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Lisa George, R.H.N. |
Let’s Start Adding More Fiber To Your Diet

Let’s Start Adding More Fiber to Your Diet

If you haven’t heard already fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet. It not only encourages regular bowel movements, but it can also lower the risk of heart disease, different types of cancer, and help to regulate blood sugar, which in turn lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes.

The problem is that most North Americans do not consume nearly the amount of fiber that is required to build health because the bulk of what they consume includes meat, dairy products, and white refined flour, sugar, rice, pasta and pastries, all of which have been stripped of fiber.

Medical research has shown that a diet low in fiber correlates with many diseases, and an increase in fiber can reduce the risk of disease. So, let’s start adding more fiber to our diet!

There are 2 types of fiber:

Soluble fiber, which you get from oats, barley, beans, brown rice, nuts, apples, oat bran, vegetables, berries and fruits.  This type of fiber helps to lower cholesterol.

Insoluble fiber (also known as roughage) can be obtained from nuts, beans, whole grains, wheat bran fruits and vegetables. This helps with digestion and elimination, and weight loss.

The recommended daily intake of fiber is 25-30 grams, but for optimum health, I would recommend eating even more – try for 40 grams of fiber a day! The easiest way to do this is to eat more fruit and vegetables. Raspberries are one of the richest sources of fiber at 40 grams per 1 cup! Just be careful and take it slow if you are going from a very low fiber diet to a very high fiber diet as a quick change can cause gas, cramps and bloating.

Click on the links to get some awesome high fiber meals:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

So, start to pay attention to the amount of fiber you currently eat and do your best to eat even more. And remember, a high fiber diet will help you to lose weight and live a long and healthy life!

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