Telluride Times, Thursday, January 22, 2026

My long and intimate history with fiber (you have one, too) goes way back to at least the 1970s, when a fiber revolution was underway and things like Kellogg’s (now Kellanova) All-Bran cereal and Metamucil canisters began appearing on Formica counters across the U.S. My dad—I’ve said this before—was a pretty regular All-Bran guy. My mom popped the occasional prune.

I doubled back in the 1980s, when I wrote a whimsical, as-yet-unpublished novel in which psyllium seed plays a small but heroic role in a character’s redemption.

Hippie families, of course, and people tuned into whole foods or traditional eating have pretty much always known what I’m about to tell you. Today, science has once again ramped up on this subject, proving in ever more ample ways the validity of what humans intuitively knew and practiced before industrialization gave rise to processed foods: fiber is crucial to health and longevity.

Just for a moment, think of what has been working against us. Picture a giant vat of Oreo cookie dough being mixed and remixed, conveyor-belted, minted like chocolate cookie coins, filled with sweet white stuff, and packaged. Today, Oreos are sold in 100 countries, with annual sales of over 60 billion cookies. Fiber content? Scant. Now add that same scant fiber rating to pretty much everything that doesn’t come from a plant or have fiber added back in, and you’ll see why we’re facing a crisis today—with significant ramifications.

Most of you probably know there are two basic kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water, usually ferments (a good thing, as it feeds the gut microbiome), is mucilaginous (gooey or viscous), and helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol. This includes foods like oats, apples, citrus, barley, legumes, chia, flax, and psyllium.

Insoluble fiber adds bulk and speeds up intestinal transit (moves things along); it also provides the mechanical chewing stimulus that helps maintain gut and oral health. Examples here include whole wheat products, nuts, some seeds, leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and brown rice. We need both kinds.

Fascinating aside: it’s vital that children are given chewy or crunchy foods for the proper development of their palates. The action of chewing helps widen the upper jaw, supports nasal airway growth, and lays the foundation for good breathing, sleep, and dental alignment later in life. Teach your children to chew, even if, like me, they learned early on to inhale food at lunch in order to maximize recess.

To teach anyone to chew, you may first have to relearn it yourself. Use even a single meal to reacquaint yourself with what properly masticated food feels like. It isn’t three chews per bite, folks—it’s somewhere between twenty and forty. If food turns into puree before it’s swallowed, we reap very real—and sometimes surprising—benefits from all that chewing: more digestive enzymes are stimulated and released; nutrient absorption improves; and overeating is regulated through chemical signals of fullness.

Favorite chewing benefit I’ve recently read about? It may also increase cerebral blood flow, supporting attention and memory. For many of us, chewing well takes awareness and effort; but in our distracted and rushed, scarf-down world, it can be a game changer. My challenge to you? Chew correctly for one meal. Note any changes. Repeat, if pleased.

No, the word “fiber” does not make for a sexy topic. But “fibermaxxing” is trending in 2026, and we can give the new—and recycled—information a glance and a chance. We can all eat more plant-derived foods, drink more water, and maybe try a few new things on the fiber-scape.

Add chia seeds to your water bottle with a pinch of salt, a little maple syrup, and lemon (or stir them into a commercial electrolyte packet). Make your own fiber topper with two parts psyllium seed and one part each ground chia and flax seeds. Eat “resistant starches” like greener bananas, cooled rice, and overnight oats to feed gut bacteria with fewer sugars. Start your meal with a salad (fiber first) to help prevent glucose spikes. Do nothing massive—just take small steps, for the sake of that venerable microbiome.

Personally, I have a sensitive gut and need to watch out for FODMAP foods, which contain certain starches and sugars that some of us don’t digest well. My sensitivity to gluten is high, and sugar in general is irritating. But fiber, as with many aspects of personal health, isn’t one-size-fits-all. This isn’t a flaw, but an invitation to slow down, notice what helps, notice what doesn’t, and slowly build habits that truly fit.