How taking a “serving size” of dietary fiber supplements can have such a big impact on your bowel movements even though a serving size is only 2% of your daily dietary fiber needs?
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It depends on the actual type/form of the supplement, but think of it as similar to the difference between just using water pressure and soap to clean dishes and using a scrubber.
It also helps to understand how your digestive system works. It is not like a straw or a water slide. It is more like taking a long uninflated balloon and trying to move a marble through it with your fingers. In the case of your digestive system, there are muscles that contract to push the material through. Fiber helps this by keeping everything “together”, so the movement of the muscles allows more of that material to be moved more easily.
Dietary fiber is not hard to get naturally in your diet, but modern western diets do not have as much as is recommended for most people. Many vegetables (legumes, peas, beans, and more), fruits, and whole-grain foods have dietary fiber, but many of us skip out on the veggies, raw fruits, and whole-grain, in favor of processed foods, low fiber foods, and generally foods that taste good but not especially nutritious.
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