Fiber Supplements Explained: Choosing the Right Type for Gut Health

If you’ve been paying attention to gut health, you’re sure to know that fiber plays an important part in digestive comfort and regularity. You’re probably also aware that many adults don’t get enough fiber in their daily diet; including fiber-rich foods in a balanced diet is the best way to help remedy that. That means focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and beans and legumes.

Digestive health supplements like our SuperGreens with Prebiotic Fiber Drink Mix can help provide a good source of fiber in addition to a balanced diet. But there are a lot of different types of fiber supplements, and it can be difficult to know where to look if you’re new to fiber.^†

That’s where we come in: this guide will help you understand fiber types, tolerability, and supplement labels so you can choose the right fiber supplement for your routine and give you some pointers on how to use supplements to increase your daily fiber intake.

Overview of Gut Health and Why It Matters

Gut health isn’t just defined by your rate of digestion and expulsion; it encompasses all the ways your digestive system functions in your day-to-day life. Much of how your gut functions day to day is influenced by the gut microbiome.

What is the gut microbiome? The gut microbiome is a vast community of microbes that live throughout your digestive system. They’re important bacteria that perform a symbiotic role in your body, helping support digestive balance.

Ever heard the phrase “you are what you eat”? That’s true for your gut microbiome; the good bacteria in your gut are impacted by what you eat. Dietary fiber, found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, supports a robust gut microbiome, which can help support your overall wellness and comfort.^[1]

The Role of Fiber in Digestive Health

Put simply, dietary fiber is a part of plant foods that is not broken down in the same way as other foods. But we’ll help break down why that’s important, and what the different types of fiber are and what they do.

All dietary fiber supports normal digestive function, but it’s split into two categories: soluble fiber vs insoluble fiber. Soluble, fermentable fiber dissolves in water, forming a gel that coats the gut and provides nutrients to the beneficial bacteria that live in our digestive tract. Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water, but it adds bulk to our stool and can help move waste through the gut.^[2] Oat cereal, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables are good sources of soluble fiber. Wheat bran, brown rice, barley, cabbage, celery, and whole grains are sources of insoluble fiber.

You might think, “Great, I’ll just take one heaping serving of fiber, please!” But don’t go too quickly: increasing the amount of fiber you ingest too fast can cause gas, bloating, and cramping, which are likely the exact effects you’re trying to avoid! The best way to increase your body’s fiber intake is slowly, and with plenty of liquids. Hydration is important for just about everything, and it’s no surprise that it includes digestion.

So, when should you consider fiber supplementation? Good fiber supplements can help fill gaps in your diet, especially if your intake of fiber-rich foods is inconsistent. It’s not a replacement for a balanced diet, so be sure to seek out fresh fruits and veggies when you can.

When choosing a fiber supplement, check for these tidbits while reading the label:

• Grams of fiber per serving: This tells you how much fiber you’re getting each serving. Consulting with your doctor or a registered dietitian can help you determine where to start when adding fiber to your routine.
• Dietary fiber label, and source: It’s important to know what you’re putting in your body, so make sure the supplement is labeled as dietary fiber, and look to see where exactly it’s coming from. Nature Made dietary fiber comes from either inulin (chicory root) or wheat dextrin.

What Prebiotic Fiber Does in the Gut

Prebiotic fiber is a “substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms, conferring a health benefit.”^[3] Put simply, prebiotics are “food” for the good bacteria in our gut.

These good bacteria help support our digestive process and need prebiotic fiber to carry out a process called fermentation, which supports the probiotic bacteria in your gut microbiome. Fermentable fibers may cause gas or bloating for some people, especially if your body isn’t used to getting much fiber.

That’s why it’s important to start low and go slow, gradually increasing your fiber intake as your gut adapts, and to hydrate with water to help smooth the process along.^[4] Adding a little bit of fiber to your routine slowly over time will eventually add up, and supporting your gut is best approached with small changes.

How SuperGreens with Prebiotic Fiber Fit into a Daily Routine

Nature Made’s SuperGreens with Prebiotic Fiber Drink Mix is a simple addition to your daily routine, combining a SuperGreens powder with a good source of prebiotic fiber for gut support plus 12 key nutrients to support whole body health. By including both benefits in one supplement, you can simplify your daily routine, making it easier to maintain consistency.^†

Another tip to support consistent supplementation is to pick a set time each day: most people choose a meal, some prefer breakfast, and others dinner. For the SuperGreens Drink Mix Powder, just mix with water or a smoothie and follow label directions for the appropriate dosage. And always remember to drink fluids with your fiber: fiber works best with water. If your body is new to high-fiber intake, start with a lower amount and gradually increase to help your body adapt.

Supporting the Gut Microbiome Through Diet and Lifestyle

The best way to support your gut microbiome is with a balanced diet supported by healthy lifestyle choices. The food we eat plays a large role in our microbiome, so choosing minimally processed foods that include adequate dietary fiber can be a great step towards supporting digestive health. Here are a few food-first habits to help you aim for gut support:

• Add one high-fiber food daily: One common pitfall of dietary changes is believing that you need to change everything at once. That’s not true, and you’re much more likely to succeed when you take small, reasonable steps. Adding one high-fiber food to your daily diet does far more good than trying to change your diet overnight and abandoning those changes after less than a week.
• Aim for variety across plant foods: Variety is the spice of life. It’s also a good way to support your gut. Shooting for a variety of plant foods not only helps you get dietary fiber in a tasty package, but it also helps provide other essential vitamins and minerals that support your daily wellness.

What foods have prebiotics? Various fruits and vegetables have prebiotic fiber, but here are a few you can easily add to your day-to-day: beans (like soybeans), asparagus, garlic, onions, apples, bananasand potatoes.^[5] These foods commonly contain prebiotic fibers that help support the beneficial gut bacteria in your microbiome.

Supplements That Pair Well with Fiber in Supporting Gut Health

One convenient way to support building a daily wellness routine is to stack daily habits. This means connecting each healthy habit to the next one, doing them in the same order every day, promoting consistency and helping you slowly build a whole-body wellness routine. Connecting your prebiotic fiber supplementation to your hydration habits, such as a water routine, doesn’t just help you stay hydrated but also helps support the benefits of fiber.

You can also pair a prebiotic with a probiotic. No, that’s not a typo, they’re different things! While prebiotics are a type of dietary fiber that act as food for the good bacteria in our gut, probiotics are live microorganisms that are beneficial to the body. When looking for probiotics, always check for clear labelling so you understand the benefits of each individual supplement.^†

If you are interested in establishing a daily supplement routine, maybe include one of our advanced multivitamins, as they will provide a variety of essential vitamins and minerals to support your daily nutritional needs. Then it’ll be easy to add a prebiotic fiber supplement or other gut microbiome supplement, thus creating a consistent wellness routine.

Who Could Benefit from a SuperGreens with Prebiotic Fiber Supplement?

Nature Made SuperGreens with Prebiotic Fiber Drink Mix is a convenient way to add prebiotic fiber to your daily routine and may benefit adults who struggle to consistently eat enough fiber. It is made with one cup of green vegetables (spinach, kale and broccoli)^◆, prebiotic fiber plus 12 essential nutrients to support energy.^‡† If you’re looking for additional digestive health support, you might want to consider adding probiotics to your routine. Nature Made has a variety of probiotic supplements available in either capsules or tasty gummies.^†

It’s always important to check with a healthcare professional before adding a supplement to your routine, particularly if you are pregnant, managing medical conditions, taking prescription medications, or have significant digestive sensitivities or have reacted poorly to fiber supplements in the past. Remember: if gas or bloating occurs, reduce the amount of fiber gradually and increase slowly, and be sure to hydrate.

Explore Nature Made’s Digestion & Gut Health Supplements today for a convenient way to support your gut microbiome every day!^†

◆Consume in addition to your daily intake of vegetables

‡ B Vitamins help convert food into cellular energy†

References:

1. The Complex Interplay of Diet and the Gut Microbiome Influences Human Health - NIDDK. Published May 31, 2023. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/news/archive/2023/complex-interplay-diet-gut-microbiome-influences-human-health
2. Gearhart-Serna L. Health benefits of dietary fibers vary. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Published May 23, 2022. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/health-benefits-dietary-fibers-vary
3. Gibson GR, Hutkins R, Sanders ME, et al. Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of prebiotics. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;14(8):491-502. doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2017.75
4. Increasing Your Fiber Intake. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://med.virginia.edu/ginutrition/wp-content/uploads/sites/199/2024/09/Increasing-Your-Fiber-2024.pdf
5. Cleveland Clinic. What Are Prebiotics and What Do They Do? Cleveland Clinic. Published March 14, 2022. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-are-prebiotics