How Much Fiber Do You Need A Day?

Organic Drink With Fiber | Silk Organic Soy Milk Plus Fiber

If you are looking for an organic drink with fiber you may want to try drinking Silk’s new product Silk Plus Fiber. It is an organic soy milk and provides 5 grams of fiber per serving. Silk Plus Fiber offers a delicious and convenient way to boost your fiber intake and help you meet your daily fiber needs. I love Silk’s soy milk and definitely recommend this product. It would be a great addition to a high fiber cereal.

Like I have mentioned in earlier posts, if you are increasing the amount of fiber in your diet, make sure that you increase your water intake too. Water will help fiber do its job and help prevent constipation and gas pains.

Thomas English Muffins – High Fiber

While I was grocery shopping today I came across 100% whole grain Thomas English Muffins that have 8 grams of fiber and only 100 calories. These English Muffins would be a great addition to a high fiber diet. You could take a break from your high fiber cereal and toast an English muffin with your favorite jelly. The 8 grams of fiber would provide you with a high fiber breakfast. You could also make pizzas on the muffins for lunch or dinner. The fact that they only have 100 calories also makes them a great meal if you are trying to lose weight.

Add these Thomas English Muffins to your grocery list and be on your way to meeting your daily fiber needs!

Lowering Cholesterol | Fiber and Cholesterol

Studies have proven that there is definitely a relationship between cholesterol and fiber in the diet. If you are looking for ways to lower your cholesterol then you should definitely consider increasing the fiber in your diet (if your cholesterol is being monitored by a doctor you should probably let your doctor know about any changes in your diet). The best fiber to lower blood cholesterol is soluble fiber. According to the Mayo Clinic,

Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad” cholesterol. Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, brussel sprouts, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes. Soluble fiber appears to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines. Gel-like soluble fiber binds bile (which contains cholesterol) and dietary cholesterol so that the body excretes it. Five to 10 grams of soluble fiber a day decreases LDL cholesterol by about 5 percent. Eating 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal provides 4.5 grams of fiber — enough to lower your cholesterol. To mix it up a little, try oat bran or cold cereal made with oatmeal or oat bran.

The next time you are grocery shopping, make sure you buy some foods that will help lower cholesterol. Replacing your sausage biscuit in the morning with a bowl of oatmeal will well put you on your way to a healthier you.

High Fiber Bread

If you are starting a high fiber diet, eating a high fiber bread is an excellent way to increase your fiber intake. There are many high fiber breads on the market. When you are trying to find a high fiber bread look for breads that are 100% whole grain. I have been eating Nature’s Own Double Fiber bread. Two slices provide me with 10 grams of dietary fiber. That is a lot of fiber, especially when you compare it to the 1-3 grams of fiber in most white breads. You can use high fiber bread for toast in the morning or a sandwich anytime in the day. If you are aiming to get 25-35 grams of fiber a day then definitely add high fiber breads to your diet.

Food Menus to Relieve Constipation

If you are suffering from constipation, especially chronic or severe constipation, you are most likely willing to do almost anything to get some kind of constipation relief. Unfortunately, when it comes to relieving constipation most people run to the store and buy a laxative. People want a quick fix, but the downside is that laxatives can be habit-forming and dangerous to our body if we use them frequently. Studies have shown that increasing the amount of fiber in your diet is a great safe and healthy way for relieving constipation. However, some of you may not know what foods are high in fiber and may find it too challenging to eat 25-35 grams of fiber each day.

If you educate yourself about fiber and high fiber foods you will find out that meeting your daily fiber needs is actually pretty easy. You can easily create daily food menus to relieve constipation.

Food Menus to Relieve Constipation

• Start your day with a high fiber cereal. In order to classify as a high fiber cereal it should have 5 or more grams of dietary fiber per serving. There are many high fiber cereals in the grocery stores now that have over 10 grams of fiber per serving.

• Snack on a high fiber snack. Choose a pear or a high fiber bar such as a Fiber One bar. An average sized pear has approximately 4 grams of fiber.

• Eat a sandwich on whole grain bread. Nature’s Own Double Fiber Bread has 5 grams of fiber per slice.

• For dinner eat a bowl of your favorite beans. I love pinto beans with fresh salsa added. A cup of canned pinto beans has approximately 7 grams of fiber per serving. If you do not like beans, there are several whole grain pastas on the market now. I like Smart Pasta by Ronzoni the best. It has 3 times the amount of fiber as regular white pasta.

If you want to create your own food menus to relieve constipation just try to choose enough high fiber foods to reach your daily recommended fiber requirements.