Today kids, we're going to talk about FIBER!

I've been getting into a lot of conversations with friends who are trying to become healthier, about fiber. It gets forgotten about in the chaos of watching for trans fat, calorie counts, protein and carbs. What I find many people don't realize, is that including more fiber in your diet can help put the other nutritional aspects into balance as well.

What is FIBER?
Dietary fiber is the undigestible part of plant foods that pushes through our digestive system. It absorbs water, and aids in proper and complete digestion and elimination of waste. (Like a pipe cleaner!)

Are you getting enough fiber?
Some signs you are not getting enough fiber are small, foul smelling or irregular bowel movements (you should be going every day or twice a day depending on how much and how regularaly you eat), bloating, fatigue and painful health problems like IBS, which can include diareah, constipation, intense cramping and nausea.

Many people will medicate with over the counter remedies such as gavisgon, pepcid, pepto the list goes on. These remedies do not fix the underlying problem, which is that you have fermented left-overs rotting away in your intestines, that is not being passed through. Imagine for a minute that you would take some cooked ground beef, then keep it in a warm, moist, bacteria ridden place for a few days. Could you even imagine the stench?

Fiber by nature is "Fiberous" it acts like a toothbrush for your intestines. Sweeping away crud, bulking up your eliminates, and pushing everything through. If you aren't going every day - it's like not brushing your teeth or showering every day. The toxins stay behind. Over time, you can actually begin to kill off the good bacteria in your gut, once this starts to happen the problem snow-balls, because now you have toxins, poo-not-moving-through, and all kinds of bad beasties living inside you. Broad spectrum anti-biotics can also kill this beneficial bacteria. You may have heard a lot of hype about pro-biotics. While it is "hype" there is always some truth in there. A pro-biotic helps replenish the helpful bacteria (I call them army guys) Yogurt has it naturally. (Bacterial Culture) or you can buy pro-biotic supplements.
**Tip** A great little way to get both fiber and pro-biotic cultures is grab some Activia Yogurt, and All Bran Buds single serves. It's a great little snack to have before a work out or in the morning at work. The All Bran Buds contain a whop-load of fiber and the yogurt has pro-biotics. It's my personal fav at the moment.

SO! What-ado about fiber?
Start looking at the percentages of fiber in your morning breakfast cereal. Most cereals claim they are a good source of fiber, but if you look closely you'll see this is not true. Lots of sugar, carbs, and junk. Ultimately you want to have a breakfast cereal that is around 8% RDA this will give you a good boost and will also help you feel full longer and who doesn't want that? Blueberries are a wicked source of fiber, so if you like them, eat them lots! Brocolli, leafy greens, potatoes, nuts, grains, wheats, bread - all good sources of fiber. Try to avoid 'white' whenever possible, opting for the "whole wheat" alternatives.
I will mention that "white is right" when you are having an episode of Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS) as it is easier to digest and gentler on the digestive tract. When you are feeling ok though, eat brown. I once had a doctor tell me when I was seeing her for IBS advice...
"You wanna shit brown? THINK brown!"
kind of rancid... but it made sense!
Fiber is especially important to your diet if you eat a lot of red meat! Meat = protein and IRON. Our bodies do not digest meat very well, there have been speculations as to whether our bodies are even designed to eat meat at all, given the length and design of our intestines vs carnivorous animals - but that's a whole other story all together!
Iron, can be very constipating (ask someone who's anemic and on iron supplements!) pair that with meat that we are ill equiped to digest, and no beneficial fiber and possibly not enough water intake to push it through? It would only be common sense you will have pain, cramping, bloating, and just not a fun time!

I'll now explain the difference between between soluble and insoluble fiber, with food examples.
Just like in science class.... something that is soluble is able to disolve in water, something that is insoluble cannot.

(Taken from wikipedia)

Soluble fiber is found in varying quantities in all plant foods, including:
-legumes (peas, soybeans, and other beans)
-oats, rye, chia, and barley
-some fruits and fruit juices (including prune juice, plums, berries, bananas, and the insides of apples and pears)
-certain vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and Jerusalem artichokes
-root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions (skins of these vegetables are sources of insoluble fiber)
-psyllium seed husk (a mucilage soluble fiber).

Sources of insoluble fiber include:
-whole grain foods
-wheat and corn bran
-nuts and seeds
-potato skins
-flax seed
-lignans
-vegetables such as green beans, cauliflower, zucchini (courgette), and celery, nopal
the skins of some fruits, including tomatoes[4]

I'll also add that celery is a negative calorie. (Meaning your body burns more calories digesting it than it gets from the food) and is a great source of fiber. So if you love cellery and are trying to slim down - eat it up! Just be careful in the summer, because it can make your skin more UV sensitive.

Many of the fiberfull foods also contain antioxidants which help reduce free-radicals that cause cell damage and can lead to cancer, omega 3 fatty acids, and numerous vitamins which will further aid in detoxifying your body.

If you're not the type of person who is going to be able to tollerate adding brocoli to your diet, or you hate cereal... there's still hope! You could go to a natural health store and buy organic psyllium husk powder and either mix it with water and slam it, or you could add wheat-germ, ground flax seed**, or wheat bran to your food. A teaspoon or two a day would definitely help.
"Metamucil" is a common drug store brand of fiber supplement. It is primarily made from psyllium husk, but has just been branded. I'd still reccommend buying a bag of organic stuff from a health store.

Now, THIS IS IMPORTANT. Adding fiber to your diet alone is only half the battle. WATER, is the other half. (You wouldn't brush your teeth and keep the foam in your mouth right?) well all the same, water is the final step and it lubricates and makes sure everything keeps moving. Especially if you start having a supplement like Metamucil, which is PURE fiber, you need water, water, WATER! You will become very constipated if you don't drink water. Stand over the sink and slam glass after glass if you need to.

SO this is it. My Fiber report for blog-land. I challenge anyone who is looking to feel better, less bloated, loose weight, or address digestive issues to turn to fiber! I would be you that if you eat more fiber, and drink more water, you will feel healthier in two weeks!

Since I started paying attention to fiber and drinking more h20 I can TELL the difference when I let it slip. It feels just as gross (if not grosser) than that coating you get on your teeth when you accidentally forget to brush them. You feel dirty - but on the inside. When I eat fiber and drink water again, I feel thinner, and have more energy.

So get Bran-Muffining, go buy some cereal, make a brocolli stir fry, or a blue-berry smoothie!
(Whole wheat, blueberry pancakes are heavenly!)

Cheers!! Happy Poo-ing!

**Flax seeds on their own have a slippery gelly coating, you will pass them right through with little to no benefits. They must be ground or cracked to reap the benefits they hold.