Fiber gummies are an increasingly popular supplement category, because they taste great and seem more “fun” than fiber powder. Many fiber gummy companies suggest that consumers can get all of the health benefits of fiber in a tasty, gummy format.
But is supplemental fiber good for health? Do fiber gummies contain unhealthy additives? How does the cost of fiber gummies compare to the cost of fiber powder? And are gummies generally unhealthy?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze clinical studies on fiber supplements to determine whether or not they have health benefits.
We’ll highlight some of the questionable additive ingredients in one of the most popular fiber gummy brands, and explain whether or not fiber powder is a cheaper option.
We’ll also feature a video from TIME which suggests that gummy supplements may be less healthy than other supplement formats.
Are Fiber Supplements Healthy?
Due to the processed nature of the American diet, many Americans consume a daily fiber dose that's lower than the generally recognized 30 gram (g) per day recommendation from meta-studies.
Supplemental fiber seems like a convenient solution to this problem, and its health benefits have been studied in clinical trials.
A medical review published in the Nutrition Reviews journal found that higher intakes of fiber reduced the risk of heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, amongst other health issues.
A medical review published in the Nutrients journal found that higher fiber intake is associated with improved metabolic and gut health.
The research linking fiber and weight loss is particularly impressive.
As we documented in our Almased reviews article, high supplemental fiber intake combined with moderate caloric restriction is associated with weight loss of over 30 pounds in some clinical trials.
It’s also important to understand how much less fiber most people today eat compared to our ancestors.
Medical research reports that fiber intake was around 100 g per day before industrialization, while averages today are often less than 20 g.
Overall, we consider fiber supplementation likely to improve health in individuals who consume less than 30 g of fiber per day from diet (which is most Americans).
Are Gummies Bad for You?
Because fiber gummies are marketed as a tastier, candy-like alternative to regular fiber powder, it’s not surprising that they tend to contain a large number of unhealthy additive ingredients.
The ingredients list below is from a fiber supplement called “Fiber Choice” which is one of the most popular fiber supplements on Amazon:
Fructooligosaccharides is a type of added sugar.
Although a small amount is included, consuming added sugar in excess is associated with increased risk of obesity and diabetes, according to a 2019 medical review.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer which can cause inflammatory reactions in some people, as we documented in our article on CBD gummies for pain.
Natural flavors are a healthier option than artificial flavors, but there are legitimate toxicity concerns regarding some natural flavoring compounds according to medical studies.
We consider fiber gummies to be less healthy in most cases than fiber powder, given that fiber powder products tend to be free of questionable additives.
And the Fiber Choice product highlighted above is actually healthier than most fiber gummy brands we analyzed while researching this article.
Our Metamucil Gummies reviews article analyzed a brand that uses artificial flavors and processed cane sugar in some of their formulations.
Are Fiber Gummies Overpriced?
On a purely cost basis, fiber gummy supplements tend to cost more per gram of fiber than powder.
This makes sense logically, because fiber gummies contain a host of other ingredients and are more expensive to manufacture than unflavored, bulk powder.
The Fiber Choice fiber gummies we discussed in the previous section currently cost $12.94 per bottle, and the bottle contains 135 g of fiber.
This equates to a $0.10 cost-per-gram of fiber for the gummies.
Benefiber is one of the cheapest fiber powders, and currently costs $13.48 on Amazon and contains 186 g of fiber total.
This equates to a $0.07 cost-per-gram of fiber for the powder.
Given that fiber gummies are less healthy on average and more expensive on average than fiber powder, we consider them to be a waste of money.
Other Issues With Gummy Supplements
A TIME exposé highlights some interesting research, suggesting that the whole category of gummy supplements may be worse for you than other types of supplements:
Our Clean Gut Health Picks
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick.
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ contains 100% soluble fiber, which was described as "one of the most important nutrients for the gut microbiota" in a clinical review published in the Molecules journal.
Ritual Synbiotic+ is our top value probiotic pick.
It contains prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, and costs under $1.50 per serving at the time of updating this article.
Probiotics "can improve in the immune, gastrointestinal...health systems in healthy adults" according to a 2019 medical review.
VSL#3 is our top premium probiotic pick.
This probiotic supplement has been studied in 25 clinical trials, and a 2020 meta-study on VSL#3 concluded the following:
"...many studies demonstrated that VSL#3 has a beneficial effect on obesity and diabetes, allergic diseases, nervous systemic diseases, AS, bone diseases, and female reproductive systemic diseases."
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
