-branded supplemental fiber is unburdened by the old people connotation? I probably still would have resisted.

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#32

Post by ratelimitsteve » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:29 PM UTC

qoez wrote: post #27

Just eat lots of beans and lentils. No need for an app or 'fiber gummies'

anything leafy as well, though those won't have the protein boost of legumes

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#33

Post by gpi » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:29 PM UTC

m463 wrote: post #13

sleepytimetea wrote: post #6

And here I am, stuck with only cable modem connectivity.

that's unfortunate since fiber has better bandwidth, congestion control and large packet support.

Digestion control

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#34

Post by InMice » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:30 PM UTC

qoez wrote: post #27

Just eat lots of beans and lentils. No need for an app or 'fiber gummies'

I like to pair those with rice so their amino acids compliment each other.

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#35

Post by pfdietz » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:31 PM UTC

jimkri wrote: post #12

Super interesting to read! I have noticed a huge benefit from just adding Metamucil to my diet. The following lines from the article really resonate. >Insoluble fibers have fecal-bulking characteristics that may promote regular bowel movements and avoid constipation. >"Specifically, soluble fiber binds to bile acids in the intestine" I have started to take Metamucil more frequently because I was taking an algae suppl…

I've tried various fiber supplements, mostly for avoiding constipation, but what I found really worked is bran flakes.

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#36

Post by tanseydavid » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:31 PM UTC

panarky wrote: post #15

Does eating fiber by itself reduce mortality? Or do healthy and wealthy people with active lifestyles and excellent healthcare happen to also eat more fiber?

Ask your doctor.

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#37

Post by brandonb » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:32 PM UTC

slabity wrote: post #24

brandonb wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(OP here) - no affiliation with Olipop. But we've tried all the fiber supplements around the office, and we found Olipop is a pretty palatable option compared to, say, psyllium husk (which forms a gel when combined with water).

Looks more like an ad for your app though... Which for some reason collects tons of data unrelated to health, like messages, location data, and photos/videos/files?

Photos are used to track nutrition -- you choose each photo to upload within the app.

Location is only used, in context, to help find healthy meals near you. (You can use the app with or without enabling this location-based feature; if you don't use it, then we don't ask for location.)

Where are you seeing messages? We don't track messages, so this is probably a mistake in our metadata.

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#38

Post by InMice » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:32 PM UTC

wil421 wrote: post #25

jimkri wrote: post #12

Super interesting to read! I have noticed a huge benefit from just adding Metamucil to my diet. The following lines from the article really resonate. >Insoluble fibers have fecal-bulking characteristics that may promote regular bowel movements and avoid constipation. >"Specifically, soluble fiber binds to bile acids in the intestine" I have started to take Metamucil more frequently because I was taking an algae suppl…

Did you have heartburn? I’m curious if adding Metamucil would help with that after hearing you feel less acidic.

I think it can help for some. You have to be careful which brands, CR did tests for lead. yerba prima organic was the best

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#39

Post by NotMichaelBay » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:33 PM UTC

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #10

Oh, way to bury the lede. > You can’t improve what you don’t measure. If you’re trying to get more fiber—or to optimize other heart health nutrients like saturated fat, sodium, and potassium—Empirical Health is designed to make tracking very easy. You can’t improve what you can’t measure and our product coincidentally helps you measure this.

That's good that they "buried the lede", isn't it? Better than the product being mentioned early and often throughout the article.

Re: Fiber reduces overall mortality by 23%

#40

Post by lanfeust6 » Wed, Nov 05, 2025, 8:33 PM UTC

Noaidi wrote: post #7

For who? The Inuit? The Chinese? Europeans? People with my ice age genetics? (Nope) I despise studies that do not take genetics into account. Fiber made my cholesterol worse! The only thing that lowered my LDL and riased my HDL was a seafood only diet. Fiber flares my IBD, most likely from my NOD2 genetics[1][2]. [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/35079107 [2] https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/22/4775 "IBD patients…

Nice anecdote, don't believe it for a second.