Low-carb... and high fiber?

Say "low carb," and immediately visions of steak and eggs dance in your heads. Folks somehow have this notion that your mouth will never again chomp into a sandwich or that your diet will devoid on anything fiber-filled.

Phooey, I say! It doesn't have to be that way. You can have your low carb and get fiber too! Here's how.

There is a simple math equation that you need to do to understand how this works. Fiber is a non-nutritive substance that aids in digestion. It isn't processed in your body like say, a donut would be (which is completely fiberless and filled to overflowing with sugar).

Donuts, when eaten in any kind of quantity, will tend to grow you a rather large posterior. While fiber, eaten in any kind of quantity, will improve your digestion without getting you fat.

Take vegetables for example. Potatoes, corn and a few others aren't going to be too low carb friendly, but check out my friend broccoli. With a carb count of 1.9 grams per 1/2 serving, the fiber content is 1.1 grams. That means the net carb value is only 0.8. Not too shabby!

Artichoke hearts have 7.8 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup and yet the fiber count is 6 grams. It's easy to see why donuts do what they do now, isn't it?

Fiber is also easily obtained through certain seeds like flax and flaxmeal, which makes a great hot cereal. As a matter of fact, 1/4 cup of flaxmeal hot cereal has 13 grams of carbs, but 6 grams of fiber for a net carb count of 7 grams. Compared to the same amount of oatmeal with 18 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber for a net carb count of 15 grams. See the difference?

Leanne Ely, CNC
http://sheknows.com/about/look/2333.htm
High-Fiber-Health

Where's the Fiber?

The American Dietetic Association recommends that we eat between 25 and 30 grams of fiber every day, but most of us only get about 14 or 15 grams in our daily diet. Most popular foods in the American diet are not high in dietary fiber, but there are many excellent sources if you know where to find them. Minimally processed fruits, grains, and legumes (beans and peas) are the best sources.

Take the fiber test: can you choose the foods with the higher amount of fiber?

* 1 pear or 1 cup of iceberg lettuce?
pear: 4 grams of fiber; lettuce: 0.6 grams

* 1 half cup of cooked broccoli or 1 half cup of raw spinach?
broccoli: 2 grams; spinach: 1.4 grams

* 5 dried prunes or 3 cups of air-popped popcorn?
popcorn: 3.9 grams; prunes: 3.5 grams

* 2 slices of whole-grain bread or three quarters of a cup
of cooked kidney beans?
beans: 13.8 grams; bread: 6.0 grams

* Two thirds of a cup of oatmeal or 1 medium baked potato
with skin?
potato: 4.2 grams; oatmeal: 2.7 grams

Tami Donnelly, RD, CD
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/952639632.html
High-Fiber-Health