June 16th, 2008 -- Posted in Food, Health Benefits, Intake |
Many of our readers have asked us about relieving constipation with fiber.
According to Wikipedia symptoms of constipation includes the following:
- infrequent bowel movements (typically 3 times or fewer per week)
- difficulty during defecation (straining during more than 25% of bowel movements or a subjective sensation of hard stools), or
- the sensation of incomplete bowel evacuation.
Constipation is not rare. Almost everyone of us has experienced symptoms of constipation at some point in our life. Most constipation is temporary and not serious, but some people do suffer from chronic and/or severe constipation.
The most common cause of constipation is a lack of fiber in one’s diet. Therefore, relieving constipation with fiber is a great way to start.
People who eat plenty of high fiber foods, such as high fiber cereal and fruits and vegetables, are less likely to become constipated. The bulk and soft texture of dietary fiber help stools become soft and easy to pass. Many people who have diets lacking in fiber have dry, hard stools that can be extremely difficult to pass- hence constipation. For people prone to chronic constipation or severe constipation, it is important to limit foods that have little or no fiber, such as ice cream or burgers.
Constipation relief can be pretty simple and easy to attain if you make an effort to meet your daily recommended fiber needs. There are so many high fiber foods on the market these days, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, that you can easily create a high fiber diet plan. If you choose fiber as a means for relieving constipation, just make sure that you increase your water intake. If you increase your fiber intake without increasing your water intake you may actually cause yourself to get constipated.
May 11th, 2008 -- Posted in Food, Health Benefits, Intake, Products, Weight Loss |
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!
May 5th, 2008 -- Posted in Food, Health Benefits, Weight Loss |
If you are on a high fiber diet you are probably wanting to treat yourself to something sweet without straying too far from your high fiber diet plan. Fruits are a good source of fiber so try making desserts with fresh fruit. A large pear has approximately 5 grams of fiber – a bit more than an apple. For a low calorie high fiber dessert why not bake a pear with a little butter and brown sugar (go to Cooks.com and type in baked pears – there are several different recipes). There are many low fat, low calorie butters on the market. You could also increase the fiber amount even more by stuffing the pear halves with prunes before baking. Prunes are also a good source of fiber.
Many berries are also high in fiber. Another low calorie high fiber dessert is a blackberry pie or cobbler. For an easy recipe just take some fresh blackberries and mash 1/2 of them. Place the mashed blackberries and the whole blackberries at the bottom of a greased pan and then top the berries with a white or yellow box cake mix (just the mix in the bag- don’t add the other cake ingredients). Just sprinkle/spread the dry cake mix on top of the berries. Then drizzle butter (you can use low calorie butter) on top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees until the cake mix begins to get brown. This dessert taste great with some frozen yogurt on top.
If you have a favorite low calorie high fiber dessert that you would like to share with others please let us know. We would love to share your fiber recipe on our site.
May 4th, 2008 -- Posted in Food, Health Benefits, Obesity, Weight Loss |
If you are looking to lose weight and are tired of trying all the fad diets only to lose weight and then gain it all back again, then maybe you should consider eating a low fat high fiber diet. Choosing to eat more fiber for weight loss can result in you shedding pounds, keeping the weight off, and improving your health at the same time.
It is amazing to me that more people are not on a low fat high fiber diet. It seems that a lot of people only think about increasing their dietary fiber intake when they are constipated. People obviously do not know about the benefits of fiber. Fiber and weight loss go hand and hand for many reasons.
First of all, fiber helps us stay full for longer. You see, soluble fiber slows down our digestive process(stomach emptying) and stays in our body for a longer time which keeps us full for a longer time. Fiber also binds to water which provides a sense of fullness in the stomach after eating. Second of all, most high fiber foods are also low in calories and fat. If you focus your meals around high fiber foods than you will also be able to better control your caloric intake. Everyone knows that in order to lose weight you need to burn off more calories than you consume. A high fiber diet is also good for weight loss because high fiber foods usually require a person to chew more. When you are required to chew more you slow down your rate of eating and give your stomach time to tell your brain that it is full. Last of all, fiber is basically calorie-free due to the fact that our bodies do not absorb fiber.
All in all, using fiber for weight loss is an excellent and healthy way to lose weight and keep it off.
April 27th, 2008 -- Posted in Food, Intake, Products |
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.
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