Fiber.  When you say the word, what does it bring to mind?
Visions of broccoli, pinto beans, and apples may dance in your head.  If the mainstream media has had any impact on you, you may drudge up an image of a cereal box, Metameucil, or rabbits gnawing on celery and carrots.  Originally from Texas, and this is no slight on Texas or the slice of it I came to know, there were 3 main food groups: meat, cheese, and bread.  I surmise this isn't too different from any other town, USA given the climbing breast and colon cancer rates, the number of people losing their gall bladders each year, diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and on cholesterol-lowering drugs.  So very many (and maybe ALL) of our treatable chronic illnesses are first preventable.  How we feed our bodies every single day makes up the primary step in preventing any disease.

What does fiber do besides keep the ol' pipes a-flowin'? 

1.  Bowel regularity, number one in our thoughts of fiber, means less time for feces to sit around in your intestines which leads to less likely food allergy reactions, less constipation, hemorrhoids, and healthier mucosal lining of the colon.  Maybe most importantly, it decreases your risk of colon cancer.  Colorectal cancers are always in the top 5 leading causes of cancer-related death in the U.S. 

2.  Improves absorption of nutrients and decreases inflammation in the GI tract. 

3.  That fiber sponge in your intestines helps eliminate excess cholesterol and helps decrease your risk of gallstones.  There are even more cholesterol-lowering benefits of fiber than just the "wicking effect" in the GI.  Fermented soluble fiber may also inhibit an enzyme in the liver that promotes cholesterol synthesis.

4. In the absence of adequate fiber, estrogen cannot be properly eliminated through the feces and builds up putting us gals at risk for menstrual irregularities.  Proper estrogen metabolism and excretion is also imperative for preventing breast cancer and other estrogen sensitive cancers.  

5.  Our immune system is LARGELY headquartered in and around the GI tract.  Fiber feeds our healthy gut bacteria/flora and improves our immune function.

6.  Fiber helps regulate your blood sugar by preventing big insulin spikes and decreasing your risk of Type 2 diabetes.

7.  More bulk in your meal helps you feel more satisfied and thus, has the lovely side effect of healthy weight loss.

So, how much fiber do you need each day?  I like to see people eating 1-2 servings of high fiber foods with each meal.  It's hard to think in terms of grams sometimes and if we all just get in the habit of incorporating fibery foods into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, we won't ever have to count grams at all.  For minds who crave numbers, the average American diet contains less than 15 grams of fiber each day.  Some nutritionists recommend 30 grams daily to prevent colon cancer.  In reality, you can safely eat 50 grams of fiber each day as long as you don't have any underlying propensity toward intestinal obstruction. 

Foods high in fiber: All the beans, cooked spinach, cooked kale, all the greens (Turnip, Collards, and Mustard), Swiss chard, brown rice, quinoa, broccoli, celery, carrots, lentils, ground flax seeds, walnuts, and lots more!  Exhaustive lists are available online, just have a look at your favorite source.  I really like www.whfoods.com.  If you need any help incorporating fiber into your diet, call our office for some ideas!  And if you have any easy high fiber recipes, please feel free to post them as a comment to this entry.  Let's improve our odds with foods, not drugs!!