I've seen a few people mention their doctors told them to take a fiber supplement indefinitely.
Just curious if anyone knows...does the fiber supplement do anything besides give you more fiber? i've totally revamped my diet, and in so doing, i'm naturally eating way more fiber...in fact, i have to watch out that i don't eat too much. i find it very easy to hit 40g a day. i'm trying to slowly eliminate metamucil from my diet simply so i can eat more food with fiber. But perhaps there's some added benefit to these supplements that i'm unaware of.

I really don't think the metamucil, citrucel, etc, provide any more "soluble fiber than other soluble sources, but it is a quick, easy way to get a good dose and the water that's needed to make the fiber work. If you eliminate the metamucil, just be sure you're getting soluble fiber and water to replace it.

I don't think a supplement is necessary if you are getting that much fiber, Steve. I bet you could phase out the metamucil if you wanted. But there is also no harm in continuing it either. I took Fibermucil for over a year every day (it has soluble/insoluble fiber and acidophilis).

I find that fiber is a meal-to meal thing for me. (Yes I can tell meal-by-meal when it's coming out the other end, a carnie talent I developed over this past year and a half.) Some meals I get a lot of soluble fiber, other meals a lot of insoluble fiber, other meals are entirely vegetarian but with very little fiber. So I keep citrucel around to even out the soluble fiber in my meals, since it's the souble fiber that keeps things soft, while the insoluble fiber moves things along.

Thanks everyone.
I don't keep too much track of soluble vs. insoluable. However, I eat a whole grain with every meal and veggies (or fruit at breakfast) with every meal.
For best poo results, should you get an even 50/50 split of soluble to insoluable?

Not sure about the specific ratio. I have my best bm when I have a meal of sushi, 2g methycellulose and a mango (not one of the smooth, yellow, yummy, expensive Indian ones but one of the fiberous So. American ones.) There's something about raw, fatty fish that soothes my tum-tum. And the mix of soluble/insoluble fiber makes it even more easy to digest. Unfortunately, I can't eat these for every meal. I do try to do the 2g methycellulose (unless I am eating legumes) and a fiberous veggie/fruit like celery, artichoke, asparagus, orange...

I think mine is pretty balanced between the two but the supplement I took was weighted more towards the soluble fiber but I don't know what the exact ratio is.

natural fiber is best.
once you can find yourself getting enough fiber from natural sources, then ween yourself off the OTC fiber supplements.
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soluable vs insoluable....
i forgot which one is better for you! duh! so i'll have to run to google and get some feedback......

You need both soluble and insoluble, like Buttgirl said above....