Fiber Filler
Not all foods are created equal. When you go to the grocery
store, there are endless choices and options, and the variety
can be dizzying. You know you need to watch how much fat you
ingest, you have heard that you need fiber, you think to watch
your calories. You have the desire to be healthy, but at times
it may feel like you are walking through a dense jungle to get
to where you want to be - a state of radiant health.
Good nutrition and healthy living is a process, and something
that you will work on daily for the rest of your life. The goal
is to have the rest of your life be filled with energy and all
of the benefits of good health and staving off debilitating
diseases.
Take a look at refined foods. You may have heard the term, but
what exactly does it mean? It is a process where a once whole
food is stripped of the very ingredients that could make it
nutritious, and those ingredients are replaced with refined
sugars, salt, excess fat, and chemical additives.
In refined foods, all-important fiber is usually deleted. Fiber
is important because it helps guard against constipation by
increasing the volume and fluid content of stools, and it may
work with certain types of bacteria to inhibit the formation of
cancer cells in the colon. Some types of fiber, found in oat
bran, beans, apples, and grapes, may lower elevated blood
cholesterol. The National Cancer Institute recommends 20 to 35
grams of fiber per day. The average American is consuming only
about 12. Fiber is also very filling, so you don't have to eat
as much to feel full, which cuts down on the amount of foods you
need to eat overall.
When eating processed and refined foods, the fiber has generally
been removed, and then synthetic fibers are added back in so as
to appeal to those who are concerned about their health. Isn't
it better to eat the original, closest-to-nature variety, then
to eat something that is added in later as an after-thought? It
is better to eat a bowl of bean soup and follow it up with an
apple than to eat a couple of slices of white bread with some
processed meat and cheese in the middle. Guess which one will
fill you up longer and give you more for the mouthful in terms
of nutrition?
It is recommended that we eat 3 to 5 servings of fruit and 5
servings of vegetables a day. A serving of fruit can be an
apple, a cup of grapes, a banana, half a cup of canned peaches.
Servings of vegetables can be a cup of fresh, or a half cup of
frozen.
With a steady diet of refined foods, you may constantly feel
hungry, literally starving your own body. Make a conscious
decision to replace these types of foods with ones that are
fiber-rich, so that your body can feel like it actually had
something to eat!