# Soluble fiber

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soluble-fiber/106003>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 27, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soluble-fiber/106003 "2002-04-27T20:19:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soluble-fiber/106003/1 "2002-04-27T20:19:16Z")

</div>

Is soluble fiber really soluble in the same way, say that sugar is? To me, soluble fiber sounds an awful lot like an oxymoron, since fiber and soluble seem contradictory.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soluble-fiber/106003/2 "2002-04-27T22:08:12Z")

</div>

Fiber is actually indigestible. It was once thought that since it is indigestible, it is useless, but now it is known that insoluble fiber helps prevent colon cancer, by adding bulk to the feces and promoting more rapid defecation. Soluble fiber is broken down into fatty acids by intestinal bacteria that is absorbed by the body.  
[http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/n233.html](http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/n233.html)