Eat moar fiber!

Commercials push it, well marketing pushes containers of it.  Drs push it.  What the heck IS it and what does it do? Recently Dr. Hyman brought it to my attention via his Facebook and I've done some research. Fiber comes from plant material.  It's the part of the plant that the body can NOT digest.

There are two types of fiber.  Insoluble which bulks up waste and helps to keep things flushed....literally.  We're talking your whole wheat bran, your wheat flour, your nuts and lots of vegetables here.

There there is soluble fiber.  This disolved and turns into a jelly like goo.  This helps to lower low density lipoproten (LDL or bad cholesterol) and helps to maintain glucose levels.  We're talking your oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus, carrots, barley and syllium.  These guys slow the absorption of sugar into the blood and keep those levels nice and steady.

Now any kind of fiber is going to aid in weight loss, it makes you feel nice and full from lots of bulk and the most fiber dense foods are also the lowest calorie so that's always a great thing.  All that extra chewing is also going to give your brain time to realize it's full AND trick you into thinking you've eaten a lot more.

So, how much is enough?  After listening to Dr. Hyman discuss fiber I started tracking in my food log just how much fiber I was consuming.  An adult under 50 I should be eating between 25 and 35 grams a day.  I was averaging about EIGHT with a peak of about ten.  Ouch.

Time to kick in more fiber (slowly).  So, my plain white bagels have to be switched our for whole wheat.  The extra processing from wheat bread to white bread (and wheat flour to white flour) destroys the bran and reduces the fiber.  No peeling the fruit (which I'm usually too lazy to do anyway).  Those skins have all the fiber and most of the nutrients.  Add high fiber foods.  "Beans Beans their good for your heart...the more you eat them..." You get the idea.  Lentils and Black Beans are high in fiber and great for you.

A word of warning, adding fiber should be done gradually.  If you suddenly slam your gut with lots of fiber...it's gonna feel like you slammed your gut with lots of fiber.  Increase it slowly over several weeks.  Always drink water with fiber to make things...pass through a bit easier.

Below is a list I made of low sodium, high fiber, low(ish) carb foods to help you on your way!

Food	Serv size	Carbs	Fiber	Sodium
Wheat Bran	1/4 C	10	7	0
Raw Almonds	1/4 C	7.75	4.25	0
Raspberries	1 C	15	8	1
Blackberries	1 C	15	8	1
Blackbeans	1/2 C	22	7	1
Lentils	1/2 C	10	8	2
Pear	1 med.	20	4.5	2
Apple	1 Mead	23	4	2
Oatmeal	1 C	27	4	2
Barley	1/2 C	22	3	2
Toasted Sesame	1 oz	7	4	3
Chia Seeds	2 Tbsp	12	11	5
Ground Flax	2 Tbsp	4	4	5
Coconut Flakes	1 oz	7	5	9
Avocado	1 med.	17	11	14
Broccoli	1 C	9	6	64
Atrichoke	1 med.	14	10	114