When you are eating less, fiber is usually the first thing to disappear. It comes from vegetables, legumes, whole grains and fruit — foods that take volume and chewing — and volume is exactly what a smaller appetite has less room for.
Around 23% of US households now include someone using a GLP-1 medication, and it is reshaping how people eat. This page is about one narrow, practical piece of that.
We sell a fiber-rich syrup, so read this knowing our interest. Nothing here is medical advice, and your doctor or dietitian knows your situation in a way a food company never will.
Why fiber gets squeezed out first
Think about where fiber actually comes from. A cup of lentils. A large salad. Two slices of wholemeal bread. An apple with the skin on. All of them are bulky.
When appetite drops, most people prioritise protein — sensibly, because that is the advice they are given and muscle matters. What is left over goes to whatever is easiest. Fiber, which needs the most room and the most chewing, tends to lose.
The US average intake is around 15g a day against a recommended 28g, and that is among people eating normally. Eating less does not usually improve the ratio.
Why it matters more, not less
Fiber does unglamorous, mechanical work: it adds bulk, holds water, and feeds the bacteria in your large intestine. Reduce it sharply and the most common consequence is constipation — which is already one of the frequently reported complaints among people on GLP-1 medications.
This is not a claim that any food prevents or treats that. It is the plain observation that eating far less food generally means eating far less fiber, and that is worth being deliberate about.
What "getting fiber in" looks like when you don't feel like eating
Liquid before solid. If a bowl of oats is unappealing, fiber in a drink is not. This is the main reason a syrup is useful here — a tablespoon in coffee or sparkling water asks nothing of your appetite.
Small and frequent beats large and occasional. Three small fiber additions across a day land better than one large one, and are much less likely to cause bloating.
Water alongside. Fiber and water work together. Increasing fiber without increasing fluid is the most common way people make themselves uncomfortable, on a GLP-1 or off it.
Count it, once. Most people have never added up their fiber for a day. Do it once and you will know whether this is a problem you have.
Where our product fits
One tablespoon of chicory root syrup contains 11g of dietary fiber — 39% of the Daily Value — with 0g of added sugars and 40 calories. The ingredient list is one word: chicory root.
It goes into coffee, tea or sparkling water and disperses immediately because it is already a liquid. That is genuinely the whole pitch: it is fiber that does not require you to eat a meal.
It is not a replacement for vegetables, which bring a great deal a syrup does not. It is a way to close a gap on days when the vegetables are not happening.
Start at half a tablespoon — and this matters more here
11g is a large single addition, and if you are already eating less than usual it is a larger relative change than it would otherwise be.
Start at half a tablespoon a day for a week. Inulin is fermented by gut bacteria, and fermentation makes gas — going too fast is uncomfortable and entirely avoidable. Increase only if week one was easy.
If you have IBS or follow a low-FODMAP diet, inulin is a fructan and a known trigger. This is probably not the right product for you.
Talk to your doctor or dietitian before changing your diet on a GLP-1. They may already have you on a fiber plan, and adding a concentrated source without telling them is not a good idea. That is not a disclaimer we are required to write — it is what we would say to a friend.
No one is perfect. Just have good balance.