Should You Be ‘Fibermaxxing'?
In the latest example of social media users fixating on something — only to have some take it to an extreme — proponents of the fibermaxxing trend are loading up their meals with soaked chia seeds and cruciferous vegetables in an effort to increase their fiber intake, and often to also lose weight.
'Fiber is super cool — I think more people should be eating fiber,' said Pamela Corral, a 25-year-old wellness content creator who said she tried to eat more than the recommended daily amount of fiber, which is approximately 25 grams for women in the United States.
Ms. Corral's TikToks, which often extoll the virtues of the nutrient in text laid over footage of her morning chia seed puddings, have found a huge audience. A recent video garnered more than 10 million views.
Ms. Corral said inspiration for her videos tended to strike when she was eating things, like her fiber-rich pudding. 'I try to eat it often,' she said, 'so I can make videos.'
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The BOP's Position The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) classifies individuals with sex offense convictions using a Public Safety Factor (PSF) designation, which automatically excludes them from placement in minimum-security camps—the lowest custody level. While the BOP employs a point-based system to determine appropriate placement, sex offenders are assigned a PSF regardless of their score. As a result, even those who would otherwise qualify for a camp based on low security points are placed in Low security institutions, representing a significant increase in custody level and restrictions. In addition to finding safe housing limitations, the BOP imposes communication restrictions on many sex offenders. One such restriction is limited or denied access to CorrLinks, the BOP's monitored email system. Advocates like Barrera-Leaf have pushed for change, emphasizing that family contact is vital for inmate well-being and reentry. In correspondence with the BOP, Barrera-Leaf noted that restricting email access "… severely hampers communication for Adults in Custody already struggling with the challenges of incarceration." CorrLinks offers a basic messaging platform that does not support hyperlinks or attachments but is still a crucial tool for staying connected. With phone calls capped at 300 minutes per month and limited to 15 minutes per session, sex offenders who lack email access are left with few options to maintain ties with their families and communities—relationships proven to be essential for rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. As to the unequal treatment of sex offenders in its prisons, Donald Murphy with the BOP's Office of Public Affairs provided a statement, 'As a general matter, the BOP takes seriously our duty to protect all individuals entrusted to our custody, as well as maintain the safety of correctional employees and the community. 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The court construes his request as a motion for compassionate release.' The court ordered legal counsel be appointed for Fields on an expedited basis for a compassionate release hearing. During the next hearing, Fields was being held at the Strafford County House of Corrections, a place he and the judge believed would be safer. Fields appeared on the video screen with a red face and blackeye, explained that his orbital bone had been fractured by a prisoner at the jail who had discovered through an internet search that Fields was classified by BOP as a sex offender. Judge McCafferty ordered that Fields be released, writing in her Order, 'In this case, the error in Fields's original PSR [Presentence Report] that caused BOP to misclassify Fields as a sex offender is akin to a sentencing error. BOP's subsequent noncompliance with the court order compounded the error and prevented him from completing rehabilitative programming ... the mistake in Field's PSR and BOP's noncompliance with a court order, have made Fields's sentence disproportionately punitive.' At that hearing, neither government prosecutors nor US Probation objected to Fields' request for immediate release from BOP custody. Attorney Kelley told me that everyone in the criminal justice system could benefit from more understanding of the challenges people on the spectrum face in terms of their deficits in communication, understanding, and socialization. 'These challenges,' she said, "are magnified in the prison environment where people on the spectrum can be oblivious to the unwritten rules and the target of bullying.
