Fiber

The Most Powerful “F” Word

Yep, you guessed it, FIBER! Dietary fiber is, without a doubt, one of the bosses of our digestive system. Eating fibrous foods like raw or lightly cooked vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, and seeds will maintain a healthy gut microbiome. Fiber slows the rate your food enters your bloodstream and increases the speed it exits your body via the digestive tract. These actions help keep your blood sugar and insulin from fluctuating — while helping eliminate toxins from your gut.

Types of Fiber. You Need All of ‘Em

Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with water and slows down the stomach’s emptying, helping to keep you feeling full for longer. Soluble fiber helps lower blood sugar and insulin, prevent cancer, and removes excess estrogen—the best sources: nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, fruits, and vegetables. Soluble fiber-rich foods feed gut bacteria through fermentation and help the bacteria thrive longer. Multiple studies demonstrate that this prebiotic fiber can favorably change the bacterial mix in the lower gut. Prebiotic fiber comes from plants such as Jerusalem artichoke, onions, whole grains, bananas, and garlic.

Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stool and helps keep it moving through the digestive tract, lowering your risk for digestive issues and constipation. Best sources: wheat bran, rice bran, fruit and vegetable skins, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains

Resistant starch is another type of fiber that provides the benefits of both insoluble and soluble fibers. The term "resistant" refers to this starch's ability to resist digestion. RS passes to the large intestine, where it produces the same effects of soluble and insoluble fibers. Food such as seeds, unprocessed whole grains, legumes, and potato starch all contain resistant starch.

10 Tips for Increasing Fiber in Your Diet

1) Eat flax seeds. Grind a small bit at a time and store in a tightly sealed glass jar in the fridge or freezer. Eat 1-2 Tbs of ground flax seeds a day. Use in smoothies, sprinkle on salads, grains, or vegetable dishes. Designate a coffee grinder just for flax seeds.

2) Eat Chia seeds. Eat 1-2 Tbs of ground flax seeds a day. Use in smoothies, sprinkle on salads, grains, or vegetable dishes. You can eat the seeds whole. Store in a sealed glass jar in the fridge or freezer.

3) Eat more Legumes. Beans are superstars in the fiber content contest.

4) Bulk up on vegetables. Vegetables are excellent fiber sources and should be heaped on your plate daily.

5) Whole grains like teff, barley, and quinoa pack a good fiber punch at anywhere between 5-8 grams per cup.

6) Include a few servings of low-glycemic fruits to your diet daily (berries are the highest in fiber and other protective phytochemicals).

7) Include some nuts and seeds such as almonds, walnuts, pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower seeds to your diet every day.

Pro tip: Increase your fiber intake slowly to avoid bloating or gas problems.

If you're having trouble eating your fill of fiber, choose a supplement that contains both soluble and insoluble fiber and no sweeteners or additives.

The Institute of Medicine recommends 25 g of fiber per day for women and 38 g for men. I often recommend trying to consume closer to 40 grams of fiber per day for my clients, which may sound like a lot, but when compared to the 100 g our ancestors ate, it's a drop in the bucket.

What does approximately 50 grams of fiber a day look like in a meal plan?

Breakfast:

1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (5 grams fiber) cooked in 1 cup 1 almond milk

1/2 cup blueberries (7 grams of fiber)

1 Tbs slivered almonds (1 gram fiber)

1 Tbs ground flaxseed (3 grams fiber)

= 16 grams of fiber total.