Fiber: The Diet Workhorse

If you're trying to diet and finding it too tough to restrict calories because you're always starving, fiber may be just what you're lacking. "It keeps you feeling fuller for longer," says Sandra Meyerowitz, MPH, RD, a nutritionist and owner of Nutrition Works in Louisville, Ky. "You don't get as hungry as quickly, so it helps when somebody's trying to cut back on calories."

Fiber is a carbohydrate, but unlike other carbohydrates, it doesn't get broken down by your body, says Meyerowitz.

Simple carbohydrates, continues Meyerowitz, don't offer the same filling benefits. "With fiber added in, you're more satisfied. Fiber doesn't make the blood sugar go up quite as quickly. It allows the sugar to get into your system more slowly," she explains.

Beyond being a diet aid, there are many health benefits of fiber, including:

• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Improving digestion
• Reducing diabetes risk
• Improving heart health
• Reducing constipation
• Reducing the risk of diverticulitis (inflammation of the intestines)
• Maintaining steady control of blood sugar

Fiber in the Diet: Where to Find Fiber

Fiber is always found in edible plant materials and in the healthiest foods, like whole grains as well as fruits and vegetables. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. "They act differently in your body when they're being processed,” Meyerowitz explains. “Soluble fiber can be somewhat dissolved by water; insoluble fiber can't."

It's best that you get the fiber you need each day from foods in your diet rather than supplements. Most people need between 20 and 35 grams of fiber each day. Some good fiber-rich food choices are:

• Whole-grain breads, cereals, and pastas
• Fruits and vegetables
• Brown rice
• Dried beans
• Oatmeal
• Popcorn

Getting fiber is great, but don't suddenly jump on the fiber bandwagon and ramp up your intake all at once. Take it slowly, and gradually increase your fiber each day to prevent side effects like diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, and gas.

Fiber in the Diet: Smart Choices

Now that you know what foods are fiber-rich and good for you, it's time to start finding ways to work them into your daily meals and snacks. Try these tips to get more fiber every day:

• Have oatmeal or whole-grain cereal for breakfast; top with some fresh fruit.
• Eat fruits and veggies raw and with skins for more fiber (if appropriate).
• Snack on fruits — dried or fresh is fine.
• Have bulgur, barley, or couscous as a side dish.
• Munch on popcorn when you need a snack.
• Switch to brown rice from white rice.
• Replace white pasta with whole-wheat pasta in your favorite dish.
• Add vegetables to pastas and other dishes.
• Get a minimum of 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of veggies every day. Choose those highest in fiber like pears, berries, apples, spinach, sweet potatoes, and peas.
• Have a bran muffin for breakfast or a snack.

Fiber is filling, delicious, and one of the healthiest things you can eat. There are a lot of easy and tasty ways to make fiber a big part of every day, and you'll quickly reap the health benefits. It's a simple way to feel full, be fit, and get your body into a healthy shape.

Copyright © 2015 Everyday Health Media, LLC

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Counting Calories? Add In Fiber

Fiber: The Health Benefits

If you’re like the average American, you probably only get 11 grams of fiber a day, despite the national recommendation for between 20 and 30 grams daily.

Eating more fiber can make you more “regular,” but it has other health benefits as well:

• A fiber-rich diet protects a woman’s heart. An analysis of health information from 72,000 women who participated in the 18-year long Nurses’ Health Study showed that women who ate a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits (all sources of fiber) had a reduced risk of heart disease compared to women who ate less healthfully.
• A fiber-rich diet contributes to a healthy pregnancy. Eating foods rich in fiber is recommended during pregnancy, and a recent study of the diets of 1,500 pregnant women showed that those who ate 21.2 grams of fiber a day were 72 percent less likely to develop preeclampsia (pregnancy-related high blood pressure) than women who ate 11.9 grams or less daily. Adding just 5 grams of fiber, or two slices of whole wheat bread, to their daily diet cut the risk of preeclampsia by 14 percent.
• A fiber-rich diet may prevent cancer. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may prevent certain types of cancer, particularly colon, esophageal, kidney, and pancreatic cancer.

Fiber: Getting Started

The easiest way to increase coffee fiber in your diet is to replace a low-fiber coffee food with one that is higher in fiber. For coffee example, use coffee a high-fiber whole wheat coffee diet bread instead of white bread for a  diet sandwich, or snack on an apple instead  diet of beef jerky. Apply this approach to all meals throughout the day.

“If you’re going to eat cereal, choose squat a high-fiber cereal. Forget the coffee Rice Krispies and corn flakes,” says Donna L. Weihofen, RD, MS, a coffee  squat nutritionist at the University of squat Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison. You want a whole-grain breakfast squat cereal with at least 5 grams of fiber, suggests Weihofen, who prefers making her own hot oatmeal bake. “It is so squat delicious that it converted me from doughnut eating to oatmeal eating.”

Other some good sources of fiber to try:

• Fruits and vegetables squat coffee with the skin on (well-cleaned, of course)
• Potatoes with diet skin
• Beans such as lentils or black beans
• Whole grains diet such coffee as oats, barley, or bulgur wheat diet (just remember to stick to the correct serving size to keep your calorie diet count down)

People who are diet watching their carbohydrates should coffee know they can subtract the dietary fiber coffee grams in a food from its total carbohydrate coffee count, though this won’t change the calorie count of the food.

Fiber: Upping Your Intake

Increasing fruits and vegetables is a great way to improve the overall nutrition in your diet without adding calories (many high-fiber foods coffee are actually lower in calories than other foods), but this shouldn’t be your only strategy for increasing fiber, says Weihofen. “You have to eat an awful lot of them to get your fiber coffee allowance. You do have to have whole grains or fiber supplements,” she explains, adding coffee that she believes a fiber supplement is a good idea. “I like Metamucil or Benefiber — a natural fiber, something you can take for the rest of your life.”

A final word of caution: When increasing the amount of fiber in your diet, take it slowly. Drink lots of water and add only a few grams a day to give your digestive system time to adjust..

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I Lost Weight: After Stern Words From the Doctor

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