Why fibre is critical to your health, and how to get more of it into your diet. Of all the components that make up our food, fibre might just be the least glamorous. There's really nothing sexy about something that is best known for ensuring you're no stranger to the washroom. But while vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fats and phytochemicals are hogging the nutritional spotlight these days, bulking up your diet with fibre should be a top priority if you're committed to a healthy you inside and out.
That's because fibre, an indigestible carbohydrate found only in the cell walls of plant foods, has proven to be a potent ally in the fight against chronic diseases such as colon cancer (by sweeping the intestinal wall clean of carcinogens), diabetes (slows the absorption of sugars), heart disease (by reducing blood cholesterol) and stroke (lowers blood pressure).
By promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the large intestine, fibre can also enhance the immune system's ability to fight infection and the aforementioned chronic diseases. And by making food mor filling, fibre is even good at keeping our waistlines in check by preventing overeating. Ina study published in the Journal of the American Diatetic Association, the authors found a direct link between the amount of fibre women ate and their overall body weight. Too bad the average North American is lucky to be eating even half the fibre needed each day to fully reap these healthy rewards.It's little wonder that constipation is perhaps the most common digestive problem reported to doctors.
According to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended intake for fibre for adults 50 years and younger is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. for men and women over 50 the recommended daily fibre intake is 30 grams and 21 grams per day, respectively. To reach these lofty intake numbers you might need to be a little creative with your eating. Trouble is, most of us think that getting the recommended daily fibre quota means eating like that wascally wabbit. Not so! Here are 14 not-so-rough ways to ease digestiion and prevent unpleasant bloating and gas.
Bowled Over
Start your day off with a high-fibre cereal. Look for cereals with at least five grams of fibre per serving and top your bowl with berries, ground flaxseed and walnuts for even more grit. With eight grams of fibre per cup, raspberries are a sweet cereal addition. And here's news that's just Grreat! A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that in more than 15,000 men and women studied, people who had the most fibre from whole-grain cereals in their diet had a 27% lower risk of developing type II diabetes than those who ate the least.
Burger Time
Speaking of whole-grain cereals - when rustling up meat loaf or a juicy burger, use oatmeal instead of bread-crumbs to boost the total fibre count.
Play the Skins Game
The next time you're serving up a potatoe beside your sirloin, don't leave the skin behind for the scrap bin. Potato skins (thoroughly washed), as in the case with edible jackets on other vegetables and fruits, are a simple way to reel in more fibre. Keep in mind that sweet potatoes usually have a couple more grams per tuber than the typical ghostly variety.
Go Wild
Cup for cup, wild rice has four times more grit than the processed white stuff.
Cold Comfort
Even the most die-hard nutritional nannies amoung us don't always have time to wash and cut up the necessary ingredients for a dinner salad. Keep a bag or two of frozen vegetables on hand to add a fibre kick to stir-frys, pasta sauce and fajitas. Frozen fruits impart sweet creaminess to those post-workout smoothies. What's more, produce is flash frozen on site right after being picked which preserves most of its excellent vitamin and mineral content.
Jazz Up Your Salad
A vegetable salad is already a fibre heavyweight, but to crown it champion, mix in some fibre-rich goodies such as sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, avocados and mandarin oranges. You'll not only bulk up your plate, you will give new life to what can be a dull food group.
Turn Over a New, Greener Leaf
When you are tossing up that salad, swap in dark green leafies like kale and spinach for the nutritional dud iceberg and you are awarded an extra gram of fibre and a whole host of disease fighting chemicals.
Be Label Savvy
Take your time when grocery shopping and read food labels carefully to find higher fibre choices. Some food manufacturers are doing their best to make it easy for us to reach our fibre requirements.
A Better Grain
When it comes to breads, crackers waffles and other tasty grain products mae sure they really are 100% whole grain. Doing so will give you a coupld of extra grams of the bowel cleanser. If you see 'enriched flour" or "wheat flour" as the first ingredient you know you have a product made with mostly fibre-poor white flour.
GORP Anyone?
Instead of snacking on rice cakes, granola bars or whateber else you can pry from the vending machine, try stashing homeade trail mix in your desk. All those nuts and dried fruit add up to a fiberrific snack and a nutritious friend when lost in the woods.
Pass The Beans
Beans and lentils are nature's perfect foods. Loaded with vitamins and minerals, and yess., fibre, they should be more noticeable in our shopping cars. But dsonw' feel that you have to go through the hassle of soaking and cooking the dried versions. Canned beans are a high-fibre food that can easily be tossed into salads. chili, pasta sauce and canned soups. Toasing half a cup of chick peas into your favourite soup knocks off six grams of fibre from your daily requirement.
Source: Health'n Vitality, September 2007 Issue No. 50; Article by, Matthew G. Kadey, MSc, RD. "Matthew is an Ontario-based dietitian, feelance writher and photographer." More at www.mattkadey.com
