protein and *fiber* question...

sup guys. been supplementing with fiber - metamucil - throwing about 15grams in before bedtime with my 40g protein shake.

Questions:

1) will this slow the protein processing down over the night?
2) if I take a vitamin / mineral pack at night with it, will my body absorb it as well (just slower - or not at all since the thought might be it clings to the fiber and just gets crapped out).
3) I like what the fiber is doing for my poops, but should I be taking it at other times throughout the day?
4) How much fiber to shoot for and how spread out? I've heard the number 30g thrown around, but is that arbitrary?

Appreciate all the help bros!
:bath:
:lift:

The fiber # that I've always used as a rule of thumb is 35 grams. Eating a bunch of oatmeal and brown rice and vegis, it's easy to get that much, so I never supplement.
As far as slowing down the digestion of the protein, it probably does help some. Basically your body is taking longer trying to digest the fiber, which it can't, and anything else in the mix gets slowed down as well.
Usually people add some fat with their protein instead.
As far as the vitamins, I don't know. Interesting question.

Ok...here's the scoop (as i remember it). Taking fiber with protein will slow down the absorption. Basically, it sort of "gels" up and slows emptying from the stomach. This, in my opinion is a good thing overnight...kind of like a ghetto version of the "night-time proteins" that they're selling now...

Vitamins shouldn't be a problem - however, as i recall, heavy minerals, such as iron, magnesium etc WILL bind to the fiber and be excreted...i recommend taking the vitamins with breakfast, or another meal - but not with a fiber supplement.

oh yea, forgot to add...you should shoot for a total of 25-40g of fiber per day from all sources (diet and supplemental)