Well, I’m thinking there’s a distinction between soluble and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is cellulose and passes through our digestive tract undigested. It adds mass but not energy. Soluble fiber is digested by the gut biome and is used as energy by the friendly bacteria. Those friendly bacteria are sort of the heroes of nutrition and don’t get the credit they deserve, at least for now, it would seem. But nutrition science seems to be pointing in the direction of appreciating those friendly little guys.
Yes, now that we can dna the little critters we can learn how important the bacteria in us actually are. What I love is how they are healing mental illnesses with diet (diet meaning what we ingest, but paying attention to what we eat to feed THEM.).
I found it out the hard way 5 years ago by being overrun in my gut by a bad bacteria, and finally healed it after 8 or 9 months of suffering. A boba drink was my first clue. For real. My first symptom free day was after drinking one filled with the little tapioca balls, too much sugar of course, but the wonderful starches did their thing. Then I got on a soil based probiotic and healed, and started learning. There is so much new science in the field, dealing with gut bacteria, that what they are teaching in nutrition programs is woefully outdated.