All About Fiber

Fiber, the indigestible part of plant foods, is essential to a healthy diet.  Consuming fiber provides bulk in the diet that makes you feel full for longer.  It also aids in weight loss by providing a small number of calories in large volumes of food.  Fiber prevents constipation, helps control blood sugar & cholesterol and lowers the risks of diabetes, colon cancer & heart disease. How much do you need? The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine gives the following daily recommendations for adults: Women under 50: 25 grams Women over 50: 21 grams Men under 50: 38 grams Men over 50: 30 grams If you're not sure how many grams of fiber you consume per day, try tracking your food intake using a website or app such as MyFitnessPal.  How can you get more? Eat lots of fruits & vegetables. Include beans, legumes & seeds in your diet. Choose 100% whole grains whenever possible. It's important to increase your fiber intake gradually & to simultaneously increase your water intake to prevent constipation. What about "fake fiber"? Manufacturers add "isolated" fibers to many foods in order to boost the number of grams of fiber they can claim on the packaging. The problem is that they don't offer the same health benefits of "intact" fiber that occurs naturally in whole foods.  To find out if your food contains isolated fiber, look for the following ingredients:  Inulin (aka "chicory root") Maltodextrin Oat Fiber Polydextrose