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Image Source: Courtesy of Muniq
Every time I hear the word “fiber,” I wince a little bit because of all the fiber supplements I took as a constipated child. Some were chewable chalky-tasting disks, others were grainy powders that barely dissolved in my water, and the worst were unappetizing chocolate chews with the texture of overused Play-Doh.
So when I got invited to a brunch to try Muniq Empowerfull Prebiotic Fiber Blend ($109, originally $118, for 56 servings), I was nervous but curious. I wanted to know if this powdered fiber blend would taste any different than the ones of my childhood. Muniq‘s website says it’s unflavored, unsweetened, and “easily mixes into food or drinks,” but I was still skeptical.
What’s in Muniq Empowerfull Prebiotic Fiber Blend?
Each serving of Muniq Empowerfull contains eight grams of fiber. Consuming dietary fiber helps ease constipation by softening and increasing the weight and size of your stool, which makes it easier to pass, according to the Mayo Clinic — but it does so much more than that. The Cleveland Clinic also mentions that incorporating fiber into your diet can help with the following:
- Managing Cholesterol: Soluble fiber attaches itself to bile (digestive fluid made of cholesterol) and takes it out of the body when you use the bathroom.
- Regulating Blood-Sugar Levels: A high-fiber meal slows down the digestion of food, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This may help prevent drastic increases in blood-sugar levels.
- Feeling Fuller For Longer: Eating enough fiber can help hold you over between meals which can help prevent overeating and hunger, per the Cleveland Clinic.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests people aim to eat 14 grams of dietary fiber for every 1,000 calories they consume per day.
Muniq Empowerfull Prebiotic Fiber Blend consists of green banana powder, soluble vegetable fiber (made from corn), beta glucan (from oats), and the brand’s trademarked resistant potato starch. “Resistant starch is a carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine. As the fibers ferment they act as a prebiotic and feed the good bacteria in the gut,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Resistant starch leaves you feeling full along with helping to treat and prevent constipation, according to Johns Hopkins.
As such, Empowerfull could be beneficial for people who need to add more fiber into their diet and who could use some help “managing blood sugars, constipation, or cholesterol,” says Justine Chan, MHSc, RD, CDE, Toronto-based registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator. The fiber blend “contains sources of resistant starch, which don’t get digested, thus preventing blood sugar spikes,” she explains. “Because it’s prebiotic, it also helps to promote healthy bacteria and better gut health.”
While it’s totally possible to get enough fiber in the foods you normally eat in a day, for some people, a fiber supplement can help hit that quota. For context, you can get the same amount of fiber (eight grams) as a serving of Empowerfull by eating two tablespoons of chia seeds, one cup of raspberries, one cup of green peas, or about half a cup of lentils, according to the Mayo Clinic.
My Empowerfull Prebiotic Fiber Blend Review
At the brunch with Empowerfull, we were first presented with an individual-size chocolate cake — with Empowerfull baked right into it. I was shocked. The cake was warm, moist, and slightly sweet — I had no idea the fiber blend was in there. They also served us a chia pudding with the fiber blend mixed inside, and you couldn’t taste a thing.
Usually, I’m the type of person who gets the 3 p.m. tummy rumbles, but no grumbles were heard that day. I felt full until dinner time, which was around 9 p.m. I even ended up having an evening poop before my evening shower. (I’m usually a morning/midmorning pooper.) So it’s safe to say Muniq Empowerfull Prebiotic Fiber Blend definitely did its job that day.
Image Source: Courtesy of Muniq
I also wanted to give the fiber blend an at-home test. Muniq’s site suggests that you can add Empowerfull to “coffee, tea, oatmeal, yogurt, and more,” so I headed to the kitchen to see if the flavorless powder could also blend into a cup of coffee. I tapped a packet of Empowerfull into my morning brew, but before mixing it in, I had a little taste of the pure powder. To me, it has a similar taste and texture to flour. I then grabbed a stirring stick and got to mixing. It took a minute for Empowerfull to fully mix in, but we got there . . . or so I thought.
Once I was done mixing, I topped off my coffee with oat milk and a packet of raw sugar, as I always do. My coffee maintained its usual semisweet flavor, but the texture was a bit different. It felt a bit thicker, closer to the consistency of a simple syrup than a regular coffee. After gulping down most of my drink, I got to the bottom of my cup and saw something interesting. Empowerfull had made a little jagged mountain at the bottom of my cup.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Angelica Wilson
Seeing that coffee wasn’t the fiber blend’s best friend, I decided to put Empowerfull to use the same way that I would use a protein powder and put it in a smoothie. I started with my go-to blend of oat milk, protein powder, collagen powder, greens powder, and a frozen berries blend, but this time added in Empowerfull. Drinking the fiber blend as a part of my protein smoothie worked great; it blended in with the rest of my powders so all I tasted was smoothie, with no added texture or dryness.
After having Empowerfull in food, coffee, and a smoothie, I’d say that putting Muniq Empowerfull Prebiotic Fiber Blend in baked goods, puddings, or a smoothie is the best way to go instead of pouring the blend into a liquid to “dissolve.”
And one thing’s for sure: it definitely beats anything I had as a kid.