Abstract
Dietary fibre appears to be the only constituent of food that markedly affects faecal weight and probably total colonic content in normal individuals. It is proposed that low-residue diets intended to reduce large-bowel contents should be renamed low-dietary-fibre diets and be put on a quantitative basis. A low-dietary-fibre diet would contain 10 g or less. Other dietary modifications may also be necessary in diseases causing malabsorption.