How Much Fiber Do You Need A Day? » Quantity

Dietary Fiber Deficiency

admin — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:41:07 +0000

Although there is no identifiable deficiency disease caused by lack of fiber in the diet, research does indicate that a low intake of dietary fiber, or a dietary fiber deficiency, over one’s life can be associated with numerous health problems. These health problems include constipation, bowel irregularities, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, raised cholesterol levels, and obesity. In order to avoid these health concerns associated with a dietary fiber deficiency one should definitely consume 25-35 grams of fiber per day.

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Organic Drink With Fiber | Silk Organic Soy Milk Plus Fiber

admin — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:49:56 +0000

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.

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Lowering Cholesterol | Fiber and Cholesterol

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:44:06 +0000

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.

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High Fiber Breakfast Recipes

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:48:12 +0000

For many years studies have shown that breakfast eaters are better at losing weight and keeping the weight off when compared to people who skip breakfast. However, in order for breakfast to help you with weight loss you need to make smart choices. People who eat a high fiber breakfast are most likely eating a breakfast low in fat and calories.

If you are looking to shed some pounds by starting a low fat high fiber diet here are some great ideas for a high fiber breakfast and some great high fiber breakfast recipes.

Start your day with a bowl of high fiber cereal.

Fiber One Honey Clusters provides 13 grams of fiber per serving and is low in calories and fat. Add a banana to your cereal to increase the fiber content in your breakfast even more. A banana has approximately 3 grams of fiber.

Nature’s Own Double Fiber Bread toasted with light jelly, butter, or a light spread of peanut butter.

Two slices provides 10 grams of fiber. This bread can easily be a part of a low fat high fiber diet.

French Toast made with Nature’s Own Double Fiber Bread.

Once again, 2 slices will provide you with 10 grams of dietary fiber.

Low fat high fiber muffins

Fiber One has a new muffin mix on the market – Fiber One Apple Cinnamon muffin mix. They are extremely easy to make and taste awesome (they were giving samples of these muffins out a Sam’s Club last
week and I had to buy a box). They have 5 grams of fiber per serving.

Fiber One Yogurt

Yes, Fiber One has a high fiber yogurt on the market now too! If you are a yogurt eater definitely add this yogurt to your grocery list. This yogurt will provide you with 5 grams of fiber per serving. To increase the amount of fiber in your diet even more, try topping your yogurt with a high fiber cereal. It will give your yogurt a nice healthy crunch.

Below you will find some links for high in fiber breakfast recipes:

Fiber One Breakfast Ideas

AllRecipes

If you have any high in fiber breakfast recipes that you would like to share with others, please let us know. We would love to post your high fiber breakfast recipes on our site.

Food Menus to Relieve Constipation

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:43:05 +0000

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.

Drinks with Fiber

admin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:59:28 +0000

I recently found that Kellogg’s All-Bran has a fiber drink mix on the market (All-Bran Fiber Drink Mix). It provides you with a whopping 10 grams of fiber and only has 20 calories per packet(you add the packet to water just like you would crystal light). If you do not like artificial sweeteners then you most likely will not like this drink because it does have sucralose added.

You can also easily add a fiber supplement called Benefiber into many hot or cold beverages. All you do is stir a few teaspoons into your drink and it will dissolve. The great thing about this fiber supplement is that it does not alter the taste or consistency of the beverage in any way. Try adding it to your morning coffee or even to your water. The company that makes Benefiber does not recommend mixing with carbonated beverages.

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Best Fiber Supplement

admin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:42:42 +0000

We have received a few emails asking what is the best fiber supplement on the market? Before we answer that question, there are some questions that you have to ask yourself (or your doctor if you have special circumstances in terms of your intestinal tract, colon, etc). Finding the best fiber supplement depends on your needs, preference, and body. There are many different types of fiber supplements:

Psyllium or Psyllium Seed Husks – Psyllium is a soluble fiber that is found in many high fiber cereals. These cereals have gained much attention due to the fact that they may reduce cholesterol levels. Psyllium is the main ingredient in supplements such as Metamucil and Fiberall. Psyllium can be taken daily and helps with constipation, IBS, and diverticulosis. Side effects? Psyllium may cause gas.
Glucomannan – Glucomannan is found in an Asian plant, the konjac. Glucomannan is a soluble fiber that is sometimes added to noodles, stews, and sauces as a thickener. This supplement helps with constipation, cholesterol levels, and even obesity.
Methylcellulose – Methylcellulose is actually chemically produced and does not occur naturally. Methylcellulose is mainly used to combat constipation as it creates a softer stool. This supplement can also be used to treat diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, and IBS. Citrucel is the best known supplement on the market.
Calcium polycarbophil – Also synthetically produced, polycarbophil absorbs water in the intestine and creates a bulkier stool. Polycarbophil is mainly used as a laxative. Popular products include Fibercon and Fiber-Lax. These can be used to treat constipation, diverticulosis, and IBS.

As with any fiber supplement, make sure you start slow and make sure you drink plenty of water.

So, what is the best fiber supplement? Personally, I like Benefiber. It’s tasteless, odorless, and doesn’t clump up in liquids. Let us know what you think is the best fiber supplement.

What is the difference between soluble fiber and insoluble fiber?

How to meet my daily fiber needs | High fiber diet

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:13:42 +0000

Eating 25-35 grams of fiber a day can be difficult if you don’t know what foods to choose. In trying to create a plan to meet my daily fiber needs I have discovered some great foods with really high amounts of fiber. These foods make it easy to meet your daily fiber requirements.

My sample high fiber diet

Breakfast

Bowl of Fiber One Honey Clusters – 13 grams of fiber

Banana added to cereal – 3 grams of fiber

I was hesitant to try this cereal thinking that is would probably be disgusting, but to my surprise it is actually pretty good. I love it with bananas added!

Lunch – Turkey sandwich on Nature’s Own Double Fiber Bread- bread 10 grams of fiber (5 grams per slice) This bread is new in stores and it is also quite good! A really easy way to add fiber to your diet.

At the completion of lunch I have already gotten 26 grams of fiber which is 1 more gram than the daily recommended amount for women. It is recommended that men under the age of 50 get 38 grams of fiber per day. 10 plus grams of fiber can easily be added to the day.

Snack – pear – 3-5 grams of fiber or Fiber One Snack Bar – 9 grams of fiber

Dinner – just add a 1/2 cup of beans to your meal and you will add anywhere from 5 – 10 grams of fiber depending on the type of bean

As you can see from this sample fiber diet it is really not that hard to meet your daily fiber needs. I will keep you updated on other items high in fiber as I come across them in the stores.

When adding more fiber to your diet make sure that you increase your water intake and get at least 8 cups a day. If you do not drink enough water, adding more fiber to your diet can actually have an opposite effect and get you constipated.

List of foods high in fiber

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:01:03 +0000

A high fiber food chart helps you know the foods high in dietary fiber. Adding more foods high in dietary fiber from the high fiber food chart can help you obtain the recommended 25-30 grams of fiber each day. Sufficient daily fiber intake is important, not just because of helping the bowels function, but to provide nutrients to friendly bacteria in the digestive tracts.

Low-fiber diets have been connected to numerous diseases and conditions such as colon cancer, constipation, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, heart disease, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids and varicose veins are examples. Correcting low fiber intake for your diet can help you achieve regular bowel movements necessary for optimum health.

Here are top foods high in dietary fiber along with the approximate number of grams of fiber they contain. Fiber contents shown below on the high fiber food chart are for a food quantity of 1/2 cup unless otherwise noted:

• Bananas, 3 grams – medium 8″ long

• Beans, 6-10 grams – baked beans, black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, white beans

• Berries, 4-5 grams – blackberries, raspberries

• Bran Cereals, 5-10 grams – All-Bran, Bran Buds, 100% Bran, Raisin Bran

• Bread, 4-7 grams – 2 slices whole wheat, pumpernickel, seven-grain

• Broccoli, 4-5 grams

• Brussels Sprouts, 2 grams

• Carrots, 3-4 grams

• Dried Figs, 10 grams – 3 figs

• Fruit, 4 grams – medium apple, medium pear

• Green Beans, 2 grams – broad beans, pole beans, snap beans

• Greens, 4-6 grams – beet greens, collards, kale, spinach, turnip greens

• Lentils, 6 grams

• Lima Beans – 4-6 grams

• Peas, 7-9 grams – black-eyed peas, green peas

• Potatoes, 4-5 grams – medium baked Idaho or sweet potato

• Sweet Corn, 5 grams

When making changes to your diet to include more foods from the high fiber food chart, just add a few grams at a time so your intestinal tract can adjust. And important for bowel health is that adequate liquid be present for good bowel function. Each fiber particle absorbs liquid in the colon which helps facilitate regular movement along in the bowels, so make sure that you are consuming adequate liquids daily.

If you find that after a few weeks of consuming more foods from the high fiber food chart you are still not having a daily bowel movement, consider adding a fiber supplement. One of the best natural foods high in dietary fiber is psyllium made from ground-up psyllium seeds. It may take several weeks to achieve daily bowel movements, but the reward will be that wastes and toxins will be eliminated from your system instead of your body reabsorbing them.

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