Can I Take Fiber Tablets With Meals To Lose Weight?

The health benefits of eating fiber are many. Fiber decreases the amount of dietary fat you absorb, lowers your blood cholesterol levels, keeps your bowel movements regular and helps you stay full longer so you'll eat less and lose weight. However, the health benefits of fiber apply primarily to fiber in food, rather than fiber in pill form.

Dietary Fiber Needs

Adults should eat at least 14 g of fiber for every 1,000 calories in their diet. If you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, you should eat a minimum of 28 g of fiber every day. However, eating too much fiber can be harmful to your health, because fiber binds calcium, iron and zinc and prevents their absorption. You can eat up to 50 g of fiber per day without significant risk of mineral depletion.

Fiber Supplements

There is no scientific evidence supporting the idea that fiber supplements taken with your meal will reduce the amount of fat you absorb or help you lose weight. Although it is possible that fiber supplements taken with water prior to a meal might somewhat inhibit your appetite, the same can be said for water alone. In fact, a 2009 study in the journal "Obesity" demonstrated that subjects who drank a 16 oz. bottle of water 30 minutes before each meal lost 4.4 lbs. more over a 12-week period than subjects who did not drink water before their meals.

Fiber as a Laxative

Laxative abuse is common among people with eating disorders, but it is difficult to know the exact prevalence. Between 10 percent to 60 percent of patients with bulimia abuse laxatives, according to an August 2010 study in "Drugs." Not only is the habitual use of laxatives -- either chemical or as fiber supplements -- harmful to the muscles that move waste through and out of your colon, they don't work for weight loss. Speeding the evacuation of waste from your bowels does nothing to reduce the number of calories your body consumes, because there are no calories in fecal waste and no absorption would have happened in your colon anyway.

Healthy Fiber Sources

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are all excellent sources of fiber and add necessary vitamins, minerals and macronutrients to your diet. Apples, green leafy vegetables, oatmeal and lentils are all examples of excellent fiber sources that will make a healthy addition to your diet. However, you should eat a variety of foods to get the most out of your diet.