Best Sources of Fiber

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, fiber is essential to our overall health. It's found in many sources now, but what are the best? Believe it or not, there are differences between the fiber added to cereals and yogurts and the fiber found naturally in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans. As always, I'm a proponent for the natural, whole foods route.

The fiber added to foods is called “functional fiber.” It has been extracted or isolated with chemicals or some other new fangled scientific method. Their effects are not extensively studied and benefits are not the same as natural soluble and insoluble fiber. Although they may bulk up stool and prevent constipation, they do not have the cholesterol-lowering effects of natural soluble fiber. The American Dietetic Association even states that natural fiber is superior to functional fiber.

The bottom line is look to natural, whole foods for the best sources of fiber. The following foods contain a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber, but they have been categorized by the fiber that they contain more of.

Some great sources of soluble fiber are:

Nuts & Beans: Black-eyed peas, chickpeas, pinto beans, flaxseeds, kidney beans, lentils, northern beans, soy

Vegetables: Asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, jerusalem artichokes, most root vegetables, most (e.g., sweet potatoes, onions, daikon, burdock white potatoes, beets, turnip), summer squash, winter squash

Fruits: Apples, apricots, avocados, citrus (e.g., oranges, grapefruits, tangerines), figs, mangoes, plums, prune juice, strawberries

Whole Grains: Most starchy grains, barley, brown rice, oat bran, oats (rolled), psyllium seed husk (a mucilage soluble fiber), quinoa

You can find insoluble fiber in:

Nuts & Beans: Cashews, lima beans, cocoa powder-natural, peanut and peanut butter, pecans, seeds (e.g., sunflower, pumpkin), white beans

Vegetables: Artichokes, bitter gourd, carrots, corn, celery, leafy greens, parsnips, peas, pepper, sprouts, tomato, vegetable skins (e.g., potatoes, cucumber, tomato, squash), zucchini

Fruits: Bananas (slightly more insoluble), blackberries, cherries, grapes, melons, persimmon, pineapple, skins of fruits

Whole Grains: Bran cereals/muffins, granola, muesli, popcorn, rye products, wheat bran, whole grain bread, whole wheat

My favorite form of healthy fiber is steel cut oats with tons of cinnamon and almond milk for breakfast. What is yours?

Let's Talk about Fiber, Baby

Fiber has got to be one of my most favorite diet and health topics. No, it's not just about the Metamucil crackers or prune juice and it's not just for grandmas.  Fiber is essential to your wellbeing from age 0 to 100.  Important fact, it can only be found in plant foods - that means fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, legumes, and whole grains. Nature's goodness. :)

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Fiber has become all the rage lately. Food producers are adding it or amping up the amount of fiber in everything from orange juice to cereals to yogurt. New studies constantly show the link of fiber to overall good health, low LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, diabetes prevention, and lower risk of colorectal cancer. It's probably the most essential component to our digestive health and the most lacking component from the Standard American Diet (SAD indeed).

Fiber is the key to proper waste elimination. Lack of or too much fiber can lead to many problems. There are two kinds of fiber. Soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber adds water to our stool and allows our waste to move steadily through the colon.  Insoluble fiber adds bulk to our stool and allows it to pass quickly fro stomach to small intestine. It is very important for us to get a balance of both kinds of fiber. Each has its own role to play in our digestive system and complement one another.

The American Dietetics Association recommends that adults consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day. On the standard American diet of white bread and pasta, meat, potatoes, pizza, chicken nuggets, soda and coffee, we are not getting anywhere near that amount. That is why we have so many incidents of diseases and disorders in our digestive system including stomach and colorectal cancers, colitis, Crohn's, and irritable bowel syndrome. Even illnesses that seem unrelated to our digestive health can be linked to it. These include eczema, acne, diabetes, and depression.

It is extremely important that we get enough fiber in our diets and from good sources too! Check in tomorrow to find out the best sources of fiber!

Brown Rice is Nicer!

continuation of yesterday’s post on rice…

So rice is certainly nice, but brown rice is nicer! Take some time this weekend and have some brown rice. Brown rice is healthier than white rice for two reasons. First are the vitamins and minerals that I mentioned previously. According to The World’s Healthiest Foods, “The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Fully milled and polished white rice is required to be "enriched" with vitamins B1, B3 and iron." 

Second, there is the fiber in it! Fiber is an essential component to our diets and for good reason. Fiber is essential to our digestive health-ensuring proper digestion and elimination. Additionally, it is important in regulating our blood sugar. When eating a whole grain, like brown rice, we eat the starch and the fiber. The latter which enables our bodies to slowly digest the starch and slowly release the resulting sugar into our bodies. White rice is a pure starch. When ingested, it is quickly digested by the digestive system because there is very little fiber to slow down the process. It causes a spike in energy as the carbohydrates are instantly converted to sugar. 

Dr. Walter Willet, a professor of Nutrition and Medicine at Harvard, spoke in class about refined grains in terms of the glycemic index, which is a measurement of the effect of carbohydrates on our blood sugar levels. The quicker a carbohydrate breaks down in digestion, the higher the number in the glycemic index. Eating foods high in the glycemic index is linked to diabetes. As mentioned above, white rice was very popular in traditional diets, but their population did not have diabetes. This spike in blood sugar did not cause an issue to the traditional cultures because they performed a lot more physical labor. Their jobs and lifestyles required for them to be more active. They used the energy they got from the rice before the sugar took a toll to their insulin levels. White rice is not appropriate for our sedentary lifestyles. We do not use the instant energy that the grain gives us and our bodies have to produce insulin to reduce the sugar level. 

Eating more fiber is really important to our overall health. There is no need to add foods into our diets. It’s all about upgrading the foods you are already eating. Switch the rice you get from the Thai take-out place with brown rice. Or use brown rice when making your rice and beans instead of white.

Have you noticed how you feel after eating white rice vs. brown rice? Do you have a favorite brown rice recipe?