# Is oatmeal a safe source of fiber for us?



## Manick (Feb 21, 2010)

I've been experimenting between getting most of my daily fiber between either Cereal or Oatmeal, and the reason I even consider cereal is because it tends to have more insoluble fiber than oatmeal does (which means potentially less flatulence, AFAIK). I don't suffer from Diarrhea at all, but rather mostly constipation if I refrain from eating high fiber foods. Having said that, should I be looking for higher sources of soluble fiber, or insoluble fiber in my foods to counter constipation? If soluble fiber is the answer, or even if it isn't, is oatmeal a good option to include in an IBS diet? I would also like to add, that I tend to eat very little and have had a test done that estimated that I was only taking in about an average of 1,200 calories a day. I am a 25 yr old male, and I weigh 153 lbs, so I am getting only about 50% of my recommended daily calorie intake. And since the daily recommended percentage of fiber is based on a 2,000 calorie diet, should I inherently require less fiber since I only get barely over half of that? The reason I am concerned about getting too much fiber, is because it sometimes can cause more harm than good, and either cause excessive flatulence/bloating, or causes me to void 2-3 times a day which really irritates my symptoms. Thanks in advance for your advice.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

There are no always safe or always bad foods. That being said a lot of people do tolerate oatmeal pretty well. It has fiber, but not a huge amount, and the starches seem to be fairly well tolerated.With IBS you just have to play with it to see how many grams of fiber and if you tolerate insoluble fiber or soluble better. Sometimes for constipation people do OK with insoluble fiber, but there is no way I can be sure about what will be good for you.


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

oats are better than cereal try whole oatsalso since you lke eating lots of fiber for your constipation maybe a good probiotic is neededhttp://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics.htmlthis link explains what to look for in a probiotic and also sells one


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## Manick (Feb 21, 2010)

The kind of oatmeal I eat is indeed whole oats, and has 40% of daily recommended fiber in every serving. It has 10g of dietary fiber, 8g of which is soluble. For some reason I thought it had a small portion of insoluble fiber as well, but I was incorrect. What does the other 2g of dietary fiber count for in our case? Is it of any significance? Also, since it only has soluble fiber, will that cause a potential imbalance in my bowel habits if I don't include insoluble as well?


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