A friend of mine recently told me she wasn't regular. After a long discussion on what she was eating, I discovered that her diet was very low in fiber. High fiber diets have the following benefits:
- Lower risk of developing colon cancer. Fiber sweeps carcinogens out of the intestines and triggers beneficial chemical reactions in the digestive tract.
- Lower cholesterol. Fiber binds with the so called bad cholesterol and flushes it out of the body.
- Decreased appetite. Fiber rich foods make you feel full without the extra calories.
- Regular bowel movement
How much fiber should I eat
Nutrition experts recommend that you take in 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day, which a lot of Americans have a hard time doing. I try to follow the recommended fiber regimen in order to stay regular and optimize my weight management program. My diet includes fiber rich foods such as beans, fruit, and vegetable. Though I know the importance of this lifestyle, I still find the exercise challenging. I start my day with a least 12 grams for breakfast. This can be consumed in a number of combinations: Fiber One cereals have 12 to 15 grams of fiber per serving; a good fiber bar usually contains 9 grams of fiber and can be supplemented with a piece of fruit. If I load up on my veggies at lunch, by dinner time, I have hit my quota for the day.
A word of caution: We all know grazing animals produce a lot of gas. Well, our body will react similarly if we start consuming a substantial amount of fiber. I am sure you don't want to go around, building a "fiber reputation." So, I suggest you make your fiber introduction a gradual one. You could start with just a high fiber cereal and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Guess what! You might experience a decrease in your extra weight and an increase in your energy level as a result of your diet.
Keeping a food diary
To watch your daily intake of fiber, you should keep a food diary. "Fat Secret," "My Daily Plate" and "Calorie King" are my recommended online food diaries. They will help you monitor your fiber intake, calories, cholesterol, etc. You can also join the National Fiber Council for any fiber related issues.
I will conclude with the following example on the importance of fiber. I have a client whose cholesterol is rather high; she is on medication. Her doctor told her to keep a food diary for weight loss and cholesterol control, she decided to chart her fiber intake on Fat Secret. Before maintaining a diary, she was taking in 12 to 15 grams of fiber a day. When she started charting, she upped her fiber intake to 25+ grams a day. After 8 weeks, she went to see her cardiologist and she learned that her cholesterol had gone from 240 to 174. Her doctor was obviously pleased and told her to stay on the food diary. Let's start tomorrow with a high fiber breakfast and let me know how it goes and remember to start the cholesterol challenge.
Grab a coupon and updated 9/1/14
Fiber is not only good for lowering cholesterol it will help with high blood pressure too.
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