2026 Isn't About High-Protein Or High-Fiber — It’s Both

Do you want a side of chicken with that chicken? Have you tried adding cottage cheese to, well, everything? That’s the energy we’ve been bringing to our plates lately (especially since high-protein diets are the most followed dietary pattern in the U.S). And while we’re definitely on team-protein at mindbodygreen, we feel that fiber should have received the same amount of PR a long time ago. 

You see, the protein obsession created a blind spot. While Americans tracked every gram of protein, 95% quietly fell short on fiber, and it's catching up with them. Fiber impacts everything from appetite regulation1 and blood sugar2 to gut health and chronic disease risk. While the fiber-maxxing trend of this year brought some much-deserved attention to the matter, awareness isn’t the same as strategy. 

“We are working hard on educating people that it's not just protein that's going to keep you strong and young. It’s also fiber,” says Ella Davar, M.S., RDN. Protein provides the amino acids your muscles need for repair, growth, and maintaining a healthy metabolic rate, but fiber brings a unique set of benefits that protein alone cannot replicate. 

Fiber is a nondigestible carbohydrate that keeps digestion moving. It adds bulk to stool, regulates gut transit time, and creates an easy-to-pass consistency. Without enough fiber, food can linger in the intestines, harden, and become more difficult to pass, a common side effect of high-protein, low-fiber eating patterns.

Fiber also supports satiety and helps stabilize blood sugar, and feeds the gut microbes that can help inflammation, immunity, and cardiometabolic health. In turn, folks who follow a high-fiber diet3 have a lower risk of colorectal cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. 

“A very high-protein dietary pattern without enough fiber is risky. Over the long term, it can work against whole-body and metabolic health,” says Maya Feller, M.S., R.D., CDN.

According to Hubert, many people are getting fiber from the wrong sources. “I don’t want your fiber intake coming from processed diet products like cookies or foods that brag about being “high-fiber” on the label despite being filled with a million-and-one ingredients, “ she says. 

Feller points out that jumping from a low-fiber baseline to extreme fiber intake often causes bloating and digestive distress. “People go from, say 10 to 15 grams per day to 40 or more overnight, you're going to get all the digestive distress. It's just too much for your body,” she says.  

The key is focusing on building a strong fiber foundation through whole foods. Yes, there is still a time and place to enjoy a prebiotic soda (but it should not be your fiber base), and we’ll get more into fiber supplements later on. 

The thing is, getting enough fiber requires some nutrition education in understanding the fiber contribution of certain foods. This was something the fiber-maxxing movement didn’t emphasize beyond looking at the dietary fiber line of the Nutrition Facts panel for packed foods. 

Just as we learned to visualize ~30 grams of protein per meal, we can do the same with fiber. 

“For fiber, a balanced portion of a starch paired with a realistic portion of plants (think produce like veggies or fruits) will easily help you towards a rough benchmark of 30 grams of fiber a day,” says Hubert. “That could be 1/3 to 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup quinoa or brown rice, 1 cup potatoes, 1-2 cups veggies at lunch or dinner, 1/2-1 cup fruit (like berries) at breakfast for example.” 

Feller echoes this awareness and encourages people to get to know portion sizes and fiber counts of foods you typically eat. Neither is necessarily intuitive. 

Vegetables vary, too. The vegetables with the most fiber are the ones that require more chewing, according to Davar. 

You don’t have to be rigid or track every gram of fiber. Rather, “it’s more about general awareness, creating a routine, and finding a way to stick with it that doesn’t make you feel bad,” says Feller.

One of the biggest physical (and mental setbacks) Davar hears most is that fiber will make you bloat. And it can without the right precautions. 

According to Feller, that starts with hydration (from water, tea, and fruits). More fiber without enough water leads to gas, slower gut transit, and discomfort. 

How you prepare high-fiber foods also matters. Heat treatment can go a long way. “Raw kale and raw cruciferous vegetables are irritating for many. Cooking vegetables helps break down the fibers, making it easier on digestion,” Davar says. 

As people become more fiber-aware, they’re going to hone in on certain types of fiber.

“I think we’ll see more focus on resistant starches and other non-digestible carbohydrates,” says Feller. 

Prebiotics4 feed beneficial gut bacteria. Some fibers are considered prebiotics in addition to resistant starches (non-digestible glucose chains that act like fiber) Both help blunt spikes in blood sugar from meals and produce short-chain fatty acids (like butyrate), which support inflammation, immunity, and metabolism. Low fiber intake often correlates with low SCFA production. This is something Davar frequently sees in women navigating PMS, perimenopause, or menopause.

Fiber-rich carbs also provide polyphenols, and Feller predicts they’ll get far more attention this year. These plant compounds work synergistically with fiber to stimulate short-chain fatty acid production and nourish beneficial gut microbes.

Polyphenols5 (plant compounds found in berries, cocoa, tea, nuts, and colorful vegetables) act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and feed gut bacteria, enhancing the metabolic and immune benefits of fiber. 

Experts agree that whole foods should be the foundation, but there’s also a place for targeted fiber supplements.

“I recommend fiber supplements to patients all the time,” assures Feller. “If you’re struggling to move your bowels, or if you’ve maxed out what you can realistically get from food, we talk about supplementation.” She’ll also consider fiber supplements for women in the second trimester of pregnancy if digestion slows, or people taking GLP-1 medications. GLP-1 medications can slow digestion, and the right fiber supplement helps keep things moving.   

Supplements allow you to target specific goals. Want to enrich your gut bacteria? Choose a prebiotic fiber. Want to focus on cholesterol and blood sugar? Choose a research-backed soluble fiber6. What about better regularity? Choose one that helps speed up gut transit time.*

Protein is still important (no one disputes that), but next year’s shift is about the nutrient that helps bring balance, satiety, metabolic support, and digestive stability back to the table. The future isn’t high-protein or high-fiber. It’s both. 

Pairing protein-rich meals with the right types of fiber, prebiotics, resistant starches, and polyphenol-rich foods creates a sustainable foundation for body composition and long-term wellness.