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Your Fill of Fiber
Getting the Nutrition You Need
By Jill Weisenberger
It protects against cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It promotes healthy bowels and can even help you lose weight. Is it a miracle drug? No, just ordinary fiber. Drowning amid messages of fats, carbs, calories and antioxidants, fiber hasn't been getting the attention it deserves lately. But don't let the media neglect of fiber cause you to neglect it at home. The average fiber intake in the United States is only 14 grams per day. That's far less than the recommended amounts of 19 grams for young children and 38 grams for young to middle-aged men.
The most commonly known benefit of fiber is its role in preventing and treating constipation. But it's so much more than that, says Joanne Slavin, professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. An abundance of research suggests that diets with ample fiber protect against colon cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Such diets tend to lower cholesterol and improve the blood sugars of people with diabetes. The problem, Slavin points out, is that the protective effect is seen with fiber intakes much greater than the usual amounts consumed in this country. She recommends more than 30 grams of fiber daily for most people.
In part, fiber intake is poor because of convenience foods and restaurant meals. Many people don't eat home-prepared meals any more. "They eat a lot of processed foods and not enough fruits and vegetables," says Mary Donkersloot, registered dietitian and director of Personal Nutrition Management in Beverly Hills, Calif. In the age of "grab what you can and off you go," getting your daily supply of fiber and other nutrients is especially difficult. In between soccer and art, your kids clamor for a quick stop at the first fast food restaurant they see. You've not had much time to think about dinner, so why not? The trouble is that getting adequate nutrition requires effort and meal planning.
A diet rich in fiber is also lush in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals (disease-fighters in plants) and tends to be lower in calories and fat. These combined dietary characteristics are associated with lower body weight and better health. "We don't know if it's the fiber itself, but we do know that foods high in fiber are protective against disease," says Melanie Polk, registered dietitian and director of Nutrition Education for the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. "It could be the phytochemicals, the fiber, the combination of various phytochemicals or the combination of fiber and phytochemicals." She encourages fiber-rich foods at every meal.
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