How Much Fiber Per Day; for Children, Adults, and Beyond!
| Age Range (Years) | Daily Fiber Intake (Grams) For Males | Daily Fiber Intake (Grams) For Females |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | 19 | 19 |
| 4-8 | 25 | 25 |
| 9-13 | 31 | 25 |
| 14-18 | 38 | 25 |
| 18-50 | 38 | 25 |
| 50 and Older | 30 | 21 |
For a more visually appealing chart keep scrolling down the page!
No matter your age you need to be getting more fiber into your diet. Eating high fiber foods is a great way to do this! For some of the best high fiber foods be sure to check out my other articles in the Fiber Focus Friday section of my site.
Wherever you may fall in your fiber requirements, the key is to make sure to get enough fiber (which can be tricky at first), and to make sure your body is reacting appropriately. Please use the information found here as a solid guideline, but listen to your body above all else.
Can You Eat Too Much Fiber?
There are side effects to Getting Too Much Fiber, but for the most part you are better off erring on the side of getting too much than not enough. Most people do not get enough fiber each day, in fact. the average american only gets about 15 grams per day. It is clear that learning about how much fiber per day is indeed important!
In general, if you are between the ages of 14 and 50 all you need to do is remember the simple phrase below-
Men 38, women 25
How Much Fiber Per Day For Kids
Things do get a little bit more complicated if you are not in the above age range. Children require less fiber than adults, but they still need to be including fiber in their diet.
For information on how much fiber per day children need see this post on Fiber and Your Child. This will give you the range of fiber that toddlers need, all the way up to the early teen years.
Keep in mind that this is a general guideline and that it is always important to start things off slowly in terms of fiber intake, especially with children. Learning how much fiber per day to give your kids is indeed important! Getting on the fiber train early on in life will make it easier to continue to retain a healthy diet into adulthood!
Children will learn to love the foods that are high in fiber and will naturally keep these foods in their diet when they get older. The best thing you can do for your entire family is begin a high fiber regime and stick to it!
How Much Fiber Per Day for Seniors
For men and women older than 50 the fiber requirements go down to 30 for men and 21 for women. This is due to the assumption that older people have a lower calorie intake and are less active during the day. This is just a guide as well and may differ from person to person, especially if you are an extremely active and healthy 70 year old!
Regardless, you need to be listening to your body. and adjusting your fiber intake accordingly! If eating your recommended daily amount of fiber causes consistent problems for you, take it down a notch and then re-evaluate.
Tracking how much fiber per day that you eat is important especially as you start to get older. The more consistent you can keep your intake, the healthier you will feel and the more benefits you will achieve from eating fiber.
For more in depth information on this subject check out this article on the Livestrong website “Why Do Some People Need More Fiber Than Others.”
How Much Fiber Per Day for Dogs
Man’s best friend needs fiber as well, but determining their daily fiber requirements isn’t an exact science. For dogs, the best approach is to add fiber into their diet and see how they do with the increase. It is important for them to get this fiber, as it can help with digestive health (similar to humans) by assisting with problems with diarrhea and constipation.
Make sure you are carefully increasing this amount by adding only ¼ cup (per total cup of dog food your are using) of the new high fiber dog food to the food your dog had already been eating. If you have a very small dog you might want to increase these even slower and only use the new dog food in ¼ of the total dog food you are using. Slowly increase this amount daily (¼-½-¾), and if your dog continues to have a positive reaction, you can then begin using the new dog food consistently.
For more information on figuring out a high fiber diet for your dog see my post on The Best High Fiber Dog Foods and Why You Should Switch.
Determining Daily Fiber Intake by Calories
Another way to determine daily fiber requirements is based on how many calories you are taking in per day. This is determined at the rate of 14 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories you eat per day.
Men tend to require more calories per day, thus they need more fiber in their diet. Women tend to not eat as much, and thus, require less fiber per day on average than men.
It is important to remember that the amount of fiber you should shoot for is just a guideline. You shouldn’t worry if you aim for 38 grams and get 35 or even accidentally go into the 40’s.
The best advice you can hear on the subject of fiber is to take the time to increase your intake and really see how if effects you. It may very well be that your body never truly adjusts to eating over 25 grams per day and that is okay, it really just depends on your own body makeup.
For more information on the benefits of eating fiber click the following link: The Benefits of Eating Fiber.
Please comment below with your own thoughts on fiber and what your experiences have been. I personally lost a lot of weight by switching to fiber and you can see My Story here if you are interested.
Fiber is definitely a powerful part of the foods that we eat, but it takes time to make the adjustments. Rome wasn’t built overnight! Stay strong and stay committed to your goals.
Good luck!
