Fiber

Fill Up on Fiber

We've all heard about the benefits of fiber for digestive health, but did you know it's also good for your metabolism? Soluble dietary fiber traps carbohydrates to slow their digestion, checks the rise of glucose after meals, and keeps insulin levels low. It can also help lower cortisol levels and aid in the body's natural disposal of excess estrogen. As if all those positive effects weren't enough, soluble fiber's sticky quality helps drag cholesterol out of the digestive tract, lowering your LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind).

Another bonus is that most sources of soluble fiber also provide insoluble fiber — the kind that keeps things moving in our digestive tract. How do you know if you're getting enough fiber in your diet? Well, there are a couple of pretty obvious symptoms if you're not:

You're constipated. You should be having at least three bowel movements a week. If not, keep your chin up and try adding more fiber-filled foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, to your diet — see if that doesn't fix the plumbing!

You're often hungry. You could be hungry for a number of reasons, including emotional ones, but lack of fiber is a likely suspect. Fiber helps you feel full, and if you're not getting that warm, fuzzy, fullness feeling, it may be because you need to eat more — you guessed it! — fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

So fiber can help keep you regular and make you feel full. The FDA also considers it to be a powerful fighter against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease as well as digestive disorders and obesity.

As a general rule, you should eat as many organic veggies and as much salad as you possibly can (dressing on the side, please!). This will help make you feel full and keep you from overeating other, more calorie-dense foods. Fill up!

Finding Fiber

Sure, eating more fiber sounds like a great idea, but how do you realistically work it in to your day? First, always choose whole-grain products like whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, and grains like bulgur and quinoa instead of white rice, white bread, and other refined-grain products. Also, follow these tips:

Start the day with whole-grain cereal.

When appropriate, eat vegetables raw, because cooking can reduce fiber content.

Avoid peeling fruits and vegetables when you can, because the skin contains a lot of fiber. (Just be sure to buy organic fruit so you can avoid nasty pesticides.)

Add beans to soups, stews, and salads.

Keep fresh fruit on hand for snacks.