"Fake" Fiber: Don't be Fooled!

While you're making an effort to incorporate more fiber into your daily eating habits, it's easy to be misled by all the advertising and labeling on processed foods. It's tempting to just reach for the boxes that shout "High in Fiber"!

You know the saying: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Chocolate

Fudge Toaster Pastry with 20% DV (5g) of fiber? Chocolate Mocha Chewy Bars with 35% DV (9g) of fiber? Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Bars with 4 grams of fiber?

Obviously, consuming 4 grams of fiber in a fudge ice cream bar is not as healthy as getting 4 grams of fiber from an apple. 

But what else is wrong with the fiber that's added to processed foods? These fibers, referred to as "isolated" fibers do not necessarily give us the health benefits of "intact" fiber, the kind that occurs naturally in whole foods. Many studies have linked high fiber consumption with health benefits such as lowering cholesterol, aiding digestion, and reducing the risk of heart disease. Isolated fibers have not been shown to produce the same benefits.

Isolated fibers are added to foods by manufacturers in order to boost the number of grams of fiber they can claim on the packaging. To find out if the fiber in your food is intact or isolated, you need to check the ingredients.

Isolated fibers include inulin (also called "chicory root"), maltodextrin, oat fiber, and polydextrose.

Beware of the "fiber" in the following fortified foods:

• Ice cream
• Yogurt
• White pasta/bread
• Juice
• Bars (esp. Fiber One, Atkins, Curves, Kashi, South Beach)

Bottom line: Eat your veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Not only do they have real fiber, they also have tons of other nutrients that your body needs.