Devlin Brown at the water cooler: TikTok generation has the right idea about fibre

My child at university came to visit and was horrified at my old-fashioned diet. She says I should be “fibremaxxing”. Should I?

This is clearly a trap and I am willingly walking straight into it. Hashtag this: Finally a Gen Z TikTok health trend that is almost good for you. The generation has finally come through.

The Water Cooler apologises on the generation’s behalf, though. The double x is entirely unjustified. Faxing, mixing, relaxing and indexing — but because it is 2025 one suspects actual grown-up spelling is sus, so max becomes maxxing. Loosely translated, it means doing something a lot to benefit from it. See also: sleepmaxxing (no surprises there) and looksmaxxing, presumably to enhance rizzmaxxing. Rizz refers to charisma or charm, particularly in attracting other Gen Zs. If you don’t have rizz, count your blessings.

Now that we are hip and “with it”, let’s apply this to SA. The media? Dramamaxxing and crisismaxxing. Politicians? Corruptionmaxxing and theftmaxxing. The roads? Riskmaxxing and potholemaxxing. If any Gen Z does go ahead and creates these viral trends, please credit the Water Cooler, because that’s credmaxxing.

Yet, despite how bizarre the whole maxxing trend is — with some being outright dangerous — fibremaxxing, which you now know means eating a lot of fibre, is dangerously close to being good advice.

The genesis of this fad is said to be found in a young influencer’s TikTok feed where she films herself eating high-fibre foods and the content then goes viral. I truly don’t know why any of us bothered with education or trying to climb the ladder in stale corporate environments bursting with micro-aggressions and unhealthy doses of toxicity. Just film yourself eating and start a global trend. Forget the old American dream, this is the Social Media Dream.

In what was described as a landmark study six years ago, it was revealed that fibre, and indeed some carbs, are good for you. The study, which was commissioned by the World Health Organisation, found that we should be eating between 25g and 29g of fibre a day. The review added that among those who ate the most fibre, there was a 15%-30% reduction in overall mortality and heart disease.

According to an article in The Guardian in 2019 when the results were published, “coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer were reduced by 16%-24%. The results mean 13 fewer deaths and six fewer cases of coronary heart disease for every 1,000 people who eat high-fibre foods compared with those who do not.”

Fibre intake has also been associated with a healthy gut and brain. According to a lighthearted take in The Guardian recently, a study also found that a 7g daily increase in fibre can reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases by up to 9%; 7g is about half a can of beans — that does take some getting used to.

Various sites and sources say you don’t need to force-feed yourself with canned beans, though. They suggest adding seeds to meals to increase fibre intake, or replacing rice with quinoa, for example. Both are delicious, but remember, there’s a naughty calorie hiding everywhere.

Besides being aware that seeds, nuts, beans, legumes and green vegetables are packed with fibre, which we now know is good, and may make you feel “fuller”, which is useful for those trying to fit into last season’s clothes, it is worth listening to those who have tried to maxx their fibre overnight. Drink plenty of water to prevent bloating and excessive gas, they say. Besides that, I know many people who cramp up to the point of resembling immobile beanbags when they eat too much fibre.

And so, as you can see, the trend is “almost good”. While there is universal consensus about the value of fibre in our diets, any advice from social media should be treated as pure entertainment. Irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis and more are proof that not everyone is primed to load their body with fibre. It could do more harm than good.

Approach good advice with moderation. Too much of a good thing could end up hurting you. Eat your fibre, but eat to live, don’t live to eat.