Don’t Forget To Get Your Fiber!

Fiber is one of the most important nutrients of a diet, which often seems to be neglected. Scientists have long known and proven that eating fiber is good for your health. It helps stave off heart disease, cancer, digestive problems while at the same time it is helping control cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Most people get overwhelmed with counting calories, carbohydrates, fats, added sugars that forget to eat enough fiber. Fiber along with adequate liquid intake moves quickly and easily through your digestive track and helps it function properly. The daily intake for women is estimated between 21-25 grams while for men between 30-38 grams. According to additional studies from Mayo Clinic, it decreases obesity, heart disease, colorectal cancer, knee arthritis and type 2 diabetes.

Andrew Reynolds and his team conducted a large meta-analytic study analyzing over 180 observational studies and 50 clinical trials from the past four decades which indicated that people who included fiber in their daily diet, demonstrated a 15% to 30% reduced risk of death and chronic diseases compared to those who did not. Similarly, researchers suggested that Ugandans who ate high vegetable diets, avoided many diseases common amongst Europeans and Americans.
The good news is that it is not hard to add fiber to your daily nutrition. Any increase in dietary fiber will have better health benefits than no increase! Below we will be listing the foods with highest fiber content, per category (according to Mayo Clinic’s reviews).

• Fruits; raspberries, pear, apple with skin, banana, orange
• Vegetables; boiled green peas, broccoli, turnip greens, Brussel sprouts
• Grains; spaghetti (whole wheat), barley, bran flakes, quinoa
• Legumes, nuts, seeds; split peas, lentils, black beans, chia seeds

So next time you have breakfast add some bran flakes, some almonds, some raspberries, chia seeds and you will be ready to go!