What is fiber?

Fiber is a substance found only in plants, such as fruits, vegetables and grains.  Fiber is not found in any animal products, including meat, fish, poultry, eggs or cheese.  The part of the plant fiber that you eat is called dietary fiber and is an important part of a healthy diet.  Dietary fiber is made up of two main types—soluble and insoluble.
 
What is the difference between insoluble and soluble fiber?

Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, while insoluble fiber does not.  Insoluble fiber passes through your digestive tract largely intact.  Both types of fiber are important in the diet and provide benefits to the digestive system by helping to maintain regularity.  Soluble fiber has some additional benefits to heart health.

What are the benefits of fiber?

• Fiber is scientifically proven to reduce serum cholesterol levels which may help to reduce your risk of heart disease.
• Fiber increases stool bulk, allowing for regular defecation (alleviating constipation) and decreasing the risk of colon cancer.
• Fiber slows down gastric emptying, allowing you to feel fuller for a longer period of time after a meal.  High fiber foods have little effect on increasing serum glucose levels (an important fact for diabetics and people trying to lose weight).
• Since fiber is indigestible, it adds no calories to your diet.  Adding fiber-rich foods to your meals bulks them up (think larger, more filling portions), without adding excess calories.  Fiber allows you to feel fuller and more satisfied even on fewer calories, making weight loss easy to achieve.

Overall how much fiber should I eat?

The American Dietetic Association recommends that Americans eat 20-35 grams of fiber per day.  The average American currently eats 9-12 grams of fiber a day, leaving much room for improvement.  Studies show that diets high in fiber reduce serum cholesterol levels, risk of heart disease, adult-onset diabetes, and certain forms of cancer.

For more information on Fiber, check out my website www.ffactordiet.com.

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.