Fiber Challenge

Do you know how much fiber you eat a day?  Do you know the daily recommended fiber intake for your age and gender?  I was a little shocked to see that I was not meeting my daily target on a consistent basis.  So, I decided to incorporate eating more fiber into one of the Wellness Challenges I am sponsoring in February.

Fiber is present in plant foods and legumes.  There are two types of fiber:  soluble fiber partially dissolves in water and insoluble fiber does not. 

Insoluble fiber is what my grandma used to call roughage.  I think of my salads and greens.  Other foods include cucumber, green beans and nuts.  You can find lists of foods and their fiber sources in some of the references below. 

Fiber is known to have many positive health benefits which include (but not limited to): 

• Lowering the levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL or bad cholesterol)
• Helping to regulate blood sugar
• Lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease
• Decreasing the risk of type II diabetes

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that adults consume approximately 14 grams of fiber per 1000 calories consumed per day.  Using one of many online calculators, you can calculate your recommended fiber intake using formulas that adjust for your age, gender, activity level and estimated caloric requirement.

Foods higher in fiber tend to make you feel full.  Adding fiber to your snack(s) can help your weight management efforts.  Another benefit of dietary fiber is that it is associated with lowering the risk of some cancers, including colorectal cancer and possibly other gastrointestinal cancers. 

On average the recommendation is that women should consume 25 grams of fiber a day and men 38 grams per day.  So why does the average American adult only eat 15 grams of dietary fiber daily?  I don’t have the answer to that.  Even looking at my own diary in MyFitnessPal (www.myfitnesspal.com) there are days when I do not meet the 25 gram threshold.  Hence, the step/fiber challenge. 

If you read this post and decide to try to increase your fiber, do so slowly.  Consuming too much too fast may cause you discomfort (gas, bloating) and some of the effects might not be socially acceptable.  Try to eat foods higher in fiber at each meal and increase your intake about 5 grams per day until you meet your target. 

I'd be interested in hearing from you, especially if you have great tips on how to boost your daily fiber intake using whole foods.

References
Image Reference: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fiber-facts.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber

http://www.nationalfibercouncil.org/index.shtml

http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-fiber-meter

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/fiber-how-much-do-you-need

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fiber-table/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/high-fiber-foods_n_1543165.html#slide=1019360

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cardiovascular/cholesterol/foods-that-lower-cholesterol2.htm