Fiber: Are You Getting Enough?

I bet when most people hear the word 'fiber' they think of bran cereals, prunes, and wheat germ—items that essentially don't bring much excitement to the palate—and, honestly, it's not hard to understand such an association. Those types of foods are precisely what the general public is directed towards when fiber is referenced in the media and that leads many people to take a pass on this misunderstood element—what a mistake!

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for fiber is 20-25 grams per day (or about 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables), but the more you can squeeze into your diet, the better (personally I manage to intake 45-50 grams per day). That said, I would caution anyone against starting off with too much fiber if your body isn't use to such high quantities as it might cause you to spend a little more time in the loo (or potty) than you are comfortable.

That said, the types of foods you can find fiber in aren't just the obvious ones named at the outset but other less mentioned foods as well.  Raspberries, apples, celery, pears, cabbage, broccoli, beans, whole grain breads and pastas, oranges, bananas, cauliflower, and avocados (although be careful here as avocados are also extremely high in fat) are all good sources of fiber and can easily be incorporated into your daily diet. 

Fiber's purpose is simple: it helps you feel full (which means you eat less and lose weight) and aids in maintaining a healthy digestive system.

Furthermore, anytime you resolve to add more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to your diet, you can be assured of also reaping other health benefits as well—i.e. lowering cholesterol, decreasing your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancers, and lowering blood sugar levels (a factor that is of great importance to those who struggle with diabetes).

Never underestimate the value of fiber in helping you to both maintain and attain a healthy body weight. Start finding ways to make this element a more prominent part of your diet and see what a difference it can make. Below are just a few suggestions on how you might do so:

• Sprinkle blueberries or raspberries over your pancakes or waffles.
• Eat an apple a day. It truly does keep the doctor at bay.
• Sprinkle a 1/2 cup of bran cereal into your yogurt (that's nearly 15 grams of fiber!)
• Double up on salads and vegetables at dinner and lunch—skip the rice (unless it's brown).
• Like pasta? Skip the white pasta and make a b-line for the whole grain variety.
• Almonds are not only a healthy snack, but they also offer 3 grams of fiber per serving. 

Lastly, when increasing your intake of fiber, be mindful to also do the same with your water intake. Fiber can be a real drag if there isn't anything to help dissolve and flush it out of your system. 8-12 cups a day is the RDA but, as with fiber, too much water is not necessarily a bad thing.

Related articles

• 10 Cereals With 8 or More Grams of Fiber (fitsugar.com)
• How to Eat 30 Grams of Fiber a Day (fitsugar.com)
• Developing a High-Fiber Meal Plan (brighthub.com)

Do You Know What You're Eating?

Many people haven't the slightest idea how to read a nutritional label—ya know, that thing on the side of the box that lists 'servings', 'serving size', 'fat', etc? Well, that little box is your best supermarket friend because it gives you the facts about the item you're purchasing.

When making a decision to buy any item you haven't grown or raised yourself, it's important to take note of what exactly has gone into producing it and how said production makes that particular item good or bad for your overall health.

I typically examine three basic elements when reading a nutritional label:

1. Dietary Fiber (per serving): Fiber is your friend. I won't go into the medical benefits (find a great article about that here) of what it can do for you but, I can tell you this much, it certainly helps keep my body feeling toxin free. I tend to look for foods that offer 3 or more grams of fiber per serving, but the more the better. 
2. Fat content (per serving): Where fiber is your friend, bad fats (foods high in saturated and/or trans fats) are your enemy. Stay away from chips and other packaged snack items that are fried in peanut or vegetable oil. Even more, if you choose to indulge in said items, note the serving size—most potato chips are meant to be eaten 10-12 at a time. If you're eating half a bag of Lay's a day, you could be hurting yourself. 
3. Sodium (per serving): The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for sodium, per day, is 24-2500mg. If that sounds like a lot, it's not, that's about a teaspoon per day. If frozen dinners are a staple in your daily diet, there's a good chance you are well over that allowance after eating just one meal. Pay attention to this element the most as it's the easiest to go overboard on and the hardest to track. 

Other things worth taking a close look at on a label are sugar content, carbohydrates, and calories.

Too much sugar can put you on a fast track towards diabetes, bad carbohydrates (particularly the ones you glean through consumption of white rice, soda, and white bread) can lead to heart disease and weight gain, and too many calories will topple any healthy living plan. Try to keep your caloric intake reasonable and make sure that the majority of that intake comes from fresh, not processed, foods.

My general rule of thumb when carting it up at the grocery store is to buy fresh (organic if possible) foods made from lots of whole grains. I stay as far away from prepackaged dinners and meals as possible and focus on maximizing fiber intake with every purchase.

It's my way of telling my body 'thank you' for not breaking down on me in a pinch.

Good fuel typically results in good mileage where the body is concerned. Fill yours up with as much good stuff as possible and you'll be surprised at the difference it makes.

Related articles

• Eat for a Healthy Heart (everydayhealth.com)
• How Fiber Helps Ease Constipation (everydayhealth.com)
• Nutritious Frozen Meals for Families (brighthub.com)
• Salt! Can I Handle The New Dietary Guidelines? (drkaylosesweight.wordpress.com)