Eat More Fiber

In today’s world we hardly get enough fiber in our diets, unless we make a huge effort.

Daily Recommended Fiber Intake

Women
25 grams per day, for women younger than 50
21 grams per day, for women older than 50

Men
38 grams per day, for men younger than 50
30 grams per day, for men older than 50

As you can see that’s alot of fiber. When you increase your fiber intake be sure to also increase your water consumption because the fiber will absorbe water and could cause some constipation.

Increase Your Fiber Intake Gradually

If your diet is currently low in dietary fiber, don’t raise your fiber intake too quickly, as this may trigger flatulence, bloating and other side effects. Instead, start including one or two high fiber foods daily. Then, every three or four days, add another high fiber food, and so on.

Table 1. Best Sources of Dietary Fiber

Food (Serving Size)

Total Fiber (Soluble) grams

Haricot Beans, dry (25g) Kidney Beans, dry (25g) Soy Beans, dry (25g) All Bran (30g) Shredded Wheat (2) Bread, High-Bran (1 slice) Bread, wholemeal (1 slice) Oatmeal (1/3 cup) Oatbran (1/3 cup) Pasta, dry, wholewheat (50g) Broccoli (1/2 cup) Brussels Sprouts (60g) Peas, frozen (60g) Parsnips (60g) Spinach (1/2 cup) Apple (1 medium) Apricots, dried (30g) Blackcurrants (100g) Figs, dried (30g) Mango (1 medium) Orange (1 medium) Pear (1 medium) Prunes (6 medium) Almonds, oil-roasted (50g) Peanuts, dry roasted (50g)

4.3g (2.0) 4.0g (1.8) 4.0g (1.7) 3.7g (1.2) 4.5g (1.0) 2.8g (0.6) 2.0g (0.8) 2.8g (1.3) 4.4g (2.0) 4.2g (1.0) 2.6g (1.1) 2.5g (1.3) 3.0g (1.0) 3.0g (1.7) 2.1g (0.5) 3.6g (1.2) 2.5g (1.5) 3.5g (1.6) 2.5g (1.3) 4.9g (3.0) 2.9g (1.8) 3.5g (1.2) 8.0g (3.0) 5.5g (n/a) 4.0g (n/a)

Reading recommendation:

http://health.yahoo.com/topic/digestive/getstarted/article/ehealthmd/Digestive_YMS_FIB_benefits

I also recommend Kashi cereal & snack products. They are really good without extra sugar or trans fat. Here’s the web site to learn more:

http://www.kashi.com/

Difficult To Make; New Habits Are…

I am writing today to make a point about changing your lifestyle to include new healthier habits. I was thinking about several things that we should all get used to doing, such as:

Getting 7 or 8 hours sleep is essential to being healthy. The body needs time to recover from a long day.

Drink plenty of water is what I usually read on the web sites. I drink more water than ever and it is practically all I drink during the day.

Eat smaller portions of food. My take is the average person eats 40 to 50% more than they should at most meals.

Skip the dessert except for special occaisions.

Cut way down on sugar intake in food and especially drinks.