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Fiber—an
essential part of your diet.
Most of us need to eat more fiber in our diet. Experts
recommend 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber every day (or at least 10 to
13 grams per 1000 calories.) Most Americans consume only 10 to 15 grams
per day. Fiber is beneficial for good health, helping to lower blood lipids,
(fats), promote good digestive health and to decrease the incidence of
colon cancer. Many weight loss diets promote high protein and low carbohydrate.
Did you also know that the major complaint of these low carb diets is
constipation? If we don't get enough fiber, how is food going to move
through our systems? While these low carb diets promote fiber from vegetables,
it is often does not meet the recommended 25 to 35 grams of fiber per
day. We don't know the long-term effects of these high protein diets,
so let's not forget fiber in the short-term struggle with excess weight.
- Fiber helps the body digest a higher protein diet frequently used
by people trying to lose weight.
- Fiber can decrease fat absorption, which is beneficial for weight
loss. Some fibers form a gel and can "absorb" the fat in the
intestine, helping to prevent fat absorption and subsequent storage
of adipose tissue.
- Fiber provides roughage, preventing constipation, while also helping
the body eliminate toxins.
- Fiber remains in the digestive tract providing a sense of fullness
but without extra calories.
- Stonyfield Farm yogurts contain inulin, a natural dietary fiber present
in many common fruits and vegetables. Ours comes from chicory roots.
Inulin provides a creamy mouth feel adding to the satisfaction of a
reduced fat yogurt. It has all the benefits normally associated with
fiber, plus as a prebiotic, it boosts the production of the probiotics
(beneficial cultures that naturally reside in the digestive tract.).
There's a certain bacterial mix in the gut that is associated with a
higher protein diet. This bacterial mix is associated with a greater
potential for harmful pathogenic toxins. Add inulin and other fibers
in the diet and you will benefit from more probiotics to offset the
potential putrefactive bacteria that can be produced by mostly eating
meat. Inulin also has been proven to help boost calcium absorption by
as much as 20%.
Fiber is essential for good digestive health, but it also has a number of
other known health benefits:
- Lowers cholesterol and triglycerids. Fiber binds with bile
acids that are made from cholesterol and produced during digestion.
These acids are then excreted helping to decrease cholesterol and triglycerides.
- Helps with blood glucose control for diabetics. Fiber blunts
the fast release of glucose into the bloodstream. It doesn't raise blood
glucose or increase insulin needs. It’s an important component
of a diabetic’s good blood glucose control by diet.
- Decreases the incidence of colon cancer and may decrease symptoms
of ulcerative colitis. Fiber keeps things moving through the colon
reducing exposure to potential carcinogens from foods and bacteria.
It acts like a sponge and absorbs water and other chemicals known to
increase risk of colorectal cancer. According to the National Cancer
Institute, the risk of colorectal cancer is lower among populations
that have a high-fiber diet.
You can get fiber from many vegetables, Stonyfield Farm yogurt (each 6oz.
serving of our yogurt contains 2g of fiber), the skins of fruits, psyllium
seed husks, oat bran fiber, gums, pectin, nuts and seeds. Most packaged
breads and other fiber-type foods contain 1or 2 grams of fiber per serving.
Click
here to learn more about Stonyfield Farm yogurt and weight loss.
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